Our impressions from R+T 2024 in Stuttgart
In the second half of February, the city of Stuttgart in south-west Germany hosted Europe’s largest trade fair for shading technology, R+T. It is held regularly every three years, but the last edition in 2021 was only online due to the Covid pandemic. The expectations were even higher this year – was the fair able to meet them?
The first part of our team arrived in Stuttgart already a week before the official start so that we could build, set up and fine-tune our stand with enough time to spare. It was 156 m2, designed for us by the architectural studio VRTIŠKA & ŽÁK, and since it was the most elaborate stand at any trade fair in our history, we had high hopes for the event.
However, the booth was only a backdrop for the main thing we came to show at R+T this year – our new zip screen. We have been working on its development for more than two years and we have managed to create a product that is absolutely pure in design, suitable for family houses and pergolas. Judging by the reactions of the screen, our partners and competitors are impressed and we are looking forward to starting mass production.
In addition to the new zip screen, we also showed our external blinds and accessories at the stand, demonstrated the Somfy TaHoma Switch control system, or gave visitors a glimpse into our production via virtual reality.
Tens of thousands of visitors and a great atmosphere
According to official statistics, 61,332 people from 146 countries visited the five-day fair and 1,020 companies exhibited there. In terms of numbers, it was virtually identical to the last live fair in 2018, which the organisers consider to be a success, as fair attendance is experiencing more of a decline in the post-covid era.
Compared to previous R+T fairs, which were often based mainly on novelties and innovations, this year we noticed a slightly different atmosphere. The central theme of the fair was sustainability and yes, there were undoubtedly some innovative products. However, from our point of view, people mainly wanted to meet, talk, share experiences, and gather contacts. The mood in all halls was very relaxed and friendly.
We ourselves welcomed hundreds of companies, partners, colleagues and competitors to our stand. Many came to us only on recommendation, even though they had never heard of us before. We couldn’t have asked for better advertising.
“For us, the fair was the culmination of many months of preparation and the result of several smaller projects – we presented a new and modern face of NEVA, a new product, new printed materials, a 360° VR tour of production, supporting videos or a clothing collection. All this against the backdrop of a design stand by VRTIŠKA & ŽÁK studio. We have managed to get a huge number of new contacts that we will be working with in the coming months. We will see the business results in a year, a year and a half, but we already consider our participation a great success,” says our CMO Miloslav Matoušek.
We would like to thank everyone who came to Stuttgart to see us, or at least followed us remotely on the web and social media. And we are already looking forward to what R+T 2027 will bring.
