ISH China-CIHE Focuses On Sustainability

Renewable energy and water conservation are hot topics in China.

The first ISH China-CIHE combined show in Beijing drew more than 28,000 visitors with more than 700 exhibitors on hand.

Photo credit: Messe Frankfurt/ISH China.

Expand it and they will come. Place an emphasis on sustainability and energy conservation and they will come.

That was definitely the case at theISH China & CIHE-China International Trade Fair for Heating, Sanitation and Air-Conditioning held March 3-5 in Beijing. The inaugural show was the result of the merger of ISH China and the China International Heating, Ventilation & Air-conditioning Expo.

The merger of the two shows resulted in a record 14,774 visitors at the first day of the event. More than 700 exhibitors filled 10 exhibition halls on the grounds of the China International Exhibition Center.

The event drew 28,252 total visitors with more than 26,000 coming from the local area. Fifty-two countries and regions had representation.

Plenty of eye-catching products were displayed including this Fagor wall-hung boiler. Photo credit: Mike Miazga.

In addition to an impressive turnout, the expo was brimming with a renewable energy vibe. The well-attended Sino European Congress featured different speakers with a theme of “Modern Energy Saving Concepts and Technologies For HVAC Technology.” The sessions filled a large conference room on the grounds to near capacity and a healthy number of attendees were folks of younger ages who took the time to learn more about the industry and its future technologies.

The second day featured an interesting seminar entitled “Modern Home Decoration Trend Forum.” Just like the previous day’s session, this seminar hammered home the importance of water conservation and the use of green initiatives in building design. Once again, the room was filled with a younger, local crowd.

One stat of staggering note presented during Grohe’s portion of the presentation reveals the bottled water industry consumes some 1.5 metric tons of plastics per year - a large part of which remains unrecycled and ends up in landfills. It takes 7 liters of water to produce 1 liter of bottled water.

Show-goers were treated to an exhibit layout separated by product categories. One hall was entirely devoted to boilers (wall-hung boilers were in abundance), while another featured heat exchangers and heat meters. Radiators filled three halls. An increased number of sanitation, kitchen and bathroom exhibitors occupied the Sanitation Zone, including U.S.-based Speakman Co.

A number of U.S.-based companies had a presence at the show, including Speakman Co. Photo credit: Messe Frankfurt/ISH China.

“The fair enables us to stand out among well-established brands,” Speakman Vice President of OperationsTeresa Hangstates. “We met a number of agents who are interested in our products.”

Other U.S. manufacturers on hand included A.O. Smith, Weil-McLain, Honeywell, Marley, Tyco, SmartHeat, Tranter, Grinnell, ITT, Delphi and Watts.

Luxury sports car maker Lamborghini was there as well, displaying its line of heating-related products, including boilers.

The expo halls spanned 48,000 square meters (516,668 square feet), including a special European pavilion with 13 exhibitors.

A steady dose of added pageantry made the expo even more enjoyable thanks to people dressed up in either vendor mascot costumes (an elephant, a Martian and a yellow sun head were seen) or in popular cartoon character garb (multiple Mickey and Minnie Mouse outfits). There was even a cardboard boiler with legs walking around during the well-done opening ceremonies. Several booths blared catchy music, while a couple had live bands playing.

Last year’s ISH China show had more than 300 exhibitors and has now swollen to more than 700 thanks to ISH and CIHE joining forces.

With a global emphasis on topics such as energy efficiency and water conservation, the demand will continue to be strong in the years to come for the products and concepts these exhibitors displayed in Bejing.

Looking ahead, the 2012 ISH China & CIHE show will be held April 2-4 at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing.

For more on the show, visitwww.ishc-cihe.com.

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Mike Miazga (former group editorial director for BNP Media’s Plumbing Group) is now the vice president of sales/membership at the American Supply Association (ASA). Supply House Times is proud to be the official publication and brand of the ASA — a relationship that spans more than a decade.

Mike’s relationship with BNP Media and the Plumbing Group continues today. He now writes a monthly ASA-focused column for Supply House Times and acts as an editorial consultant to BNP Media’s Plumbing Group.

In his 10-plus years at BNP Media, Miazga was senior editor of Plumbing & Mechanical and PM Engineer before taking over chief editor duties at Supply House Times in 2011. In addition to his role as editorial director, Miazga continued as Supply House Times chief editor and the editor of the American Supply Association’s PVF Outlook eNewsletter. He also enjoyed three stints as PM Engineer’s chief editor, holding dual roles as Supply House Times and PM Engineer chief editor on two occasions.

Miazga started his career in newspapers at the age of 19 and has more than 25 years of newsroom, management, editorial and public/media relations experience, and is a former high-school baseball and golf head varsity coach. Mike and his family are still based out of the Chicago area (with ASA Headquarters in Itasca, Illinois). You can reach Mike at PlumbingGroup89@gmail.com.