Platform on civil engineering, underground infrastructure, energy, construction equipment & construction machinery
Last week the annual trade fair Aqua Netherlands took place in Evenementenhal Gorinchem. This year was a festive anniversary edition to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the renowned Aqua Netherlands. At the trade fair for the entire water chain, over 6,200 water professionals came to see the products, services and innovations at nearly 300 exhibitors. The extensive knowledge program with 70 knowledge sessions was well attended. Over 50% of the exhibitors have already fixed their stands for 2024.
"The ratings do not lie: with a 7.6 from exhibitors and a 7.7 from visitors, we look back very positively and proudly on three successful days of the fair. With over 6,200 quality visitors and almost half of the exhibitors committing to participating again in 2024, it shows that the market has confidence in this platform. The introduction of the revamped upper floor Next Level and its concept in 2022 is bearing fruit. Downstairs in the hall, visitors could visit the "marketplace" where supply and demand of products and services meet. And at Next Level, visitors found the supply in knowledge, innovations, advice and careers. Towards 2024 we will build on this," says Account Manager Esther Rodenburg of Aqua Netherlands.
With a good base of suppliers on the exhibition floor, there was also a wide range of other attractions. New this year was the Vacancy Plaza from H2O Watervacancies and WaterJobs, among others, and also the Innovation Street was again organized together with Water Alliance. InfraCampus-IKN was also present again with a member street and there was a joint Aqua Business Lounge with the fair partners Water Alliance and NWP, each of which organized their own activities at the fair, such as the successful mini-symposium on micro-pollution, walk-in consultations with the Innovation Broker, among others, and the Match & Meet lunch.
Robin Vissers, Marketing Event Manager of Aqua Netherlands: "There was a huge range of knowledge on offer. With 70 knowledge sessions divided between the WaterTheater, the Urban WaterTheater, the Foyer and the Congress Halls, there was plenty of knowledge for every visitor. Independent knowledge partners such as KWR, KNW, Stichting RIONED, STOWA, Water Alliance and more discussed the latest developments in the water sector. The theaters were very well attended and we will further strengthen and expand the collaborations with these partners in coming editions." The Water Theater was divided into Process Water Tuesday, Water Board Wednesday and Drinking Water Thursday and the Urban Water Theater dealt with themes focused on climate, sewer management and urban water.
In the conference hall, ELIQUO together with the Union of Water Boards and Reinier van den Berg provided the well-attended session for the water boards on climate change due to methane emissions. Platform DIO was also present and provided a number of professional training sessions in the Foyer. Like last edition, KNW provided the Student Program to enthuse young talent for the water sector.
Rodenburg: "This edition is a nice springboard to the next edition, in which we want to strengthen the knowledge offering, ensure a quality range of exhibitors and further expand the offering at Next Level." Vissers adds: "In the coming months, we will make an accurate analysis based on the statistics and survey results to further improve the quality of the fair. We will maintain our focus on the four water pillars of Waste Water, Drinking Water, Process Water and Urban Water & Sewer Management by putting together an attractive knowledge program for each target group on both a practical and knowledge content level. During Aqua Netherlands the entire water sector comes together, therefore we offer industry parties the opportunity to organize separate knowledge events with us to counteract fragmentation in the market. This makes it more efficient for visitors to visit both the marketplace with products and the knowledge platform on one day." The next edition of Aqua Netherlands will take place on March 19, 20 and 21, 2024.
