Organisers sceptical of Suntec events division

By Patricia Wee SINGAPORE Singapore exhibition organisers view the recent launch of Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre's division in event organisation, Suntec Integrated Media (SIM) coolly. Messe Dusseldorf Asia managing director Mr Gernot Ringling said: "SIM should not compete with existing shows of Suntec customers. I understand their need to fill the halls but I doubt they can do it with niche shows which would hardly reach the size to become a regional event. "I am curious to see how they will manage to avoid clashes with their customers." HQ Link group president Ms Dilys Yong said: "We know a lot of venues are going into this business for the reason of filling up space. We cannot stop them but I do not think they should compete with their customers. "The market is very small and we can't have more than two organisers organising same-industry events. There is already some event duplication." Ms Yong cited the example of PSA 2002, which is organised by her company every even year. This environmental protection/industrial exhibition focuses on pumps, tubes, piping, water and chemical technology but there is also another environmental protection/industrial event which is held every odd year by Singapore Exhibition Services (SES), CIA, EnvironmexAsia and WatermexAsia. "Now a biennial show which was launched in 2001, Water & WasteTech Asia (by SIM) is competing," Ms Dilys added. "SIM has to consider this because the market is not big enough. As for Singapore Expo, it also had to be careful about the shows it wants to organise. There was one event where we almost clashed and it decided not to organise the event." SIM director Mr Roel van Leeuwen said in 2003, Water & WasteTech, will be held in conjunction with Cleaning & Maintenance Asia, Public Design Asia, Energy Management Asia and Facility Management Asia and will attract a very different buyer group from the other two shows handled by SES and HQ Link. "A technician will go to PSA/CIA but a facility manager will not think of going to PSA/CIA. He will send his engineer or technical person there," he said. "We want to approach it from a different angle. As for the exhibitors, they are coming to see a different profile of visitors so, in principle, these shows will not be competing against each other."