Feature
The home
of global
industry
When Europe’s largest
breakbulk exhibition left the
Port of Antwerp, Easyfairs
saw a gap in the market for an
ambitious new launch…
S
ometimes in life an opportunity
arises that seems too good to pass
up, and this is exactly what happened
when ITE Group’s Breakbulk Europe
outgrew its home at Antwerp Expo and
moved to Messe Bremen.
Easyfairs, which owns Antwerp
Expo, realised that the chance to launch
an event in the home of breakbulk –
cargo which is too large for shipping
containers – was too good to pass up.
And so, Antwerp XL was born as an
event focusing solely on the relatively
small, niche section of the shipping and
logistics industry.
The Port of Antwerp is Europe’s
second-largest seaport and a well-
established breakbulk industry hub, so
one of the first steps, says event manager
Sophie McKimm, was getting the port
on board.
“They were supporting the event
22 — July
and very influential at the show,” she
tells EN. The event welcomed Jacques
Vandermeiren, CEO of the Port of
Antwerp, for the opening ceremony,
who commented: “Breakbulk is back in
Antwerp, it’s come home.”
As with any launch event, it was
important to get the industry’s major
stakeholders and media on board, which
meant that the Easyfairs team set off
all over the world, having those all-
important face-to-face conversations.
“It was a face-to-face sell, and
a passion sell as well,” continues
McKimm. “I think people really bought
into us and what we were doing for the
community. We were bringing a show
back to its roots.
“A big challenge was competing
against a large show that had been there
for years. The majority of the industry
go to that show, so we had to try and
change people’s habits and get them to
take a risk.”
Being both venue owner and organiser
had its advantages, while there was still
a tenancy cost it was very much a team
effort, with all Easyfairs employees
pulling for a successful event.
“We all wanted the show to work,”
says McKimm. “There was a lot of
morale and support for the show because
people knew it was a challenge.”
There were over 50 countries
represented on the show floor, and
similar to many shows aimed at an
international audience, networking
was a hugely important component
of Antwerp XL. The exhibition and
conference are both paid-for events,
ensuring a committed audience attend,
and the show kicked off with an evening
networking event on the show floor. On
the second night attendees congregated
in Antwerp’s main square for further
hospitality.
“Because it’s a global industry it’s built
on trust,” explains McKimm. “If I have
cargo that I’m shipping from Antwerp to
Australia I may not have met the person
accepting the cargo in Australia. These
events bring people together, so that
they can meet and build trust and have
the dialogue that maybe they wouldn’t
have in everyday work. It’s through
those meetings that they decide to do
business.”
The final challenge involved in the
Antwerp XL launch was the proximity
to Breakbulk Europe. As the show was
filling the tenancy gap left by the ITE
event’s departure, the two exhibitions
took place just two weeks apart.
In the end, the numbers speak for
themselves. The event attracted 3,189
top industry decisionmakers from
around the world and saw a rebook
of over 100 per cent, as exhibitors
demonstrated their faith in the bright
future of Antwerp XL. EN