BELGIUM - Belgian exhibition organiser FISA and Holland’s VNU Exhibitions Europe will join forces to organise exhibitions together in Belgium.
BeFair Media, based in Brussels, is a new joint venture that combines FISA’s 50 years of local experience with VNU’s specialisation in visitor marketing activities around exhibitions.
The new company will focus on the business-to-business market and plans to launch a number of new events in Belgium beginning with Elektrotechniek Belgie, a Belgian version of the Dutch Elektrotechniek event, which has taken place in the Netherlands for more than 40 years. The event takes place on 17-19 November in the Tour en Taxis complex in Brussels, with FISA contributing market knowledge and contacts with the electro-technical branch.
FISA operates predominantly in the construction, home and lifestyle sectors, organising events such as Batibouw, Cocoon, Sfeer and In Wonen, while VNU Exhibitions Europe holds a portfolio of more than 50 exhibition titles, with particular strength in the construction, industrial and IT sectors.
VNU Exhibitions Europe’s previous business in Belgium includes staging events such as Infosecurity.be, Storage-Expo.be and VSK Belgie (pictured); future editions of the latter being organised by BeFair Media as a result of the joint venture.
VNU Exhibitions Europe’s MD of exhibitions and cross media, John van der Valk, says he sees a “wealth of opportunities” in Belgium.
“We are contributing our knowledge and technology,” he says. “In FISA we have a found a partner who knows the Belgium market better than anyone. The combination of both qualities will lead to fantastic exhibitions and we are extremely happy to have entered into this partnership.”
Managing director of FISA, Geert Maes, says he has been looking for a partner that has developed innovative and intelligent ways of linking visitors to exhibitors “for quite some time”. “In VNU Exhibitions we have found that partner. Together, and with the help of the latest marketing insights and internet technology, we will be able to organise exhibitions of outstanding quality.”
