For nine editions, Pumps & Valves had been predominantly a trade exhibition to introduce new products, especially pumps and valves for the processing industry. Gradually, this trade exhibition has broadened its scope to include all pumps and valves with an industrial application. In 2002, the first steps were made towards a fuller and deeper assessment of the market and the needs of industrial consumers. To help with this, exhibition organiser Fairtec is assisted by an Advisory Council.

The Advisory Council members make up the steering committee for each edition of Pumps & Valves. They include representatives of manufacturers and importers on the one hand, and of employers and consumers associations on the other. This sounding board means that each edition of Pumps & Valves is always adapted to suit sector and market developments.

During the preparation for the 2002 edition, there were indications from the market that the products were quite well known, but an increasing need had arisen for certain specialised services which are rather difficult to find. And so, the Service Village, a collection of service industries, was added to the fair for the first time. The following services were grouped together in the Service Village: maintenance, training, quality control, standardisation and certification, software, and engineering.

Since visitors have been showing an increasing interest in maintenance companies, such companies will have their own circuit in the halls at Pumps & Valves 2004 under the title Maintenance Circuit. This will allow them to highlight their maintenance services better in all their aspects within the entirety of their company operations.
Furthermore, the Advisory Council has also pointed out that on the shop floor there are always a number of pressure points and new rules confronting a large part of the sector, as well as some innovations attracting wide interest. A programme of 10 seminars, attended last time by 469 people, has met this need for information and this formula for success will be maintained at the 2006 edition.
And so, Pumps & Valves is changing from a pure exhibition of products into a dynamic event in which the concepts of 'Transfer of Knowledge' and 'Search for Solutions' are playing an increasingly important part. If your company would like to offer its know-how in this sector, you could not imagine a better two-yearly forum.

Come and visit us at the Pumps & Valves at booth 3460, Antwerp Expo, Belgium.