ISH China & CIHE — China International Trade Fair for Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning, Sanitation & Home Comfort Systems ended May 24 after breaking records for both attendance and size.
Jointly organized by Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. and Beijing B&D Tiger Exhibition Co. Ltd., the three-day event successfully hosted 1,300 exhibitors and welcomed 70,202 visitors, a 13.9% increase over 2017. Due to successful outcomes in previous editions, quite a number of exhibitors expanded their booth size this year, leading to an 8.6% increase in the fair’s scale to 116,000 square meters.
A drive by the central government to reduce pollution by accelerating the shift from coal to electricity and natural gas during the winter heating season has boosted market growth of greener heating solutions in China. Reflecting this development, the show employed two additional halls this year to showcase energy-saving boilers, low-nitrogen boilers and related products — a move that was widely welcomed by exhibitors in these halls and buyers sourcing such products.
In addition to the extensive number of companies offering innovative eco-friendly HVAC solutions, the 2018 edition introduced brand new zones to satisfy local buyers’ appetite for cutting-edge technologies from around the world. Making its debut appearance this year, the Overseas Area in hall E1 gathered renowned global companies from the U.K., France, Germany and Italy to present a comprehensive array of exhibits. A Water Pump Zone was also launched this edition to accommodate the growing demand from this sector of the industry. And an enlarged Italian Pavilion in hall W2 also impressed visitors with an in-depth showcase of the country’s expertise in the HVAC industry, with the number of companies from Italy increasing by over 60%.
Key figures at a glance
• Visitors: 70,202 (2017: 61,612) – 13.9% increase
• Exhibitors: 1,300 (2017: 1,289) – 0.8% increase
• Exhibition area: 116,000 sqm (2017: 106,800 sqm) – 8.6% increase
Exhibitor feedback
“ISH China & CIHE is the largest exhibition in the HVAC industry in the country and is the ideal choice for increasing our influence," said Eric Xie, managing director, BDR Thermea (Tianjin) Co. Ltd. U.K. "On top of the coal-to-gas policy put forward by the government, we are also actively developing domestic product lines. Therefore, we hope to promote our new technologies through the show.
"The visitor flow was good, and they mainly came from the coal-to-gas market," Xie continued. "There were distributors, engineering companies, gas companies and relevant government officials. Residential condensing boilers and commercial boilers for low-nitrogen reform are among our most popular products this edition.”
Peter Wang, deputy general manger for Guangdong Phnix Eco-Energy Solution Ltd. China, said they exhibited this year, their sixth, "to develop the domestic market."
"We showcase our products from the angle of national clean energy reform," Wang said. "Due to the increasing labor costs in China, smarthome remote control systems are also another highlight for us this edition. The influence of this fair is not just in North China, I would say it’s on a national level. We are able to connect with special departments of the Chinese government including military, as well as corrections facilities from Xinjiang province. We also received inquiries from the clients of our competitors. ISH China & CIHE is the ideal platform for companies to showcase their latest advancements. And this is the preferred avenue for leading brands to learn from each other, taking China’s HVAC technologies to another level.”
Frank Ding, marketing director for Honeywell Pipes (China) Operations Center U.S., said the show helped promote Honeywell's new HDPE pipe offerings.
“Pipes is the new operation arm of Honeywell," Ding said. "ISH China & CIHE is a highly influential show in the industry and we find it the perfect platform for our debut. The result is very good. Our booth is crowded all the time and too busy even for a staff of nearly 20 members. Visitors mainly come from the HVAC sector, including HVAC companies, decoration houses, distribution channels and HVAC engineers. All of them are our target client groups. Many visitors are pleasantly surprised to see that Honeywell is offering pipes now. They are particularly interested in our newly launched HDPE pipes for fresh air systems and HVAC systems. The show offers a good platform for us to connect to our clients.”
Stephan Paehler, director of business development China, Stiebel Eltron, said they chose to attend in order to help grow their market in China.
“The reason we are participating here is we are well known in Europe and South Asia, but so far we haven’t focused on the Chinese market," Paehler said. "Our international strategy has changed, and we know we need to focus on China as it’s becoming one of the most important markets worldwide. The reason we chose ISH China & CIHE is it’s an international fair, with all the major global brands participating here, so it’s the most important fair in the region that we need to be at. This fair attracts customers from all over China, so it’s a chance for us to show all our products that are suitable for different regions of the country, and to show we have products for every need.”
Visitor feedback
Show attendees such as Valishin Farkhad, head of procurement for Kamolot Istiqlol Komakchisi in Uzbekistan, said they attended in order to see the many options available in the market.
“This fair is definitely useful for sourcing air conditioners — you have all the big companies in the industry here as well as smaller Chinese ones, so there are plenty of different options for us to compare," Farkhad said. "We aren’t looking for suppliers from a particular country, so having the international brands here alongside Chinese companies is useful for us. We’ve found some potential companies we could cooperate with, around five at this stage, and we need to follow up with them after the fair. But we will sign contracts with some of them for sure. We have been able to achieve what we wanted in just one day, so this fair is very efficient and well organised.”
Zhang Xiao Fei, marketing manager for HUNDRED Group, attended the show for the first time this year and said the product selection was "outstanding."
“I am here to look for solutions related to home comfort systems, fresh air systems, water treatment and new energies, and to learn about the latest trends, and at the same time to find quality suppliers," Fei said. "There are many outstanding international and domestic brands featured at the fair. The German Pavilion is particularly impressive with technological advancements. I am able to understand more about the market and connect with potential partners for cooperation. As a result of the clean energy reform carried out by the government, quite a number of energy-saving and green HVAC exhibits are present at the fair. I will visit the show again next year.”
Seminars provide educational opportunities
Speakers like Franck Zhu, Secretary-General, China Mechanical Ventilation Industry Alliance, China also benefited from attending the show.
“It has been a pleasant cooperation between our Alliance and ISH China & CIHE over the past four years," Zhu said. "The show and the iHVAC Forum are increasingly successful every year. This year the Forum recorded a full house again. People are paying explicit attention to the ventilation industry and want to learn more about advanced technologies. Experts from various countries gathered under one roof to share their application experiences which we can adapt to local situations.
"Currently in China, owing to the air pollution problem, fresh air systems are primarily used for air purification, whereas this system is mainly used for building energy efficiency in overseas markets. I believe that the haze problem here will be solved with the joint effort of the government and society. By then, the development of fresh air systems will be back to being used for building energy efficiency.”
Emma Shen, marketing manager, JA Solar Co. Ltd., attended some of the seminars and panel discussions and said she learned quite a bit.
“We are a U.S.-listed company that specializes in photovoltaic products for PV power systems," Shen said. "I attended the ‘Panel Discussion on Clean Energy Heating Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Surrounding Area.’ The result was great. The Panel Discussion gathered government officials from around China who monitor local subsidies, policies and projects. Through the discussion I was able to learn a lot of useful information. It really helps my work since we have to understand the local policies and market before we can bid for their projects.”
ISH China & CIHE 2019
The next ISH China & CIHE will be held May 6-8, 2019. The second ISH event of the year in China, ISH Shanghai & CIHE, will be held Sept. 3-5 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.
For more information about ISH China & CIHE and ISH Shanghai & CIHE, please visit www.ishc-cihe.hk.messefrankfurt.com or email info@ishc-cihe.com.
