New ‘Shipyard’ Networking Hub for METSTRADE SuperYacht Pavilion
Having sold out months in advance, the organisers of the SuperYacht Pavilion at this year’s METSTRADE Show have announced a significant expansion. A new networking area called the Shipyard will be at the hub of a third hall designed to accommodate highly qualified exhibitors who would otherwise have been unable to profile their latest innovations. Open for business from 13 to 15 November, the extended show-within-a-show will also include other new facilities designed to ensure exhibitors and visitors three highly productive days.
The superyacht industry is booming worldwide and METSTRADE is committed to ensuring that the SuperYacht Pavilion – the large yacht sectors’ annual B2B meeting place in Amsterdam – continues to meet its very specific demands. The number of dedicated halls within the RAI convention centre will be increased from two to three and feature a new networking area called the Shipyard.
Adding value
“The waiting list of highly qualified exhibitors for the SuperYacht Pavilion at METSTRADE 2018 was larger than ever,” comments RAI Amsterdam’s Director Maritime Irene Dros. “Our decision to expand was made because we recognise how much the extra companies will contribute to the pavilion programme in terms of innovation. We have also responded to increasing requests from the industry for more networking space in general, and for places where custom yards can host meetings in privacy.”
The new third hall will have the same sophisticated decorative style for which the SuperYacht Pavilion is renowned. A natural flow into the additional area will be created in a way that the RAI has successfully implemented at other leading trade shows and has been proven to generate lots of visitor traffic. The new extended area will feature stands surrounding the Shipyard, which is destined to become a key port of call for those seeking networking opportunities.
Meeting needs
Behind the scenes in the same hall, project meeting rooms will be set up exclusively for hire by custom superyacht builders. To ensure confidentiality, these spaces will have a strict entrance policy and a pre-selected guest list for those related to the project in hand, such as designers and naval architects. This new service is a proactive move to ensure custom yards no longer need to hire meeting rooms in nearby hotels and to ensure key decision makers can remain on the show floor.
New exhibitors
As a result of all these changes, the SuperYacht Pavilion at METSTRADE 2018 will feature a record number of 314 exhibitors. Forty-three of these companies will be taking part for the first time, including German fibre-composite specialists Fassmer, the Dutch metal construction company Tec Wire and the electrical experts from Vimar in Italy. Click here for a full list of exhibitors across the three halls of the SuperYacht Pavilion
Inspiration
The programme for this year is also more expansive than ever. Highlights include the three-day Superyacht Forum for professionals from all sectors of the large yacht market and the golden jubilee edition of the Hiswa Symposium on Yacht Design and Construction.
In a similar vein, the focus on sustainability for which the METSTRADE Show as a whole is renowned will also be clearly related to the superyacht sector at the E-nnovationLAB (electric propulsion technology) and Innovation-LAB platforms, with many high-end speakers stimulating the industry with respect to building techniques.