A+A 2011 with Partner Country Poland – a High Potential Market           

18 to 21 October 2011 will see A+A in Düsseldorf (Germany), the leading international event for Safety, Security and Health at Work (Trade Fair + Congress), ring in the “home stretch” in view of the highly ambitious aims pursued by the European Union for the period 2007 to 2012. With its Community Strategy on Health and Safety at the Workplace the EU aims to reduce the number of occupational accidents by 25% by 2012. There are still around 4 million accidents occurring at the workplace across Europe every year.

Against this background experts from the areas of occupational safety and workplace security management are anxiously looking forward to A+A. The event is the central meeting point for market leaders in this field and for national and international institutions and at the same time Europe’s largest discussion forum for safe and healthy workplaces. Even during the economic and financial crisis the A+A held every two years achieved record figures – recently boasting over 1,500 exhibitors from 62 nations and to the tune of 56,000 trade visitors and 5,000 congress delegates. Underlining this outstanding position, Joachim Schäfer, Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf, said: “No other sectoral event offers such a complete overview of the latest products and services and provides so much impetus through the expert exchange among specialists as the global No. 1 fair in this field, the A+A.”

At A+A 2009 an information event dealing with developments in the market for personal protective equipment in Russia met with a very positive response from the international audience. Following on from the resounding success of this event now a country with comparatively high market potential and very ambitious aims in terms of cutting occupational accident figures and increasing the quality of work will be “officially flagged up” for A+A 2011: Poland!

“Poland has initiated a comprehensive reform programme to create more and better jobs. The results are now already visible. While labour productivity in 2003 still stood at 62% of the EU average, only four years later this figure had already improved to 67%,” says Joachim Schäfer stressing the success and commitment to change in Poland.

With 15.9 million workers Poland achieved a new record high in 2009. Its economic growth rates have been above the European average over the past few years anyway. “Especially the construction sector and industrial production proved to be engines for growth – both being sectors of industry with particularly “protection-intense” jobs,” says Birgit Horn, Director at Messe Düsseldorf for A+A 2011, accounting for the high demand for personal protective equipment and the strong interest Poland is taking in A+A as a platform for products and services revolving around safety and health at work.

Apart from this, Europe – and not only amongst experts from the realm of occupational safety and health – is looking to Poland for another important reason. In the second half of the year Poland will take over EU presidency therefore holding it during the A+A 2011.

To Managing Director Joachim Schäfer at Messe Düsseldorf Poland is therefore also the “logical” partner country for this year’s A+A: “Everyone is anxious to see what impulses will be generated by Polish EU presidency, for instance in view of the EU Economic Programme Europe 2020 for Sustainable Growth, More Quality of Life and Equal Working Conditions Across Borders.”

In addition to a joint stand organised by Polish exhibitors and the visit of a high-ranking political delegation, an information and discussion event on the Polish market for personal protective equipment has also been planned as a fixture for the supporting programme of A+A 2011.