“A manifestation in sustainable construction”

56,745 people visited this year’s Nordbygg, held on the 20-23 March 2012 at Stockholmsmässan in Älvsjö, Sweden. They came to an exhibition center packed to the rafters with around 900 exhibitors from more than 30 countries. There were also some interesting contributions to the energy debate.

In addition to around 75,000 square meters of exhibition space with new products, systems and solutions, Nordbygg 2012 offered a whole series of seminars, special events and award ceremonies.

“This year’s fair turned out to be a fantastic manifestation of sustainable construction. A very large proportion of the stands featured innovations of a sustainable nature. Most of the special events and seminars also focused on sustainable construction. Sustainability has now become a serious reality in everyday construction – this is extremely encouraging,” comments Peter Söderberg, Event Manager for Nordbygg.

“It had about 2,000 fewer visitors than the previous Nordbygg held in 2010. But most of the exhibitors I have spoken to reported fast-paced networking and business, and said they had met many visitors who were decision-makers with purchasing needs.”

Great interest in sustainable systems
One exhibitor which attracted a great deal of interest was the Saint Gobain Group.
Nordbygg 2012 signaled the start of an in-depth collaboration between the six companies belonging to the Saint-Gobain Group. For the first time, Ecophon, Emmaboda Glas, Gyproc, ISOVER, Norton and Weber were exhibiting in a joint stand.

“We wanted to demonstrate the expertise and the wide range that exists within the Group, and how each of our companies develops entire systems and products that are economically and environmentally sustainable,” explains Crister Larsson from Weber, Saint-Gobain.

Many business contacts in the Baltic Pavilion
One innovation at this year’s Nordbygg was gathering exhibitors from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the same space under the name Baltic Pavilion. This was the place to get to know around 30 exhibitors from our Baltic neighboring countries.

“We came here because we were interested in making contacts and starting collaborations with Swedish companies and we have succeeded in doing just that – we made around 30 contacts during the trade fair, so we are satisfied,” said Žilvaras Čiplys, Production Manager at Lithuanian passive house company TikTas.

A meeting place for industry dialogue and debate
One section of the trade fair was dedicated to the forthcoming environmentally sustainable Norra Djurgårdsstaden city district. Visitors could study an entirely new model showing how the city district will look when it is completed, as well as meet a number of developers and other operators who are involved in different aspects of this gigantic project.

“Norra Djurgårdsstaden – Stockholm Royal Seaport – is Stockholm’s new district for sustainable construction. Its environmental approach makes this an internationally unique project.”
The energy issue was also under the spotlight in the specialist section “Energy Smart Renovation”, in which around ten organizations, authorities and other operators highlighted their specific experience and advice relating to energy optimization during renovation work.

“Nordbygg has enhanced its standing as a meeting place for debate and dialogue about important urban development issues. Indicators of this include all this year’s features relating to sustainable construction and especially to the issue of energy,” explains Peter Söderberg, who has already started to plan Nordbygg 2014:

“Yes, many exhibitors have already signed up for 2014. We distributed registration forms for Nordbygg 2014 to the stands of this year’s exhibitors on the Friday morning. Just a few minutes later, at 8.30, we got back the first registration from the TTM Energiprodukter Company,” relates Peter Söderberg.

For more information:
Peter Söderberg, event manager Nordbygg, tel.number +46-8-749 4394 peter.soderberg@stockholmsmassan.se