Seventh edition of GIS

The biennial appointment with the Lifting, Handling and Heavy Transport Equipment world is set from 3 to 5 October: the Piacenza exhibition centre will host the 7^th edition of GIS. The show is dedicated to lifting, industrial and port, and heavy transport machinery.

Preparations are in full swing and companies’ interest in this event is constantly growing. At present, two months before the show, almost all of the exhibition spaces have been sold out. For Fabio Potestà, Director of Mediapoint & Communications, the figures are encouraging. At the previous edition, during which more than 9,000 qualified visitors were registered, there were 308 direct exhibitors on a total surface of 33,000m².

At the moment, there are already 310 direct exhibitors representing more than 370 brands, but the space booked so far is much bigger than in 2017 and the number of exhibitors is expected to grow before the official start. More than 11,000 qualified visitors are expected from Italy and abroad.

Broader range of goods offered with the AGV Expo

The visitors will find a more extensive offer at GIS. Some segments, like those of the mobile cranes, aerial platforms, telescopic handlers, trailers, vehicles for industrial and port handling as well as for heavy transport confirm their position, while others, like those of the tower cranes and forklifts (and their components) have significantly increased their presence at the 7^th edition of the Piacenza show. One novelty will, however, surprise the visitors: the AGV Expo area in Pavilion 3, which will be dedicated to automatic guided vehicles. This is a particularly innovative sector in which many companies are investing capital and technologies.

Environmental sustainability is another important topic that is the underlying theme of the GIS product range. Visitors will get the chance to see environmentally-friendly technologies with the capacity to cause zero environmental impact, often oriented towards electric battery traction systems, but also to power diesel engines with controlled mixtures of diesel fuel and gas (CNG or compressed methane, LNG or liquid natural gas, LPG, biomethane, and Syngas).

All-around conference activities

As always, the exhibition will be integrated with a programme of conferences and workshops. Meetings are scheduled with the main category associations represented at GIS to discuss more specific topical issues in depth, from machine safety and training operators, to the problems connected to the limited use of road networks for exceptional transports, and the infrastructural development of ports, interports, and logistics centres. The traditional association partners of GIS such as AISEM, AITE, ANFIA, ANNA, ANVER, ASSODIMI, ASSOLOGISTICA and also CONFETRA, FINCO, INAIL, IPAF, UNION and many others, are working on the contents of the conferences. It will soon be possible to download the schedule from the dedicated page on the website: https://gisexpo.it/en/le-conferenze/

Excellence & Awards

So far, almost 50 Associations/Institutions have confirmed their support for the Piacenza exhibition. Also, the Italian Defense Ministry has renewed its support: the lifting, handling and heavy transport vehicles are, in fact, extensively used by the army, the air force and the navy, but also by the Red Cross, the Civil Protection and the National Fire Brigade.

Another clear sign of the importance that is attributed to GIS at the international level is the fact that ESTA, the leading European association for the abnormal road transport and mobile crane rental industry, has planned its traditional autumn meeting in Piacenza, in conjunction with GIS.

And as always, there will be the traditional gala dinners, hosted this year in the Gothic Palace located in the central Piazza Cavalli of Piacenza. In the evening on 2 October (on the eve of the GIS inauguration), a special event will take place, dedicated to the manufacturers and users of platforms for aerial works, telescopic handlers, hoists, mastclimbers and special equipment for moving: ITALPLATFORM-Italian Access Platform Awards (www.italplatform.org).

To follow, the evening of Thursday 3 October will be dedicated to port terminals, intermodal and logistics operators with the ITALA-Italian Terminal and Logistic Awards (www.italawards.it). To conclude, the ILTA-Italian Lifting & Transportation Awards will take place in the evening on Friday 4 October and will be dedicated to the lifting and heavy transport companies (www.ilta.biz). The three events will end with the awards in each sector, and they will offer opportunities for networking.

For more information and updates: www.gisexpo.it