Poland will be the partner country at A+A 2011, the leading international event Safety, Security and Health at Work (International Trade Fair with Congress), to be held from October 18 - 21, 2011 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany. A+A 2011 will take place at an opportune time in view of the highly ambitious goals of the European Union for the period 2007 to 2012: with its Community Strategy on Health and Safety at the Workplace, the EU plans to reduce the number of occupational accidents by 25% by 2012. There are still about 4 million workplace accidents occurring across Europe every year.

Against this background, industry experts from the occupational safety and workplace security management sector are looking forward to A+A. This event is the central meeting point for national and international market leaders and institutions and at the same time Europe’s largest discussion forum for safe and healthy workplaces. “No other industry event offers such a complete overview of the latest products and services and provides so much impetus through the expert exchange among specialists as the global No. 1 trade fair in this field - A+A,” stated Joachim Schäfer, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf.

Poland, a country with comparatively high market potential and very ambitious targets in terms of decreasing occupational accident figures and increasing the quality of work, is the perfect partner nation for A+A 2011. “Poland has initiated a comprehensive reform program to create more and better jobs. The results are already noticeable now. While labor productivity in 2003 was at 62% of the EU average, only four years later this figure has already improved to 67%,” explained Joachim Schäfer.

With 15.9 million workers, Poland achieved a new record high in 2009. Its economic growth rates have been above the European average over the past few years. “Especially the construction and industrial production sectors drove growth – both being segments of the industry with particularly “protection-intense” jobs. This accounts for the high demand for personal protective equipment and the strong interest of Poland in A+A as a platform for products and services concerning safety and health at work,” remarked Birgit Horn, Project Director of A+A 2011.

In addition, Poland will take over the EU presidency in the second half of 2011, right in time for A+A 2011. To Joachim Schäfer, Poland is therefore also the “logical” partner country for this year’s A+A: “Everyone is anxious to see what impulses will be generated by the Polish EU presidency, for instance regarding the EU Economic Program Europe 2020 for sustainable growth, more quality of life and equal working conditions across borders.”

In addition to a Polish group exhibit and the visit of a high-ranking political delegation, an information and discussion event about the Polish market for personal protective equipment is planned as part of the A+A 2011 ancillary program.

For further information on visiting or exhibiting at A+A 2011, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: info@mdna.com; visit the web site www.mdna.com.