High expectations for SaMoTer 2023 opening its gates in April

DigiMessenger #11

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One of the biggest and most important European trade fairs returns in April. The construction industry will meet in Verona after a 6-year-long break caused by the covid pandemic. Patrik Eder, editor at LECTURA, spoke to Sara Quotti Tubi, Event Manager and Head of Agritech Area at Veronafiere, about the upcoming edition of SaMoTer, its main thematic focus, new areas, innovations and personal goals.

PE: The previous show, the 30th edition of SaMoTer, took place in Verona almost 6 years ago as the upcoming edition had to be postponed several times. What measures and restrictions have you been forced to take as an organiser?

SQT: The pandemic unquestionably had a major impact on SaMoTer. Nevertheless, it must be said that this forced stoppage period enabled us to look into the real needs of the sector, not the least through frequent, constant and continuous discussions. I think this is the main aspect to bear in mind as regards the organization of the event: We asked the sector about its priorities, we listened to these needs and requirements and turned them into effective projects.

As regards restrictions, there are currently no measures to be observed in Italy related to the health emergency. In any case, in the unfortunate and remote hypothesis that health emergency context worsens, we will work to ensure that all the rules are upheld.

PE: How many visitors and exhibitors do you expect this year?

SQT: Expectations for SaMoTer 2023 are very high. We see interest on a daily basis and therefore have good reason to envisage a well-attended event in terms of visitors and exhibitors alike. And speaking of exhibitors, companies that have always placed their trust in SaMoTer by exhibiting their new products will attend again, ensuring continuity with the past. They include Ammann, Bobcat, Bomag, Cifa, Dieci, Doosan, Hidromek, Kato Imer, Kobelco, Komatsu, Magni, Marini, Merlo, Sany, Sermac, Sunward, Takeuchi, Venieri, Wacker Neuson, Wirtgen, Yanmar and Zoomlion.

There will be the important return of CGT, the exclusive distributor of Caterpillar product lines and part of the international TESYA Group. Yet there will also be exhibitors taking part in the Show for the first time, bringing machinery and concepts with high-tech and sustainable content.

As for visitors, we expect arrivals from all over Italy, with sector operators keen to keep up to date, innovate and exchange points of views. SaMoTer is also evolving and as such greater openness to internationalization is vital. Logically, we are also working hard in this direction. SaMoTer 2023 will also be the only event in Europe for this supply chain and is therefore an important opportunity for manufacturers, buyers and sector operators to meet and learn about what's new in the sector. Verona's strategic geographical position, among other things, also facilitates arrivals from European and non-European countries. And for all these elements, we also look forward to welcoming visitors from abroad.

PE: What is the main thematic focus of the upcoming trade fair?

SQT: The main focus of Samoter 2023 is innovation in its broadest sense. This edition will especially focus closely on recognising and anticipating trends: it will offer food for thought over evolution in the sector by creating opportunities for comparisons and debate between institutions, research bodies, companies and sector operators. We are convinced that sector-wide consideration about to the new technologies that help companies in this field not only become more innovative and more competitive, but also more sustainable is vital today at supply chain level. Inasmuch, the 31st Samoter will focus on two topics of major importance: the ecological transition and the digital transition. In addition to the exhibition area, we also believe that content is fundamental for the quality of the event. Consequently, we are working on an intense calendar of conferences, workshops and seminars. All this will be backed up by Samoter Lab, an absolute innovation and the beating heart of this edition, focusing the spotlights on the actual and effective implications of the ecological and digital transitions, namely new technologies, software and automation.

PE: The SaMoTer Lab focused on innovation was launched in October 2022. Can you tell us more about this initiative?

SQT: SaMoTer Lab is a specific area focusing on innovation, offering a stage for companies keen to share content and discuss topic of most current interest - innovation, sustainability, automation, digitalisation, safety, efficiency, decarbonisation and legal aspects.

To avoid spreading innovations all over the show area, we decided to dedicate the whole of Hall 12 to SaMoTer Lab, as a new exhibition area that also benefits from a strategic position facing the main entrance and as such is an obligatory transit point for all visitors.

The exhibition will spotlight the current and effective implications of the ecological and digital transitions - new technologies, software and automation - and will be accompanied by an impressive programme of conferences, workshops and talk shows.

The other major innovation at this edition is Cantiere Digitale - the Digital Construction Site - which will come to life in the SaMoTer Lab demo area. This is a full-scale automated and integrated construction site where Machinery 4.0 and digital control technologies will be shown at work for an event with high-level technological innovation staged 4-5 times a day for the duration of the event. It will also be broadcast live on the screens inside SaMoTer Lab and at the entrance to the Exhibition Centre.

PE: SaMoTer’s B2Press event is going to be organised in the second half of February 2023. How important is this event for you and manufacturers?

SQT: B2Press will be held on Friday 24 February 2023 in Verona. It is a very important event for us because it is a networking occasion between exhibitors of SaMoTer 2023 and journalists from the most authoritative Italian and international publications in the construction sector. It is a day of one-to-one meetings between manufacturers and the press, organized around 10-15-minute sessions, when companies will have the chance to highlight the main content of their technological offering, as well as the products and solutions they will present at SaMoTer.

In the evening of 23 February prior to the event, we will hold the prize-giving for companies winning the International Technical Innovation competition, a qualified showcase with a focus on technical and technological evolution in the construction machinery sector: machinery, equipment, plant and prototypes characterised by new design or practical innovations in use, as well as fundamental improvements to existing machines.

PE: What are your personal goals and wishes regarding the upcoming trade show?

SQT: A trade fair is usually considered to be all the more successful if, on balance, it is well attended in terms of exhibitor and visitor numbers. They are aspects that will tell us how the event performed once it is over. Yet we also feel that the quality of the event is also fundamental and inasmuch we are working on an intense calendar of conferences, workshops and seminars. If all these events are well-received - as we certainly expect - then we will be able to decree the success of SaMoTer 2023.

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