Exhibitor statements 2010

Annika Windmöller, Marketing Manager, Windmöller Flooring GmbH & Co. KG, Detmold, Germany
"After this crisis year, we are at DOMOTEX 2010 to present some new products. This helps build confidence, and shows our customers we are a reliable, long-term partner. Expanding our network of international commercial contacts is hugely important for us. At DOMOTEX we can compress this process into just a few days."

Johannes Schulte, General Manager, Vorwerk & Co. Teppichwerke GmbH & Co. KG, Hameln, Germany
"Our focus during DOMOTEX 2010 will definitely be on individual presentations of some very specific products. We are looking to intersect with our target group again by conveying more content and emphasizing communication. We are going into 2010 with an attitude of cautious optimism. A business with a clear profile that is looking to intersect with its customers has good prospects for success in the current environment."

Herman Verhelst, Proprietor, Ragolle N.V., Waregem, Belgium
"DOMOTEX is a unique opportunity to display our collection to our customers from around the world. And the response tells us how good our collections are, and how they will be received in the different countries. We come to DOMOTEX to make decisions for the year ahead. The industry is again displaying some optimistic signs; I think the worst is now behind us. Our job now is to set some new product trends and present a diverse range of offerings to send a positive message that we need to rev consumption up again."

Medhat Hassan, Artwork Director, Oriental Weavers, Cairo, Egypt
"We are a company which continues to expand, and that is how we are presenting our business at DOMOTEX 2010 - an extremely important trade fair for us. All our international customers are here at DOMOTEX and can see for themselves what our group has to offer. Visitor traffic was already highly gratifying by the first day, and our visitors have displayed a strong level of interest in our products. Our industry is similar to the fashion industry, with new product innovations every year."

Stephan Naacke, Managing Director, Findeisen GmbH, Ettlingen, Germany
"The new concept of contractworld has succeeded nicely. In particular, the new structure overcomes the reluctance of architects to approach businesses. Our location in the hall has given our companies good access to our typical visitor groups as well as the architects in attendance here, who may have come mainly for the forum."

Volker Kniess, Marketing and Sales Manager, Toucan-T Carpet Manufacture GmbH, Krefeld, Germany
"The product showcase in the new contractworld format has been very successful. The workshop is also a good new feature. Opening the forum has brought real benefits for DOMOTEX. We are happy with the export leads we have generated here. Around 70 percent of our customers are from abroad."

Emmanuel Lioen, Marketing Manager, Beaulieu International Group, Wielsbeke, Belgium
"At DOMOTEX we can get the kind of product exposure in just four days that would otherwise take four months of business trips to find out. And thanks to the instant feedback, we know after just two days whether a particular innovation is likely to be successful. Our customers take advantage of our presentation to pick up on the latest trends. Green issues are still very much on the agenda: the demand is for natural colors and sustainable recycled materials."

Ivo Schintz, Vice President Northern Europe/General Manager, Tarkett Holding GmbH, Frankenthal, Germany
"DOMOTEX 2010 is a vital part of our communication mix. We had very high customer traffic at our stand this year. There was a huge amount of interest in our product innovations. The show has helped us get off to a good start in 2010."

Franky Terrijn, Marketing Manager, Spanolux (Divisie Balterio), Sint-Baafs-Vijve, Belgium
"DOMOTEX is a key global fair for us. This is where we unveil our new series and collections and present new decors, and where customers can see our product innovations. We had a high rate of customer traffic at our stand this year, with big visitor numbers even in the morning. Every year this fair provides an excellent platform for expanding our network of international contacts."

Dr. Adriana Spazzoli, Operational Marketing & Communication Director, Mapei S.p.A, Milan, Italy
"DOMOTEX is the flagship tradeshow for the flooring sector. You come here to assert yourself and measure yourself against the competition. More competitors means more visitors. Our main focus is on customers from other European countries, but China and the Arab nations are also developing into important markets for us."

Karleugen Lägler, General Manager, Lägler GmbH, Güglingen, Germany
"DOMOTEX is the industry's international networking hub. Visitor numbers at our stand have been outstanding right from the start. We generated new leads and met our established customers by the first day. In terms of foreign business, our products seem to appeal most to the northern European countries."

Radka Hnizdilová, Marketing Manager, Magnum Parkett, Vyskov, Czech Republic
"We have had a successful start, winning many new customers and generating some valuable leads. This creates a positive feeling at the start of the new financial year. We presented our full product range here to whet the appetite of the international market for our product innovations."

