Expocentre opens the 22nd International Exhibition Mebel'2010
On November 22 Expocentre held an opening ceremony of the 22nd International Exhibition for Furniture, Fittings and Upholstery Mebel'2010. It is Russia's largest and world leading show of the furniture industry.
Mebel is the most significant Expocentre project, whose high status is confirmed by the approval labels of UFI – the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, and RUEF – the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs. This year the exhibition had grown by 10–12 %, having nearly reached the pre-crisis level, as Nikolay N. Gusev, First Deputy General Director of Expocentre, stated during the opening ceremony. Mebel'2010 welcomes participation of 1,000 companies from 29 countries. The exhibition presents national displays of Bulgaria, Germany, Egypt, Spain, Italy, Romania, Croatia and France. Russia's participation is the most representative one. 640 domestic companies from 125 cities representing all regions of Russia display their best products occupying 60 % of the whole exposition.
The exhibition is run with support from the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation. On behalf of the Ministry, Valeriy A. Prilipov, Deputy Head of the Forestry Agency of the Forest and Light Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, welcomed the Mebel'2010 participants and visitors. Mr. Prilipov said that furniture was the timber processing industry’s end product which aroused interest not only among experts of the filed but also among a wide range of buyers. That makes the exhibition even more popular.
Head of the Russian Federation Federal Assembly State Duma Industry Committee Administration Vladimir N. Khomyakov also mentioned the Mebel exhibition’s rich and relevant thematic line which is familiar and interesting to each of us.
The Mebel'2010 show is held under the auspices of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation and the Government of Moscow. On behalf of the RF CCI administration and its President Evgeniy M.Primakov, Igor A. Korotin, Director of the RF CCI Department of Exhibitions and Fairs, addressed the visitors to the opening ceremony. He said that Mebel was an exhibition for those who were interested in increasing manufacture on the basis of innovative high technologies, in saturating the market with quality furniture production.
The Mebel'2010 show is organized with the assistance and participation of industry unions and associations. Welcoming the exhibition participants, President of the Association of Furniture Manufacturing and Woodworking Enterprises Valentin I.Zverev noted that within its thirty year history, Mebel had remained the main exhibition platform providing furniture manufacturers and their partners with the most comprehensive information on the industry situation. The Mebel exhibition is an important tool to boost the production at the market. Participation of a great number of leading foreign furniture manufacturers offers opportunities for cooperation development.
General Director of Centrlesexpo OAO, Vice President of the Russian Union of Timber Industrialists and Exporters Timur R. Irtuganov also emphasized importance of the exhibition’s competitive component paying attention to the fact that expositions of Russian companies ranked with foreign ones by scale and quality.
Italy presents the largest exposition among the foreign ones. On the area of 5,000 sq. m 130 well-known Italian furniture companies, united for a single national display, showcase high quality products and refined Italian style.
The Mebel exhibition reflects condition, trends, preferences of the Russian consumer, which is the most exacting one in the world, as Umberto Vattani, President of the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE), said. That is of great importance for Italian manufacturers, as Russia is the largest Italian furniture importer, ranking No. 4 in the total volume of Italian furniture export and No. 1 among non-EU countries.
For the 15th time companies from Spain participate in the Mebel show within the national display format. «We choose this exhibition as it is the most significant and prestigious one», Head of Trade and Economic Department of the Spanish Embassy in Moscow Javier Burgos Belaskoain said at the opening ceremony. “The crisis affected the furniture industry and it is to impulse its development. We are optimistic about future all the more so, as the following 2011 year is declared as the year of Spain in Russia and the year of Russia in Spain. Within this year there are planned lots of important state-level events, including exhibition activities”.
In the opening ceremony of the 22nd International Exhibition Mebel'2010 there also participated the following officials: General Director of Centromebel, JSC Alexey G. Mityukov, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Italy in Moscow Vittorio Claudio Surdo, Director of the Moscow Office of the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE) Roberto Pelo and other special guests.