This year’s 11th edition of Seatec was held from the 6th until the 8th of February, together with the 5th edition of Compotec. The event also hosted the 3rd edition of Yare, the show dedicated to Yacht After Sales and Refitting.

Consolidating the number of the Exhibitors, a total of 441 brands for Seatec/Compotec and 31 for Yare, the trade show registered 7.672 Visitors (5% foreigners) with a +8% compared to the previous edition.

A good result that highlights the liveliness of the companies working within technology, subcontracting and design for the marine industry (Seatec) as well as those involved in the composites industry (Compotec) and those specializing in refitting and after- sales services (Yare).

“We are pretty satisfied” – says Paris Mazzanti, CEO of CarraraFiere – “because this results testify the companies’ capacity of reaction in the first place, especially looking at the difficulties the marine industry is facing and its repositioning towards the after-sale and refitting sector. This edition was distinguished by the high number of selected foreign delegates and yacht captains who participated in a dense calendar of B2B meetings with our Exhibitors. The presence of this important segment of visitors, made of decision makers, has been the result of a cooperation between CarraraFiere and ICE, Italian Agency for the Promotion and Internationalization of the Italian Companies, Toscana Promozione, Lucca Promos and the Lucca Chamber of Commerce”.

Within the area coordinated by ICE the group of 60 foreign delegates, composed of sales managers, technicians, designers, met the Italian Exhibitors participating in Seatec and Compotec. They came from European and extra European Countries: Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Malta, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, UK, Turkey and South Africa.

Anna Maria di Gennaro, ICE representative for the marine sector declares “It has been a very profitable initiative and both the foreign delegates and the Italian companies have made the best out of their meetings. We had scheduled more than 640 meetings through our match-making program but during the Show we had to include  many more in the agenda to satisfy the requests of the Exhibitors. The investment/result ratio was excellent”.

Yare Exhibitors as well had their specific calendar of B2B meetings organized by LuccaPromos in cooperation with UnionCamere and Navigo: 50 yacht captains were involved in the initiative and besides meeting the refitting companies on the fairground they also had the opportunity to visit the headquarters of the shipyards and local firms.

As usual,  numerous side events, focusing on specific and technical issues have been organized during the Exhibition, both by Exhibitors, trade associations and training centers, covering various aspects: yacht refitting, environmental sustainability , education and training, safety, economic trends, production processes through composites, innovation technology in propulsion systems, welding processes, OCSE guidelines, navigation and marine weather forecast.

The showcase dedicated to the winning projects of the Millennium Yacht Design Award, 10th edition, and of the Qualitec Technology, and the Qualitec Design Award, both dedicated  to innovation, was very much appreciated.

Within the event ABITARE IL MARE, by Decio Carugati and promoted by CarraraFiere, important conferences were dedicated to design as Design, the boat as project of re-qualification of the small dimension, focused on cost reduction through technology and materials that can favor serial production as well as low impact, energy saving, recycling and disposal after use. These conferences, along with the ones related to project and engineering, registered the presence of prestigious names such as  Marco Maiocchi, Ivan Zignego, Ludovica Serafini Palomba, Laura Lazzerini and have been coordinated by Roberto Franzoni.

Among the most attended events, the one organized by Assonautica on “How to face the crisis: development of the sea sector on the local province”, an occasion to talk about the future of the sea economy. Luca Ceccobao, Minister of Infrastructure and Mobility of the Tuscany Region, expressed his satisfaction for the issues faced during the institutional speeches coordinated by the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Norberto Ricci, and for the debate presided by Vezio Benetti.

Ascomac Unimot, long term partner of CarraraFiere, in cooperation with ATENA organized the workshop “Using LNG in naval systems: perspectives and opportunities” and the conference “Port infrastructures: safety of working places and equipment” event sponsored by CarraraFiere and by the local Port Authority.

The Italian Institute of Welding organized the conference “Evolution of welding and junction Technology”. AIAS organized the workshop “Managing safety on marinas” while Asso.n.a.t. the national association for marinas and docks, organized “Innovating the communication processes on docks and marinas”. The University of Pisa presented “National network of the companies involved with the marine industry” and within the event “Mille e una Vela Cup” the workshop “Design, research, training and innovation” has taken place.

Seatec ha also hosted the assembly of ONI, the organization which aims at representing the needs of the small and medium companies working in the industry, while the Productive District for Recreational boating in the Apulia Region presented some of its services and activities as well as new opportunities of cooperation.

In the Sailing Area, Navimeteo organized “Navimeteo and Weather Routine” – Heavy Weather and Safety at Sea”, while Saily.it, organized a meeting on oceanic sailing and one on the America’s Cup in the catamarans’ era with the participation of Giulio Guazzini.

Seatec has been this year the first stage of the project SIEC System Integration Experience Community – the association which includes all the protagonists of the integration systems, in cooperation with Connessioni, with the aim of creating new opportunities to promote business through dedicated activities and participations to  events on specific markets.

A special mention goes to the conferences and the workshops organized for Compotec which continues to promote the use of the materials, innovation and research. In particular “Design and Composites the state of the art, by Decio Carugati which involved prestigious names of different sectors, including shipbuilding  aeronautics and automotive.

Assomotoracing, faced the issue related to sustainability and composites with POLITO “Project of thin structures made of advanced composites: theory, testing, production”. AICO organized a series of events related to composites and their use in house building. CETMA presented “Solution out of autoclave for the composites sector”, the University of Perugia presented the research of STM group, the Centre for Composite Materials organized a workshop on the use of composites FRP/SRG in the civil sector and Veneto Nanotech presented a conference on the use of nanotechnologies in the yacht building industry.

The attention of the Exhibition continues to be focused on the environmental sustainability also through the initiative Greentec, the green leaf assigned to the Exhibitors who have highlighted their green products.