Why the 11th MTQ trade fair for materials testing, metrology and quality management is not only extremely important for the regions of western and north-western Germany ...

Frickenhausen, 31 November 2005 – Private trade fair promoter P. E. Schall GmbH will present the MTQ trade fair for materials testing, metrology and quality management at Westfalenhallen in Dortmund for the 11th time in a row from the 14th through the 17th of November, 2006. According to project manager Gitta Schlaak, all of the companies who exhibited in 2004 have once again made firm bookings, and great demand is also apparent where planned participation of new companies is concerned. Thus the MTQ is once again defying the general trend at its tried and true location in Dortmund, i.e. the significant decreases in exhibitor numbers which have been evident at Germany’s large “international” trade fair venues for years. The broad mix of marketing instruments and rising marketing costs are prompting companies – be they dealers or manufacturers – to rethink their marketing strategies more than ever before, and to seriously question the efficiency of the large shows. As a logical consequence, companies are concentrating their presence and their exhibition activities where the market responds with adequate feedback.

This is not only explained by economically difficult times, but rather by the changing information gathering and procurement habits demonstrated by potential customers, who above all are represented by the expert visitors who attend a trade fair. However, only a few employees from any given company still enjoy the privilege of visiting trade fairs at the international level in order to gather information. On the other hand, decision makers at the practical level have only a limited amount of time, as well as a small budget, and are thus unable to travel great distances. The promoters of MTQ recognised these practical necessities many years ago and brought the offerings to the market with their event, instead of obliging potential customers to make expensive travel plans. Expert visitors and exhibitors alike have pursued a strategy of strict closeness to the market and the customers, and are continuing to do so to an ever greater extent, because tough competition demands on-site presence.

Greatest importance is not placed upon large numbers of exhibitors and visitors, but rather upon quality in the form of promising contacts and concrete RFQs for lasting post-event business. The MTQ has rightfully earned its reputation as an information and procurement platform in direct proximity to the market and the customers, which is not least a result of long-term participation by most of the exhibitors right from the very beginning. The MTQ embodies more than just a representative cross-section of international offerings in the fields of materials testing, metrology and quality management hardware and software. It saves expert visitors from the Rhine-Ruhr region, as well as bordering regions to the west and northwest, the trouble of travelling all the way to southern Germany or to other countries, and thus compensates for any “location disadvantages”. The exhibitors have adequate presentation possibilities at their disposal upon which great importance is placed by customers from the region, with whom direct contact can thus be established every two years for the benefit of all.

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