The 2019 editions of Shanghai Intelligent Building Technology (SIBT) and Shanghai Smart Home Technology (SSHT) concluded successfully on 5 September. While SIBT debuted the Shanghai Smart Office Technology (SSOT) zone, introducing IoT technology to enrich office environments, SSHT continued to ride on the fast-growing real estate market in China, extending the concept of smart homes to a community-wide level. With the concurrently held Parking China, the trade fairs encompassed intelligent buildings, homes, parking, offices and community topics, completing the smart technology ecosystem.
SIBT and SSHT spanned halls W2 to W4 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. As well-recognised industry platforms in China, the two trade fairs and Parking China collectively attracted over 280 exhibitors and 30,374 professional buyers. Meanwhile, the total exhibition area reached 28,750 sqm.
With the success of SIBT and SSHT, Ms Lucia Wong, Deputy General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (Hong Kong) Co Ltd shared her gratitude toward the co-organisers. “Supported by the Intelligent Engineering Branch of China Exploration and Design Association (CEEDI), SIBT was held successfully again this year. The trade fair also debuted the SSOT zone, further completing the smart industry ecosystem. Meanwhile, SSHT and China Smart Home Industry Alliance (CSHIA) cooperated to promote smart home concepts in real estate and smart communities. Spurred by the development of 5G and AI technology, the intelligent industry is now growing on a fast track. SIBT and SSHT also strive to be ideal business platforms for the industry, presenting original trends and technology insights through myriad forums and seminars.”
Aiming to create a favourable business environment, SIBT and SSHT invited delegations from overseas to connect with exhibitors, including representatives from Asia Institute of Intelligent Buildings (AIIB), Panasonic, Thailand D-One Decor Co., Ltd, Thailand e-Business Centre (TeC) and Terma Products (UK) Ltd. The trade fairs’ new business matching service also offered a one-to-one channel for companies and associations to better discuss potential business interests.
Key industry trends illustrated through 16 seminars
This year, leading corporations were again invited to speak at forums and seminars, including Alibaba DingTalk, Huawei, Microsoft (China), Country Garden, China Telecom, HP China, Siemens, Schneider, Haier, Signify, Ikea, ABB and Hager. With SIBT, SSHT, Parking China and SSOT combined, over 120 speakers highlighted key industry trends at 16 forums and seminars.
The trade fairs also invited the China Academy of Information Communications Technology Department of Strategic Planning & Research of CTTL – Terminals to envision a smart living concept aided by 5G, AIoT & IoT facilities in real estate. Meanwhile, standard protocol alliances, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, EnOcean, Zigbee, KNX and ZETA, highlighted the new changes in building technology through individual events.
As the furnished apartments market grows in China, real estate developers are incorporating smart home elements to appeal to home buyers. Together with China Smart Home Industry Alliance (CSHIA), SSHT discussed creating a smart community from a developer’s perspective. Smart home system integrators also congregated at a conference held by SSHT and QJ.Smartech, learning about common integration problems and possible solutions.
Co-organised by SIBT and CEEDI, a smart building forum discussed the application of IoT technology. Furthermore, making a first appearance this year, SSOT cooperated with ZhiXing XiaoZheng to analyse the benefits of smart offices over traditional workspaces from a user’s perspective. Held together with International WELL Building Institute, another smart office seminar shed light on the future of technology-enriched workspaces. Exhibitors also shared positive views on SSOT. Lenovo thinkplus Project Director Pengbo Yuan commented, “Not only are we satisfied with the visitor number, but these clients are also our target audience. Visitors from different backgrounds all agreed that it is time for workspaces to change, and have therefore visited our booth to learn how.”
Comments from exhibitors
“We have seen quite a few leading brands from the smart home industry as well as many new faces at the trade fair, indicating that SSHT is a highly acclaimed platform with strong industry influence. Not only did we find new investment opportunities and customers, the number of visitors has also completely exceeded our expectation.”
Mr Yuhao Zhang, Channel Director, Hangzhou Konke Information Technology Co., Ltd., China
“The visitors this year came from a variety of professional backgrounds which is what Schneider Electronics is looking for, connecting us to many potential buyers. We also appreciate that apart from smart home and intelligent building topics, a new smart community theme has been added.”
