PHOTO COURTESY METSTRADE

Marine equipment trade show Metstrade yesterday announced record attendance for the 35th installment of the show in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Show management reported record numbers including 1,540 exhibitors — 240 of them new — and visitors from 53 countries. Additionally, the show hosted 28,900 visits from 18,630 visitors spanning 130 nationalities.

Croatia was the latest nation to launch a pavilion, bringing the total number of country pavilions to 29 representing 19 nationalities. The number of segment pavilions rose this year, with foiling technology and start-ups drawing steady crowds. Luca Rizzotti, founder of the Foiling Organization and We Are Foiling events said he received many commitments from exhibitors for the 2024 show and the Start-Up Pavilion had similar positive reactions.

“It is an absolute privilege to have the heritage and strong bow wave of positive sentiment from 34 editions behind us, but we take nothing for granted,” Metstrade director Niels Klarenbeek said in a statement. “The marine industry is moving at an incredible pace to address the many opportunities and challenges set before it. We were pleased to play our part for this 35th anniversary edition by offering several well received new features targeted at sustainability, people, skills, inclusivity and innovation.”

The Metstrade theater hosted ICOMIA’s decarbonization study as well as the Next Generation Propulsion Zone and the DAME Awards display showcased 53 contending products. James Ward, CEO and founder of Marine Resources, said there was good foot traffic in the Young Professionals Club and Career Zone.

“The biggest takeaway is that there’s a real community of young professionals at Metstrade,” he said. “They have an appetite to get together, benefit from career development activity and enjoy networking opportunities. We’re excited by the positive feedback this year and look forward to working with young professionals at METSTRADE in the future.”

“Our team is committed to ensure that Metstrade facilitates the connections and business required for a successful year ahead,” Klarenbeek said in the statement. “Without the underpinning creativity and enterprise of the supply chain, we have no marine industry. Our 2023 numbers are impressive, but they don’t tell the whole story. We are particularly grateful to have received so much positive feedback about the quality of the interactions between our audience and exhibitors over an extremely busy three days.”