Franz Neuhofer, General Manager, Neuhofer Holz GmbH, Zell am Moss, Austria
"DOMOTEX is the ideal customer forum for us. We meet all the important decision-makers here in Hannover, and we have had a lot of excellent meetings this year. 80 percent of the people we are talking to are established clients, and around 20 percent are new customers. That's a good ratio as far as we are concerned. We see DOMOTEX as a place to generate new business."

Marcus Schrubba, Brand Manager Thomsit, Henkel AG & Co KGaA, Düsseldorf, Germany
"DOMOTEX is a unique opportunity for us to showcase our new products to a broad international audience of potential customers - so we are here with a whole raft of innovations. That has brought a lot of visitors to our stand, the expected mix of long-standing, new and international customers. Germany is our main market, but this year we have also registered a strong interest in our products from abroad. The mood on the stand and among our customers is very positive. The atmosphere is excellent."

Frank Gebhardt, Marketing Manager, Bona Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH, Limburg, Germany
"Hannover is consistently a wonderful fair venue for us - a place to meet existing and potential customers from all around the world. The atmosphere in these huge trade fair halls is excellent. We have successfully achieved our aim of presenting our product innovations to the market. We have used our stand as an open communication forum, and have had some excellent interactions and meetings. And we were able to showcase the quality of our products on our show stage. The fair has definitely been a success as far as we are concerned."

Mirco Schäpe, Marketing Manager, Witex Flooring Products GmbH, Augustdorf, Germany
"DOMOTEX remains our key trade fair for winning new customers. Our approach to the crisis is to counterattack. Our motto is, 'There may be a crisis, but it's got nothing to do with us.' Our innovative, click-fitted concrete floor product is getting an excellent response from the market. All the feedback has been positive, and here we are even talking to customers about ways to further develop the product."

Jan Kath, General Manager & Art Director, Jan Kath Design GmbH, Bochum, Germany
"We see DOMOTEX as an indicator for the coming year. This is our barometer, showing us which products are going to be particularly popular with customers, and what is going to be successful in the marketplace. We have had excellent numbers of customers visiting the stand, including international retailers, new retailer partners and architects and designers."

Sascha Mischioff, General Manager, Mischioff AG, Zurich, Switzerland
"This is our 22nd DOMOTEX, and we are happy with the ways things have gone. In other words, we will definitely be back next year. Our customer numbers have been excellent. Best of all has been the large number of international customers and potential customers visiting the stand. DOMOTEX remains the world's most important carpet fair as far as we are concerned, because it is still the biggest event of its type. We have also been delighted with the new hall allocation concept. This has generated more energetic business activity, with far more synergies between individual stands."

Sabine Börger, Head Design Department, Arte Espina, Venlo, Netherlands
"The visual look of an exhibition stand is vital to generating customer interest, so we put a lot of effort into our stand design. At DOMOTEX 2010 we are again presenting a wide range of products. As a response to the proverbial crisis, the trend in the collections is towards bold splashes of color. People are looking to make their homes cozier and more comfortable again."

Bernd Cooretvits, Marketing Manager, Lano N.V., Harelbeke, Belgium
"DOMOTEX is definitely a barometer for us - an indicator of how customers are likely to respond to our products, and we develop our strategy accordingly. 2010 will not be an easy year in the industry, but we can have a positive impact with new product developments."

Johannes Schulte, General Manager, MeisterWerke Schulte GmbH, Rüthen, Germany
"I have been pleasantly surprised at the high numbers of visitors at this year's DOMOTEX, and especially at our stand. And I am delighted with the strong representation of export customers. The people here are mainly professionals from the trade, which is exactly our target group."

M.R. Nobari, Proprietor, Djavad Nobari, Hamburg, Germany
"DOMOTEX is a key event for us - an ideal opportunity to stimulate customer curiosity regarding our product range. In just four days we gather information that would otherwise take three or four months of travel all around the world to compile. The new hall allocation concept makes the exhibition layout clearer. We are happy with the way things have gone."

Sabine Burkhard-Dürr, Communication Manager, Armstrong DLW GmbH, Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany
"At DOMOTEX 2010 we had an excellent response to our approach of getting visitors interactively involved at our stand. They were invited to put together their own linoleum composition, as a 'hands-on' customer experience. We have had more architects at our stand than before due to contractworld, and our interactive approach has really gone down well with them. A product you can touch and try out for yourself stimulates people's interest."

Additional press releases as well as digital images are available for downloading at www.domotex.de/pressservice