23.10.2016

SAIE goes Biennial

Italian construction exhibition SAIE - originally the Bologna Fair - has announced that there will not be a 2017 event, instead the organiser will focus on running the big Italian show in Bologna every two years.

Franco Boni, president of SIAE owner BolognaFiere said: “SAIE stands out as a place for debate and growth towards a new industry for the sector and new professions SAIE that is leading the way in a new culture of digital and circular industrialisation. The two year programme for the even numbered years will position SAIE among Europe’s leading events for construction, such as Bau in Munich and Batimat in Paris, which are held in the odd numbered years.

Vertikal Comment

At one time the event was exceptionally strong for cranes and aerial lifts, and was certainly one of the very best for loader cranes, but as the recession bit ever deeper, visitor numbers slipped and exhibiting companies stayed away, many of them preferring to attend the small specialist lifting exhibition GIS, held every two years in Piacenza. The original idea was for manufacturers to attend SAIE on even numbered years and GIS on the odd numbered years.

However the high cost of exhibiting at SAIE meant more and more companies staying away, in addition SAIE has seen some aggressive competition on the general construction side with a competing event running on exactly the same week in Milan. So now the decision to run every other year with a better show.

The move is also related to the growth of smaller, lower cost, more specialist events, which we have seen in across the board, from agricultural equipment to quarrying and mining equipment, not to mention lifting equipment. The recent demise of the show is a sad but inevitable change as Europe moves towards one big international show - Bauma - every three years, and smaller more regional events in between.