More Attractions Coming to Spring 2012 HK International Lighting Fair

The Spring Edition of the Hong Kong International Lighting Fair will have more attractions than ever.

This year the event will be held on Apr. 6-9, about a week earlier than previous years, in Hall 1 of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center (HKCEC), providing a convenient venue for exhibitors to display, and buyers to source, the latest products.

The number of exhibitors soared 70% in 2011, alerting the organizer, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), to an urgent need for more space. Last year's show featured 648 exhibitors from 12 economies and attracted 25,438 buyers from 135 countries.

Hall 1 is easily accessible and exhibitors will be arranged in logical groupings that cover household, commercial, and architectural lighting, so that buyers can easily find potential business partners.

The 2012 fair will have new and exciting zones. The Hall of Aurora will provide an elegant environment especially designed for branded products; the Hall of LED will cater to exhibitors and buyers with a wide range of LED applications; and Retail Lighting will accommodate exhibitors offering retail business solutions.

This year's show will also have zones for Decorative Lighting, Green Lighting, LED Lighting and Lighting Accessories, Parts and Components, Commercial Lighting, and Technical and Outdoor Lighting.

Far more than just a lighting fair, the spring event will be an information platform as well. At forums on the sidelines of the trade show, lighting designers and manufacturers will make trend forecasts and quality-inspection experts will inform attendees of the latest international regulations and technological developments.

The formal seminars aside, the fair will also have information networking events that give industry insiders an opportunity to learn about the latest developments in related industries.

The lighting fair will be followed up by the Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring Edition), Asia's leading electronics fair; the International ICT Expo, covering information, communications, and technology products and solutions; the Hong Kong Housewares Fair, Asia's largest of its kind; the Hong Kong International Home Textiles Fair, offering a huge range of home textile products; the Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fair, the world's largest gift show; and the Hong Kong International Printing & Packaging Fair, focusing on printing and packaging services.

Among the exhibitors and buyers who left appreciative comments on last year's spring lighting show were Pili Moya, international marketing supervisor in the International Business Department of Spain's Holding Simon S.L.; Eddie Hwang, managing director of Hong Kong's MRC Technology International; Sandeep Poddar, director of India's Whole Wealth Ltd.; and Michael Kornew, chief purchasing officer of Cosmosproducts De Ltd. of Germany.

Holding Simon was a first-time exhibitor, reflecting the company's interest in expanding its Asia Pacific market and its belief that the fair was the right place to meet buyers from throughout the region. Moya found that the high standard of the products on display made the show an ideal place to burnish his company's profile.

Eddie Hwang pointed out that his company's name, MRC, was an acronym for “Mission to Reduce Carbon,” pointing to the goal of producing high-quality advertising panels and boxes that use less energy and materials. Hwang said that the fair brought his company to the attention of international buyers from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.

Sandeep Poddar pointed out that Whole Wealth was part of the Future Group, which operates more than 1,000 stores in India. The fair, he said, gave him a chance to meet a large number of suppliers and vendors who were potential business partners for his company.

Michael Kornew, who was at the fair for the first time to source LEDs and components for his company's lighting products (including T8 lamps), noted that there was a huge number of manufacturers with an infinity of interesting products on display, providing good opportunities to do business.