“This strategic partnership can strengthen us both” – Nadine Francus (Transport & Logistics)

4 minutes reading time

LogiVille has a new Collaboration Partner: exhibition organiser Easyfairs. Group Event Director Nadine Francus sees great opportunities for interaction, especially for start-ups and scale-ups. She introduces us to the Transport & Logistics trade fairs and outlines how the collaboration with LogiVille will lead to a win-win.

Transport & Logistics is one of Easyfairs’ most important trade fairs. Can you introduce us to this group first?

Easyfairs is an international events and exhibition company, founded in 2004 in Belgium, that organises trade fairs and conferences, with a clear focus on the B2B sector. The group, headquartered in Brussels, is active in some twenty countries and has 800 employees, 180 of whom are in Belgium.

Easyfairs has grown into one of the largest independent trade fair organisers in Europe and even beyond. We are in 11th place in the global top 20 of exhibition organisers and expect to reach the top 10 in the near term.

Two years ago, two private equities – Cobepa from Brussels and Inflexion from London – invested heavily in Easyfairs. Together with founder Eric Everard, they now form the three shareholders of the group. Their input enables further growth, new developments and acquisitions.

How did Easyfairs grow into such an important exhibition organiser?

We have acquired this position because, as mentioned, we focus on B2B across a variety of sectors, such as industry, construction, technology, healthcare, retail, packaging, and, of course, logistics.

We bring together companies and professionals who share the same goals, creating communities. Knowledge gathering and the networking aspect are therefore extremely important to us. As well as the ‘fun’ aspect, with the organisation of award ceremonies and informal ‘get-togethers’, such as the Maritime Pint.

Organising fairs is one of the two pillars of Easyfairs. What’s the second?

The second pillar is to ‘host’ events and trade fairs – also from third parties – in our own halls. In Belgium, these can be found in Antwerp Expo, Nekkerhal (Mechelen), Flanders Expo (Ghent) and Namur Expo. Easyfairs also has several venues in the Nordics.

Managing and renting out exhibition and event venues is a growing activity for our group. The entry of the two financial partners into the capital some two years ago gives us the means to accelerate this growth through acquisitions.

The Transport & Logistics trade fairs are the group’s showpieces. Why is that?

Eric Everard recognised very early on that networks in transport and logistics are very important. About 30 years ago, he took over the PROlogis (focused on intralogistics) and Transcaldia (focused on the port of Antwerp) trade fairs and brought them together in a larger-scale trade fair, Transport & Logistics. It is now the reference in the sector in the Benelux and the third largest within Easyfairs, after Horeca Expo and Brussels Art Fair.

Transport & Logistics Antwerp celebrated its 15th edition in October last year. At first it was biennial and only in Antwerp, but since 2022 it has been organised annually, alternating between Antwerp and Ghent.

Last year, Antwerp had about 350 exhibitors and received 13,000 professional visitors. This year, the fair will take place for the third time in Flanders Expo Ghent. We expect 220 exhibitors and 6,000 visitors. Incidentally, the Empack trade fair will take place in Ghent in parallel, because there is a strong match between transport/logistics and packaging, especially now that European legislation, such as the PPWR, has been tightened.

What is the focus during the Transport & Logistics trade fairs?

During the Transport & Logistics trade fairs, we focus on six domains, which are reflected in the exhibitors:

Transport companies (all modes)

Intralogistics

Building and making logistics buildings more sustainable

Automation and robotisation

IT en software

Breakbulk (only in Antwerp)

How do the fairs in Antwerp and Ghent differ?

The first five pillars are the same for both fairs. Antwerp is slightly more maritime due to the parallel organisation of ‘Antwerp XL’ for the breakbulk sector. That is actually the sixth pillar, making it a complete picture.

In Ghent, on the other hand, more attention is being paid to logistics for the food industry, because this sector has a strong presence in East and West Flanders. Hence the link with the packaging fair Empack.

In Ghent, the fair is therefore accompanied by conferences on refrigerated logistics, ‘fresh food’ logistics and the like.

Why did Transport & Logistics Collaboration become a Partner of LogiVille?

We both have the same target groups, but of course we have different emphases. A strategic partnership can strengthen us respectively. By the way: VIL has been a partner of Transport & Logistics in Antwerp for many years.

Another factor is the desire of VIL and Transport & Logistics to support start-ups. VIL and LogiVille are organising Logilaunch, and together we are launching Logilounge on the exhibition floor. In this way, we can better help starters to introduce themselves to mature companies. About 15 LogiVille start-ups will have the opportunity to present themselves to visitors and exhibitors at a stand in Ghent; and VIL – which will be present in Ghent for the first time – will contribute to seminars. We will also offer those start-ups networking opportunities. For example, together with VIL, we are organising a ‘meet-and-greet’ on Wednesday 23 September from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

What can we expect?

For every Transport & Logistics fair, we traditionally organise a ‘kick-off’ for all exhibitors, where they can talk and network with each other. This year we will hold it in LogiVille, on July 2nd. Exhibitors from Empack and Solids are also welcome. This niche fair, on 21 and 22 October in Antwerp Expo, focuses on the processing, storage and transport of dry bulk goods. And the partners of LogiVille are of course also welcome at this kick-off event!

The program starts with an interesting ‘keynote’ by Anne Mertens, CEO of Start People, on the Workforce of tomorrow and navigating in an AI environment. This will be followed by a presentation of the Transport & Logistics Ghent programme and a tour of the demo centre. To finish, there is a barbecue with a dash of music. Transport & Logistics Ghent, together with Empack, will take place on 22 and 23 September in Flanders Expo.