CIHS 2010 Shows Its Role as Key Hardware Sourcing Platform

A poll says foreign buyers are more willing to place on-the-spot orders

As in many other sectors, the past decade has also seen the steady rise of China in the global supply chain of hardware. Besides focusing on quality improvement and service over the years, Chinese makers of hardware have the advantage of building business in perhaps the world's biggest market. The China International Hardware Show (CIHS) 2010 confirmed the considerable progress made by China's hardware makers, as well as the state of the industry and market.

Mainly organized by the China National Hardware Association (CNHA) and Koelnmesse Co., Ltd. of Germany, CIHS celebrated its first decade September 28 to 30, 2010 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. Spread across 110,000 square meters as the largest of this kind in Asia, the show this year drew 2,300 exhibitors and around 45,000 visitors, markedly up from 2009's 2,106 exhibitors and 38,925 visitors.

The organizers said that over 4,000 buyers came mainly from the U.S., Canada, England, Germany, Spain, Poland, Russia, Australia, the Middle East, India, Africa, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

Key Business Platform
Few can question CIHS' role as the most important sourcing platform for tools, security systems, locks and fittings, building hardware, and DIY/home improvement products in the Far East, for several large national buying delegations from abroad attend yearly. For example, the show organizers confirmed that a buyer group from the NRHA (North American Retail Hardware Association) and several large ones from Germany and India came this year.

The CIHS organizing committee spokesperson also said that foreign buyers polled showed increasing willing to conduct on-the-spot business and place orders on the showground this year, attesting to the positive atmosphere.

Building partnership was also among buyer's priority as shown in the survey, noted the spokesperson, citing Australian Aqua Aluminum's CEO Raymund Kassis and Canada-based The Quality Tool Group's vice chairman Jerry Lee, both expressing intense interest to partner with local makers on an OEM (original equipment manufacturing) basis; while some planned to seek joint-ventures with local companies via the show.

Market-oriented
The CNHA president Zhang Dong-li stated that the CIHS is a “market-oriented and technology-oriented” marketplace, which has steadily and rapidly grown over the past decade into the world's second-largest hardware fair, saying: “The show is also becoming the barometer of the hardware market and the wind vane of the industrial development, playing an increasingly important role in promoting the transformation of the structure and the development mode of the hardware industry, technological innovation, promotion of new products, technologies and materials, enhancement of the quality, brand creation, development of the domestic and the international markets as well as global exchange and cooperation.”

Also, Michael Dreyer, vice president of Koelnmesse Asia Pacific, indicated that CIHS now follows closely with the International Hardware Fair in Cologne, Germany, after a decade of development and growth. This year, exhibitors were from 19 countries and visitors from as many as 84 countries. CIHS is critical to industry professionals from China and all over the world. Ninety percent of China's leading manufacturers choose CIHS every year to present products, while global brands rely on the CIHS to enter the fast growing, massive China market.

Main Products
Tools, DIY and building hardware, and security, locks and fittings were the three major product categories this year, including hand tools, power tools, garden tools, welding, building materials and components, fasteners, electrical supplies, automotive supplies, bathroom, kitchen and furniture fittings, work safety and protection equipment etc.

About 500 exhibitors out of the total were booked at the inaugural China International Building Hardware Show and China International Locks & Security Show, held alongside the CIHS 2010, with the three-in-one format helping to broaden the show scope.

In tune to rising eco-awareness, CIHS 2010 featured an exhibition area themed “Low Carbon, Eco-friendly,” in which plenty of products and technologies are developed to reduce carbon emissions and be eco-friendly.

Supporting Events
Several supporting events also helped to add to the width and depth of the show. For example, “The Development of China Real Estate Industry and Related Industries under the New Policy Forum” hosted by the CNHA, All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce-Real Estate Chamber of Commerce and other associations cleared the air over China's real estate market, offering professional views of market development after the Chinese government had started to regulate the overheated real estate market. Also, “The 3rd China Cutting, Smoothing and Polishing Application Technology Forum” focused on technological improvements and upgrades, helping local companies who plan to sharpen their know-how.

Other events that allowed exhibitors to showcase innovations and winning products included “CIHS'10 New Hardware Product Display & Release,” “China Kitchen and Bath Products Innovation Design Competition and New Product Showcase,” and “Jomoo Cup China Bath Hardware (Faucet) Industrial Innovation Design Competition 2010.”

Taiwanese Exhibitors
An array of Taiwanese suppliers, 126 in all, mainly from the hand and building tools, hardware, and forging sectors proved quite popular with local visitors at the show, helping to build the island's global reputation in manufacturing.

For example, J&K International Co., Ltd., Taiwan's leading supplier of hand pullers and related accessories, was impressed with the enthusiastic buyers. The company displayed a wide range of products, including tow cables, trailer winches, trailer jacks, tie-downs, luggage cords, hooks, cargo nets, auto accessories, hydraulic cable cutters and crimping tools, hydraulic punch drivers, dog collars and plastic buckles.

Other notable hand tool suppliers from Taiwan also stopped ample foot traffic, including Eclatorq Technology Co., Ltd. and Ke Hung Industrial Co., Ltd., two of Taiwan's top digital tool makers; Lucky-Brand Industrial Co., Ltd., the best-known hammer maker; Allprofessional Mfg. Co., Ltd., the largest snips and cutting pliers in Asia; K&W Tools Co., Ltd., a veteran manufacturer of saws; Machan International Co., Ltd., the largest roller cabinet and tool chest maker; Stand Tools Enterprise Co., Ltd., a specialized maker of MEMS (micro electronic mechanical system)-integrated digital torque wrenches with a TAF (Taiwan Accreditation Foundation)-accredited testing lab.

Synergy
Prioritizing synergy to build sustainable brands and firmer footholds in China was an obvious strategy. For instance, 13 Taiwanese faucet and bathroom fitting suppliers, including Sheng Tai Brassware Co., Ltd., a globally recognized supplier of Justime-branded innovative bathroom fittings, and Chan Yi Shin Co., Ltd., a leading maker of IR faucets, teamed to showcase their products in a single, large booth in the E2 Hall, jointly promoting the T.A.P. (Taiwan Aqua Professional) brand. The team branding effort, also adopted at other trade fairs, has been successful so far to integrate multi-company resources, to more effectively put Taiwanese makers on the global map of higher-end bathroom fittings.

To deliver the message that Taiwanese manufacturers are ready to do business with excellent production capability and capacity, CENS was on hand to promote and circulate its export-trade publications, which are recognized as convenient sourcing guides, with CENS Hardware and Guidebook to Taiwan Hand Tools attracting plenty of foreign buyers.

The next or 11th CIHS is scheduled for September 21-23, 2011 at the same venue.