2007 is a turning point for CONCRETA, the International Exhibition for Construction and Public Works. From now on, and starting with its 23rd edition which will take place at EXPONOR (Porto, Portugal) between the 23rd and 27th of October this year, the exhibition will be biennial. That is to say, the meeting with the sector will take place only on odd-numbered years. Furthermore, in each edition it will focus on different segments of the construction and public works sectors, including the air-conditioning sector, reveals the organization’s press release.

The director of CONCRETA 2007, Joana Vila Pouca, explains: “The new concept of the exhibition reflects, in fact, a strategic change, which lives up to the most up-to-date market expectations. Without ever neglecting its loyalty to the common core which defines it, the exhibition will have a different face each year.” She adds: “There will also be new ideas and qualitative changes. One of these is the creation of a specific space for exhibitors to demonstrate their products, techniques and technologies live. The challenge also comprises the gradual internationalisation of the exhibition, on the circuit of important foreign buyers and importers."

For Couto dos Santos, manager of Porto International Fair and vice-chairman of the Portuguese Entrepreneurial Association (AEP), the decision is an important one and seeks to answer the wishes of the majority of exhibitors in terms of the frequency, price and global cost of the exhibition and in terms of innovation and quality, as well as in its capacity to attract a growing number of national and international prescribers and buyers. “Porto is unique: its cultural, touristic and gastronomic spaces can be used to encourage national and foreign buyers to enjoy the best of what we have to offer. There will also be spaces for innovation and some awards to highlight the evolution which has taken place in this sector in Portugal, namely in product innovation and design", states EXPONOR’s manager.