Largest green fair Benelux busy with preparations

With the upcoming GroenTechniek Holland (GTH) trade fair in prospect, its organization is already in full swing. This fair, which is the largest in the Benelux countries, will be held in September for the second time in combination with AgroTechniek Holland (ATH). In any case, the run-up to it will be a lot less hectic than that of 2022, says fair manager Willem Bierema. "We had just come out of corona then, which meant we had to put together a huge trade fair in a very short time. We don't suffer from that now, fortunately."

For Bierema, the choice to organize the GTH jointly with the ATH was actually quite simple. "Both exhibitions fell within the organization of Fedecom so we had good insight into the visitor and exhibitor population. We saw that there was a lot of duplication. Think of agricultural contractors who also worked a lot in the green sector or landscapers who wanted a large tractor that was previously more for agriculture. It all became a bit more diffuse and that's something you have to capitalize on as a trade show organizer." 

This turned out very well. The fair was particularly well attended in 2022. For the upcoming fair, the organization can once again count on great interest among exhibitors. Due in part to an early-booking campaign that ended March 1, a good portion of the booths have already been booked. "Good use has been made of this early-booking period," Bierema believes. "We are already at more than 80%." This benefits not only exhibitors but also the organization. "For us it is pleasant because it allows us to draw in the floor plan early. In doing so, we take experiences from the last edition to make improvements in the walking route. For dynamics, we will also give exhibitors a different place." Besides old acquaintances, Bierema also sees newcomers coming to the fair. "I already see some new entrepreneurs among them, but I expect even more registrations later in the year. That's really nice to see."

As always, there will be a lot to see and experience, including the presentation of the innovation awards the Golden Clover Four, the Bronze Crescent and the audience awards. But also the As-good-as-new pavilion with young used machines and the theme pavilions will be back at the trade fair. "For this year, clean and emission-free construction for vegetable technology is the theme. That used to be zero emission, but we now want to broaden that. Regulations around everything to do with construction, such as road, water or housing construction are getting stricter. So if there are requirements regarding noise emissions, emissions or nitrogen, then technical innovations for that will be built from within the sector to make such a project successful."

The huge lawn in Biddinghuizen offers enough space for several demonstration plots where the latest techniques can be shown and tried out. "Think of the mowing robots from vegetable technology. This is now also emerging in agriculture, so we will put an autonomous robot and implement pavilion there where you can see the latest innovations from agrotechnology. Then you have to think about drones, sensors and robots. We will also invite political parties and policy makers to that, so we can show that the sector has solutions to problems that politicians are now facing. With these themed pavilions, we always want to bring current and innovative information and inspiration to visitors. This is also the reason why we only organize the trade fair once every two years. This gives everyone time to really show new things."  

The GroenTechniek Holland and AgroTechniek Holland trade fairs will take place on Wednesday, September 11 through Saturday, September 14, 2024 at the fairgrounds in Biddinghuizen.