ALUMINIUM, the world’s leading trade fair for the aluminium industry, which was to take place in Düsseldorf, Germany, from 6th to 8th October, has been postponed to 18th to 20th May 2021 due to the serious consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The accompanying ALUMINIUM Conference will also be postponed into next year.
The organisers say the decision was made after numerous discussions with industry and partners, who were all in favour of postponing the fair. The aluminium industry, as well as international supply chains, has been hit hard by the pandemic and the lockdown.
“Together with exhibitors and partners, we had long hoped to be able to get the industry back on track for October. Unfortunately this hope has not been fulfilled. The vast majority of exhibitors have therefore expressed the wish that ALUMINIUM should be rescheduled to next year,” says Michael Freter, managing director of organiser Reed Exhibitions Deutschland GmbH. “In collaboration with everyone, we have agreed that by postponing ALUMINIUM to 2021, we can offer the industry the best customer benefits and the best conditions for a successful event at that time.”
With the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis, demand for aluminium has fallen, in some cases massively. Importantly, demand from the main application industries such as automotive and aviation in new orders and call-offs fell sharply, and in some cases, has come to a complete standstill, according to the German association Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie eV (GDA).
“The decision to move ALUMINIUM to May next year is, in our view, absolutely the right one. The markets for aluminium have collapsed on a broad front. I do not yet see any recovery at present,” said Marius Baader, managing director of GDA, the supporting association of ALUMINIUM. “Our industry is currently focused on securing business and employment. Our materials and products are the solutions to the challenges of the present and the future. Sustainable mobility, energy-efficient buildings, closed loop, we offer all of this. Nevertheless, at the moment the focus is on stabilising the economy. May 2021 is the right time for when ALUMINIUM can provide the important impulse for a new start, especially for our customers.”
This is also underlined by Dr Gerd Goetz, director general of the European aluminium industry association: “Our main focus is currently on sustainable economic measures to overcome the crisis by the EU and its member states. The aluminium industry can play a key role in the realisation of a green European action plan. Therefore ALUMINIUM is important for us – especially next year, when the situation in the application industries will hopefully have eased again,” he said.
Every two years ALUMINIUM brings together 1,000 exhibitors and around 23,000 visitors from 100 countries. www.aluminium-messe.com