The 35th Construction Fair in Belgrade

Sunday, 26 April 2009 15:42

The Belgrade Building Expo Fair is considered to be the largest specialized civil engineering event in southeast Europe. This year, held from April 22 - 26, the fair attracted over 1,100 exhibitors from over 30 countries which displayed a range of building related products and design and furnishing services to more than 70,000 fair visitors.

The PPES program supported the attendance of eleven small and medium-sized businesses from South Serbia and Sandzak. Ten companies collectively exhibited under one unified brand entitled ‘Contractors from South Serbia,’ and in addition, Tobler-Skele, a successful Bujanovac-based scaffolding business, exhibited in the outside area, as the company required extra aerial space to display their products. Ahead of the Fair, all PPES supported companies completed a training seminar in promotional and marketing techniques to help them get the most out of their fair attendance. In an effort to maximize potential client contact during the Fair, PPES hosted a reception at the Hotel Moskva the evening of the 23rd, where sponsored businesses networked with potential clients in a more informal setting.

The venue provided an excellent setting outside of the fair for business owners to discuss the cost-saving benefits that can be realized by working with businesses from South Serbia and Sandzak. In addition to the large number of new contacts made as a result of their participation at the fair, PPES supported businesses signed contracts worth $30,000 during the fair and are expecting to close shortly on $180,000 in new sales contracts. Trade fair support has proven to be an effective tool for helping businesses from the South and Southwest reach new markets.  Last year, PPES supported 152 companies' attendance at seven trade fairs, which led to more than $3.5 million in new sales.