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BRUSSELS SPROUTS A HYBRID
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Page 61
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Andy Salter wanders the Brussels Show
— and wonders if it was worth the effort...
In days of old. Brussels and its near neighbour Amsterdam shared the dubious honour of kicking off the show season with their international CV shows. On the second week in January transport journalists and operators alike made an annual pilgrimage at the invitation of the truck and van manufacturers.And for the truck, van and component suppliers it was one of the key dates in the calendar, and budget, which kicked off the new year in some style.
Sadly, for some, it was that second point, the budgets, which finally sealed the fate of Brussels as an international truck show. At the end of the last decade it finally lost its international show status, while the Amsterdam show organisers moved their date to the autumn. The Dutch show now alternates on a biennial basis with the giant IAA Show in Hanover — it's Amsterdam's turn this year; make a note in your diary from 14-22 October.
Frankly the Brussels Show had become too expensive and in its latter years was struggling to make its mark. Motor cycles and cars joined the list of exhibits and for the serious CV buyers the show had lost its relevance.
Febiac, the show organiser, duly retrenched and soldiered on with what it calls a "light commercial vehicle and recreational vehicle" show,for which read a mixture of vans. 4x4s,estate cars and motor cycles. It's a hotchpotch of exhibits which, if this year's effort is anything to go by is slowly being consumed by the car manufacturers, with the emphasis on recreation rather than commerce.The international moniker, too. is stretching things — English language press packs were like the proverbial hen's teeth as this show is very much a local Benelux affair.
That said, this year featured the return of a truck and transport element to the exhibition. Perhaps taking a leaf out of the Birmingham CV Show organisers' book, the truck and transport part of the show had been restricted to just three days — the rest of the show occupied the usual week — kicking off on a Friday before pulling out of its two halls on the Sunday evening.The emphasis was most definitely on reducing costs, with most of the truck manufacturers cutting their stands to a selection of vehicles with a few scattered tables and chairs. Gone are the days of the megabuck two-tier stands and lavish hospitality.
In fairness.Febiac claims to have had a successful event with visitor numbers (not yet confirmed) up on the estimated figures. But they would say that, wouldn't they?
No chance of scoops
We weren't expecting a great deal in the way of scoops or exclusives, so we thought our luck was in when we entered the show bright and early on Friday morning.There,in pride of place on the Renault stand, was what appeared to be the New Magnum, covered and ready for an apparent unveiling. Sadly it was not to be: the vehicle in question was merely a plug for the forthcoming launch of the 'new' Magnum due this week (see next week's issue for full details).
Of the truck manufacturers only Mercedes appeared to have spent more than the minimum budget on its stand,though with the emphasis on the new Euro-4 and Euro-5 BlueTec range of low-emission vehicles, there was nothing here that we hadn't seen at the 2004 Hanover Show.
As we've reported,Mercedes is adopting selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology to meet the forthcoming emissions legislation. This requires the use of a urea-based solution marketed under various names including AdBlue. With the majority of the truck manufacturers adopting this technology,suppliers and distributors of the new solution are ramping up their distribution efforts to ensure it will be readily available throughout Europe by the time the emissions law takes effect:October 2005 for new vehicle types:2006 for all new vehicles We counted four companies from the 30-orso exhibitors at Brussels who were plying their urea solutions at the show;expect a similar level of activity at the CV Show in Birmingham.
Euro-4 compliant vehicles can already take advantage of reduced toll rates in Germany, where the new Maut toll system is in operation for vehicles over 12 tonnes.
Building up a network
Yara is one of the three suppliers of urea solutions to the European market. It's building a presence throughout Eurol4 for supply and distribution through its Airl jdint venture with chemicals distributor Brenntalg.The firm's European sales co-ordinator,Alejandro Pattyn, admits that demand last year was only 127 tonnes but he expects the market to be transformed by 2006.The company is currently looking for distributors in the UK and is in discussion with a number of potential partners Airl ,along with all the companies exhibiting urea solutions at Brussels, is offering the new liquid in a variety of packaging solutions The 1.000-litre IBCs (intermediate bulk containers) seem to be the most popular for operators so far, though you can also buy it in 10 and 20-litre drums. For bigger fleets, or those looking to supply other operators, most companies offer an all-in-one container which combines tank and discharge equipment, along with computer data recording.
Pattyn reports the current price of AdBlue is €0.7/lit (5p).
In stark contrast to the cheap and cheerful truck and transport show, the light commercial and recreational vehicle show was a much more lavish affair though equally short of any major news event.
Ford kicked off the Transit's 40th Birthday celebration with a big presence at the show including the high horsepower 135 Transit. Isuzu was on hand to launch a special edition version of the Rodeo pickup, while DaimlerChrysler's stand seemed the most popular with the Belgian press, though this seemed to be due to a new soft-top saloon car rather than the newVito's status as International Van of the Year. Perhaps, we thought, the priorities would shift when the public appeared in greater numbers.
Cars in the ascendant
Elsewhere cars were most definitely in the ascendant — which was handy. as your correspondent happened to be in the market for a new motor, though useless for any commercial purpose — with the vans playing barely second fiddle.
Volkswagen certainly made a decent fist of presenting its vans in a decent light, though the close proximity of Audi, Sk oda and Seat, with not a commercial in sight, took the edge off things.
To cap things off we took a swift stroll through the motorcycle halls (all in the pursuit of journalistic research you understand) and stumbled across a hall full of light aircraft and gliders. Your guess is as good as mine...
There might be a market for this type of mixed bag approach in Belgium, but for discerning commercial vehicle buyers the Brussels Show has all but fallen off the scale of relevance.Trucks and transport have made a welcome return, but the scale is tiny and it's very much a local effort for Belgian operators.
Mating vans, cars, bikes and now aircraft spawns a strange hybrid of an event that fails to meet any specific audience need.
Note to self.. next Brussels Show, swerve! •