EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
#Chillventa2018:
A South African editor’s (non)-executive summary
By Ilana Koegelenberg
Only during my third trip to the impressive Chillventa exhibition in Nuremberg, Germany,
did I finally realise why their theme of ‘Connecting Experts’ was not only fitting, but also
invaluable for anyone working in HVAC&R.
“Chillventa is once again impressively
underscoring its role as the most important
gathering for the international refrigeration
community, including the segments AC,
ventilation, and heat pumps.”
That is the real essence of the tale that
follows. This time, Chillventa was about
a feeling; an excitement; an incredible
energy in the halls of a happy industry.
Things may seem tough back home, but
the HVAC&R world is thriving out there.
Hopefully it comes our way soon too.
MY VERSION
Lydia Matthäus-Wiltink of shecco (left) receives her hard copies of Cold Link Africa with the
FRIGAIR ATMOsphere event on the cover. Here with Alessia Rubatto of shecco, too.
A REAL EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
If I had to write a real executive summary,
it would read:
Chillventa is an incredibly enriching
experience and you should definitely try
to attend it at least once if you have the
opportunity. It gathers people from so many
areas of expertise and so many countries
in one venue. You can see so much. You
can learn so much. You can connect with
others, your peers, and benchmark yourself
and get inspired with new ideas for the
future. Chillventa is what you make of it, but
it has the potential for so much.
In terms of what I saw in 2018 in
particular: The HVAC&R industry is
spending a lot of money and manpower
on R&D and coming up with incredibly
My first Chillventa in 2014 was all about
getting lost; 2016 taught me the value
of over-planning; 2018 was all about
the connections. It’s people — and not
companies — who keep this industry
together.
Here follows my not-so-short executive
summary of the people of Chillventa.
Thank you to everyone who made the
2018 show what it was. Our industry is filled
with amazing characters.
Is it even still necessary for me to add
the usual disclaimer about how there
will never be enough time (or enough
pages in this magazine) for me to give a
comprehensive report back on what I saw
(or didn’t see)? With so much happening
at the same time, no two people would’ve
had the same Chillventa experience.
Here follows mine.
F
rom 16 to 18 October 2018, Chillventa
transformed the Nürnberg exhibition
venue into the number one gathering
place for the international refrigeration,
AC, ventilation, and heat pump
community.
Our industry is built on relationships and
connections — Chillventa magnified that
on a global scale. With so much of our
equipment being imported and so many
of our standards and regulations modelled
on international equivalents, it’s events like
Chillventa that truly give you the bigger
picture of where we came from and
where we are going.
Chillventa 2018 seemed even more
amazing than any of the previous editions I
had attended. Looking at the official post-
show report, it is clear that this sentiment
was shared by the organisers as well. They
have declared the event “a resounding
success” with an impressive 10% visitor
increase to 35 490 trade visitors. Add a 4%
exhibitor increase to 1 019 (2% floorspace
increase) and an impressive 20% delegate
increase for the congress that took place
the day before, and you can see why
everyone is so positive about this show.
“It wasn’t just the numbers that
impressed industry professionals but above
all, the fantastic atmosphere in the halls
where experts came together with other
experts,” said Daniela Heinkel, exhibition
director Chillventa at NürnbergMesse.
12
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
COLD LINK AFRICA • January/February 2019