See you next year - Breakbulk Europe in Rotterdam

After a two-year break, the trade fair "Breakbulk Europe 2022" ended last Thursday. Together with the co-exhibitors, Hafen Hamburg Marketing looks back on a successful trade fair participation.

Especially after two years without a trade fair and with restricted gatherings, the exhibiting companies were pleased with the well-attended joint stand. "It was nice to be there again and to be able to network properly. Breakbulk showed that the industry is alive and well and how important good, personal contacts are for business," says Rainer Fabian, Managing Director of TCO Transcargo GmbH. Andreas Fries, General Manager SACO Shipping, also emphasises how refreshing the exchange with partners and customers was on site. "Thanks to the logistically good location of the joint stand, we were able to establish and strengthen many contacts. We finally had the chance to really get talking again."

With over 15,000 guests, Breakbulk Europe is the world's leading trade fair for project cargo. This year again, 855 exhibitors from 141 countries were represented in the Rotterdam exhibition halls. Nine of them were able to present their services on the Hamburg stand. With Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), SACO Shipping and TCO Transcargo, three Hamburg companies were on site, while the ports of Brunsbüttel, Kiel, Lübeck and Rendsburg were present from the metropolitan region. SCA Logistics GmbH and Schramm Ports & Logistics Sweden AB were two internationally positioned partners.

For the Universal Port of Hamburg and its partners, the trade fair is a must in the event calendar. In the first three months of the year alone, general cargo handling in the Port of Hamburg reached a total of 22.5 million tonnes, an increase of 0.6 percent. The value-added conventional general cargo in this segment showed a strong plus of 47.7 per cent with 0.4 million tonnes. Several specialised multipurpose handling facilities such as Wallmann & Co, C. Steinweg (Süd-West Terminal), Rhenus Midgard or Unikai Lagerei- und Speditionsgesellschaft are geared towards handling project cargo, heavy cargo and oversized cargo. Particularly heavy general cargo is mostly moved with the help of on-board cranes or the shore-side crane capacities (up to max. 400 tonnes). In addition, the two floating cranes HHLA III (up to max. 100 tonnes) and HHLA IV (up to max. 200 tonnes), which can lift 300 tonnes in tandem operation, are available in Hamburg.

HHM has already secured participation for next year as well. This year's co-exhibitors were delighted with the organisation and are looking forward to 2023 with anticipation.