The Bauma Exhibition is not unknown to Vest Kran. Vest Kran has participated at the show on several occasions. The show is held every 3 years and the Vest Kran had planned to go when the show was held in 2010. The trip was unfortunately canceled due to the ash cloud from Iceland, but some of our employees chose to defy the forces of nature and drove all the way to Bauma - which tells how exciting this show is.

The Bauma Exhibiton is the largest trade show in the industry. Bauma 2013 was the 30th of its kind,  held on April 15-21. With an exhibition area of 570,000 square meters and 3420 exhibitors the trade fair was of record size.

The major crane manufacturers had the biggest booths, and largest of all was the Liebherr stand at the 14.112 square meters.

- Vest Kran has just bought large quantities of equipment from the crane supplier Liebherr, and we of course visited their stand - We were very well received, and are impressed with what they've got at the exhibition, not to mention the technology and services they provides its customers, says Martinessen.
Vestkran visited many great stands from different suppliers, and was warmly received by all.

Crane vendors were of course of great interest to Vestkran and our representatives had many exciting visits to the various vendors. These include Terex one of Vestkran main suppliers of cranes, where we among other things were greeted by a very helpful team. We also visited Sany, a Chinese crane supplier which is now on its way into the European market, as well as Sennebogen. These are both exciting companies in the industry.

There is a huge range of suppliers that are represented at the fair. This provides a unique opportunity to talk with people from various fields in the industry, including service personnel and designers. In this way we can present and talk about the challenges we face in our daily work.

Vest Kran also visited the stand of the vendor of the software system Vestkran uses in planning and drafting of lifting jobs. This is a unique tool that helps us to carry out detailed planning of lifting operations, which increases the security of the jobs significantly. - We had a very exciting and informative meeting with the software vendor, where we presented our experience and ideas, and discussed the challenges we face here in the North around planning and calculation of our lifting operations. Their system is constantly evolving, and we were updated on the software.

It's easy to get blinded by the size and scope of the show, but the most exciting for us at Vest Kran is of course the fleets of cranes that are presented at the show. There was an aboundment of new and exciting technology that gives us new ideas and thoughts for the future. It is important to keep up to date in an industry that is constantly evolving. At the same time the show is an excellent opportunity to meet business people and network with old and new partners.

The Bauma Exhibition is very popular and attracts everyone in the construction industry. The number of visitors this year was 530,000 people from over 200 different countries and beat all previous records for number of visitors ever.

Vest Kran's representatives were very pleased with the show and have already started the countdown to Bauma 2016. - We are constantly looking to find the best equipment suppliers have to offer to ensure that we can offer our customers the best in lifting technology and security. It is also important to stay informed regarding pricing in the market. With new machines we reduce maintenance time and the chance of any delays, and, in addition, negotiating good prices on equipment will ultimately benefit both us as suppliers and customers.

Bauma is in this respect a great source of inspiration and knowledge about the development in the business of lifting technology, says Martinessen.

Sources:
http://www.byggfakta.no/article/bauma-2013-vellykket-gigantarrangement
http://www.tungt.no/anleggsmagasinet/article796901.ece
http://www.bygg.no/bauma-2013