Mr Jerry Li, Head of Smart System Offer Marketing, Schneider Electric (China) Co., Ltd., (Shanghai Branch), China
“SIBT and SSHT are the most influential trade fairs in the industry. This year, we noticed a considerable number of professional visitors who demonstrated in-depth industry knowledge. We have also been visited by many overseas buyers from Vietnam, the US, India, Pakistan and other countries which really encouraged us to consider the overseas market.”
Dr Zhong Chen, CTO, Zhejiang Hui Ju Intelligent Home Co., Ltd., China
Comments from visitors
“With our company located in Qatar, this trade fair allowed us to meet smart home and home automation companies in China directly, making communication a lot easier than over the internet. We’re pleased with the numbers of exhibitors here, and we’ve found some really interesting and good quality products.”
Dr Jamal Rashid Al-Khanji, Managing Director, Al-Khanji Enterprises & Trading, Qatar
“At this trade fair, we can form relationships with some of the best companies in the world. As an air-conditioning manufacturer based in California, we have met some fascinating businesses and had exciting conversations with advanced companies and solution integrators for potential strategic partnerships. Despite the potential trade war, we’re looking at a long term business trajectory and I believe relationships between US and Chinese businesses will continue to develop over the long term.”
Mr John-Paul Farsight, Chief Executive Officer, McINTYRE Industries, USA
“Recommended by my friends in the industry, this is my first time at SIBT and SSHT, and I have noticed a larger number of exhibitors and a wider selection of products compared with other similar trade fairs. The seminars have also offered useful insights into aspects that I’m not familiar with. I will certainly come back next year.”
Mr Shuoke Hong, Chairman, Zhuhai Gangzhuang Municipal Engineering Co., Ltd., China
Comments from speakers
“SIBT and SSHT are the most influential smart technology fairs in China and are most concerned with the growth of the industry. This year, we have noticed an increase in exhibitor numbers, among which approximately 20-30% are new, meaning the industry is very vibrant.”
Mr David Xiang, Founder & CEO, QJ. Smartech, China
“This forum that we co-organised with SIBT targets audiences from the vertical market, mostly the real estate and building industries. They are concerned with 5G smart application scenes, and the seminar’s content is designed for their needs. Also, many audience have visited the fairs as well, allowing them to better visualise the new knowledge that they learnt during the seminar.”
Mr Hantao Ge, IoT Principal Researcher, Strategic Planning & Researching Deputy Executive, China Academy of Information Communications Technology Department of Strategic Planning & Research of CTTL – Terminals, China
Comments from forum attendees
“As I work on system integration, this forum is suitably designed with professional speakers sharing many pragmatic case studies as well as highlighting multiple upcoming trends. The fair is also very good with the presence of almost all leading brands. As a frequent visitor, I have witnessed an ongoing growth in both the exhibitor number and exhibition space throughout the years.”
Mr Lingwei Jin, General Manager, Kingsoft Cloud, China
SIBT is organised by Guangzhou Guangya Messe Frankfurt Co Ltd, Shanghai Hongshan Exhibition Service Co Ltd, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade – Shanghai Pudong Sub-Branch, and The Intelligent Engineering Branch of China Exploration & Design Association. The organisers of SSHT are Guangzhou Guangya Messe Frankfurt Co Ltd, Shanghai Hongshan Exhibition Service Co Ltd, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade – Shanghai Pudong Sub-Branch, and China Smart Home Industry Alliance.
The two fairs will next be held from 2 – 4 September 2020 at Shanghai New International Expo Centre in China. SIBT and SSHT are both headed by the biennial Light + Building event in Frankfurt, Germany. The next edition will take place from 8 – 13 March, 2020.
Messe Frankfurt also organises a series of light and building technology exhibitions in Asia including Guangzhou Electrical Building Technology, Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition and Shanghai International Lighting Fair. The company’s light and building technology trade fairs also extend to markets in Argentina, India, Thailand, Russia, the UAE and other countries and regions.
For more information on Light + Building shows worldwide, please visit www.light-building.com/brand. To learn more about SSHT and SIBT, please visit www.building.messefrankfurt.com.cn or email [email protected].