In strong contrast to the prevailing gloom, the forty first MIDEST, the world’s leading industrial solutions show that ran from 15th to 18th November received substantially more visitors than last year. MIDEST 2011 hosted 1,724 exhibitors and attracted 42,769 professionals, with the latter figure being 5.8% up on 2010. It was also noticeable how different the atmosphere was to the nervousness on all the air waves and how favourable it was to business, which, in itself, answers all those questions about how French and European business is weathering the storm. The week was marked by a whole series of contracts and orders that were either signed at the show or which should be signed within the near future. MAINTENANCE EXPO, the total maintenance solutions show held in conjunction with MIDEST, hosted some forty exhibitors and maintained visitor numbers at 9,000, some of whom came just to it and others of whom were drawn from MIDEST. There were a whole series of highlights extending from the opening of the show by Bernard Accoyer, President of the National Assembly, and His Excellency the Portuguese Ambassador to France, Francisco Seixas da Costa, accompanied by Jean-Claude Volot, the Mediator for company relations, followed, on the next day, by Eric Besson, the Minister of Industry, and then event after event over the four days of the show. www.midest.com

1. PRESS INFORMATION NOVEMBER 2011
MIDEST 2011: A DYNAMIC SHOW THAT GENERATED MASSIVE BUSINESS
In strong contrast to the prevailing gloom, the forty first MIDEST, the world’s leading industrial
solutions show that ran from 15th to 18th November received substantially more visitors than last
year. MIDEST 2011 hosted 1,724 exhibitors and attracted 42,769 professionals, with the latter figure
being 5.8% up on 2010. It was also noticeable how different the atmosphere was to the nervousness
on all the air waves and how favourable it was to business, which, in itself, answers all those
questions about how French and European business is weathering the storm. The week was marked
by a whole series of contracts and orders that were either signed at the show or which should be
signed within the near future.
MAINTENANCE EXPO, the total maintenance solutions show held in conjunction with MIDEST, hosted
some forty exhibitors and maintained visitor numbers at 9,000, some of whom came just to it and
others of whom were drawn from MIDEST.
There were a whole series of highlights extending from the opening of the show by Bernard Accoyer,
President of the National Assembly, and His Excellency the Portuguese Ambassador to France,
Francisco Seixas da Costa, accompanied by Jean-Claude Volot, the Mediator for company relations,
followed, on the next day, by Eric Besson, the Minister of Industry, and then event after event over
the four days of the show.
Stable exhibitor numbers and significant rise in visitor numbers
MIDEST 2011 gathered together 1,724 subcontractors, ranging from the very small to major groups,
from 36 countries and specializing in the processing of metals, plastics, rubber, composite materials
and wood, electronics and electricals, microtechniques, surface treatments, finishes, industrial
fastenings and industry services. The overall figure was stable compared with last year but there
were significant changes in specific sectors in line with changes in the global subcontracting market.
Visitor numbers were up substantially at 5.8% year on year and the total rose to 42,769 professionals
from 65 countries. The number of foreign visitors was also up. Exhibitors reported an increased
number of customers planning actual projects and stressed the numerous deals that were done.
Jean-Claude Monier, the President of MIDEST, declared, “The success of the 2011 show is far from
astonishing, despite the worrying economic and financial background that we are all too well aware
of.” He went on to explain that, “subcontractors in general and French ones in particular had reacted
to the 2008 crisis by pursuing four closely linked paths: research into innovations, the development of
new products, establishment in different sectors and the quest for international markets. On top of
this there is the capacity that they have acquired of managing the economic cycles and preserving
their fundamentals: their qualified staff and their production plant. The success of this show reflects
the success of a subcontracting that is dynamic, responsive, straightforward and that passes
(unhappily) almost systematically beneath the radars of analysts blinded by macroeconomics.”
Alongside MIDEST, MAINTENANCE EXPO presented the products and services of some forty
exhibitors, including a broad array of CAMM and diagnostic aids. It occupied 32% more exhibition
space than in 2010 and its numerous exhibitors included ones such as Apave or Carl Software that
were taking advantage of the show to present their very latest products at the show, exclusively and
for the first time. 3,000 professionals came to meet them, together with 6,000 MIDEST visitors, who
took advantage of the fact that they were already on site to discover a range of maintenance
solutions vital to their activity.

2. An event packed show
MIDEST was opened on 15th November by Bernard Accoyer, the President of the National Assembly,
and His Excellency the Portuguese Ambassador to France, Francisco Seixas da Costa. They were
accompanied by Jean-Claude Volot, the Mediator for company relations, who used the show as a
platform to present a balance sheet of his activities in the course of a talk on the first afternoon. The
Mediation service was also present throughout the show on a stand that is shared with the Credit
Mediation service, providing subcontractors with a fixed port of call for their problems.
Eric Besson, the Minister of Industry, visited the show on the following day, met numerous exhibitors
and presented the Jury’s Special Award in the MIDEST Awards to Fondeurs de France and the
Association Française de Forge for their guide to the transfer of subcontracting know-how.
The sixth set of Awards, which are enjoying increasing success with every passing year, saw the jury
shortlist a score of exhibitors for outstanding performance and strengths. The category winners
were: Rotoplus SAS (Design office), Minitubes (Innovation), NCP (International), MPRO
(Organization), Méca-Rectif (Partnership/Alliance) and Courbis (Model implementation).
Although the majority of the winners were French, NCP originated from the country of the year,
Portugal which, on the back of the record participation, attracted large number of visitors who were
able to discover its industrial tradition and its main players in a large, dedicated pavilion at the show
entrance.
Another new feature in 2011 that got off to a very encouraging start was the b2fair – Business to
Fairs® business meetings programme organized in conjunction with the forty or so organizations that
make up the Enterprise Europe Network. These attracted 150 companies from a score of countries
and resulted in 842 effective and qualified meetings that were tailored to individual requirements.
They helped to bring together potential partners, subcontractors and/or customers who were
looking to forge real partnerships in a specific sector.
MIDEST also provided a platform for some sixty lectures offering an audience made up of exhibitors
and visitors a panorama of the latest developments in the sector and, in particular, relating to the
theme of the year: the environment. In total, almost a thousand people attended these talks and the
Flash conferences staged by CETIM (the mechanical engineering industries technical centre).
Drawing on the expertise of the latter, the CTIF (development centre for the material shaping
industries – foundry) and the LRCCP (research and monitoring laboratory for rubber and plastics), the
Technology Centres offered visitors valuable information about innovative techniques and processes.
Finally, MIDEST 2011 saw the launch of the second SISTEP-MIDEST, the Moroccan trade show
dedicated to industrial subcontracting and machines, equipment and services for industry. Aimed at
professionals throughout Europe, North Africa and elsewhere in Africa, it will be held in the Office
des Foires et Expositions de Casablanca (OFEC) from 19th to 22ndSeptember 2012.
The next MIDEST and MAINTENANCE EXPO
will take place from 6th to 9th November 2012
Show press packs and photos on request from:
Christophe DUPREZ
Reed Expositions France - 52-54 quai de Dion Bouton – CS 80001
92806 PUTEAUX CEDEX
Tel.: + 33 (0)1 47 56 21 57 - Fax: + 33 (0)1 47 56 21 40
christophe.duprez@reedexpo.fr