This is the second rescheduling of the date for the international construction equipment trade fair (and its co-located event Aspahaltica), which takes place every three years in Verona, northern Italy.
It was originally diaried for 21-25 March, but in February organisers issued a notice that the event would be moved to May 16-20. This has now been moved back again to the new October date amid the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 virus.
SaMoTer and Asphaltica, the bitumen & road infrastructure sector event, have been re-scheduled to Wednesday 21-Sunday 25 October 2020 on the Veronafiere site, together with ICCX Southern Europe, the precast exhibition conference.
These events will now be held alongside Oil&nonOil, the energy, fuel and mobility services trade fair scheduled 21-23 October.
Giovanni Mantovani, CEO of Veronafiere, commented: “We continue to monitor the scenario, together with the steering committee involving companies, partners and associations such as Unacea and Siteb which co-organises Asphaltica with us.
“The new postponement agreed upon is consequently the result of real time listening to the market and careful assessments. We took into account the need to ensure safety in health terms and safeguard the important investments planned by companies taking part. This unity of intent with stakeholders once again highlights the sector's confidence in the capacity of the trade fair system to support it and be a tool for relaunching the sector, even in times of great crisis such as those we are currently experiencing.”
The organisers said the decision to postpone the events was taken in view of the evolution of the novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 health emergency and the latest dispositions in the decree of the President of the Council of Ministers dated 11 March which imposes a blockade until 25 March of all activities that do not involve ensuring essential minimum services.
They added that the requirements of this measure are incompatible with the organisational timing associated with the specific nature of these trade shows characterised by significant logistical and set-up complexities as regards handling and assembling large machinery.
The October dates are also the best option as regards the seasonal work needs of the reference supply chains, which are concentrated in Summer.
Mirco Risi, president of Unacea, added: “We appreciate Veronafiere's capacity for reaction and the repositioning in October. The new dates respect the seasonal nature of the construction machinery sector and will enable us to focus on starting up the entire sector again.”
