The eighth edition of the biennial IFEST trade fair was held on 22-25 October 2002 at Flanders Expo in Ghent. From conversations with various exhibitors, we have learned that to them this fair is a very good platform to receive customers and meet new prospects. Once again, this year IFEST was met with a great deal of interest (16,346 visitors in total). The visitors were enthusiastic about the large number of exhibitions related to the environment, energy and workplace safety. We have heard from various sources that the people who visit the fair have the right profile: professionals with power of decision.

The success of IFEST 2002 is also largely due to the various eye catchers. On the first day, the opening symposium on the subject of waste and emission prevention proved to be very popular.
Minister Vera Dua was the guest of honour, and she presented the PP (Pollution Prevention) award to Deceuninck NV. HRH Prince Laurent was also present the first day and showed considerable interest in the event.

Waste and emission prevention, which was the central theme of the fair, is a very hot topic in the industry. Visitors of IFEST also could discover three PP islands showing actual PP projects that have been highly successful, both in terms of environmental technology and economic health. For fair visitors, it was highly instructive to see PP techniques and methods being used in the everyday operations of a company.

Another special feature was the 'innovation path', which highlighted the most prominent innovations since 1 January 2002. These innovations were selected and compiled by a specialised jury. The 'innovation logo' was displayed on the stands of the selected companies, allowing visitors to immediately recognise them. To many visitors, the innovations are the most captivating aspect of their visit to the fair.

The conferences, seminars and environmental debates dealt with industry-related subjects, and the discussions were occasionally rather heated! The day dedicated to municipal adminsitrations also proved to be worth repeating, given the large number of attendees.

Of course, it goes without saying that we will thoroughly evaluate all elements of this edition in order to even better meet the needs of exhibitors and visitors. At the exit of the fair, visitors were given the opportunity to participate in a visitor survey, and exhibitors will shortly receive an exhibitor survey questionnaire. The most significant results of these two surveys have been made available at this site.

• Results of the visitor survey
• Results of the exhibitor survey