One month before the start of A+A 2011, the leading International Trade Fair with Congress for Safety and Health at Work, a record 1,580 exhibitors from 54 nations have booked  617,800 square feet of exhibit space. The event will also be more international than ever: two thirds of the exhibitors will come from counties other than Germany. Following Germany (292,200 sq.ft.), the highest demand for space was registered from Italy (48,400 sq.ft.), China (34,400 sq.ft), France (32,300 sq.ft.), Great Britain (30,100 sq.ft.) and the Netherlands (21,500 sq.ft.).  A+A 2011 will be held from October 18 - 21, 2011 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany.

“A+A 2011 is highly anticipated. After all, the areas of occupational and workplace safety are facing challenges all over the world due to the changes in the work environment. Keywords in this regard are demographic development, changes in employment relationships towards more independent work or also the increased number of women in the workforce,” explained Klaus Bornack, Managing Director of Bornack GmbH & Co. KG and also President of the A+A Advisory Board.

A+A 2011 will take place in Halls 3 to 10 and will focus on the topics of personal protection (e.g. protective clothing, protective equipment, corporate fashion), health at work (e.g. prevention, ergonomics) and security at work (e.g. fire protection at the workplace and disaster relief, environmental protection in the workplace, measuring and control technology).

Some of the product highlights in the “Personal Protection” segment will include protective equipment and clothing with special fits for women and top-quality functional protective equipment outfitted with high-tech laminates and membranes, intended for demanding use by fire departments or civil protection agencies. Daily fashion shows in Hall 5 will demonstrate how intelligent and functional solutions, new materials and pleasing design in protective clothing can be combined.

Another component of A+A 2011 will be the “Innovation Park Hazardous Materials” in Hall 9 where visitors can get an overview of new products and services for safe handling of hazardous materials.

New Offers for Disaster Relief at Work

The A+A 2011 segment for security at the workplace will focus on products, equipment and services for the protection of humans, corporate assets and the environment. The tight connection between measures for individual protection (safety) and protection of assets (security) marks the specific aspects of fire protection and disaster relief at work. During A+A 2009, the “Disaster Relief Forum”, which included a live demonstration of rescue and salvage operations was very well received. The organizers therefore decided to broaden corresponding topics at the A+A Trade Fair, in addition to the “Fire Protection and Disaster Relief at Work” theme at the A+A Congress. In Hall 6, A+A 2011 exhibitors will show special equipment for corporate disaster relief, such as emergency medicine, technical aides, ABC protection, decontamination or instrumentation, control and communication technology.

In the event of a disaster of extraordinary proportions, optimal coordination between in-house safety management and those of police, fire departments, authorities and disaster relief organizations is required. Trade visitors at A+A 2011 can  get information on the correct handling of worst-case scenarios and the cooperation with the relevant authorities and organizations at the joint stand of the Federal Agency of Technical Relief, the Association Representing German Plant Fire Brigades and the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief in Hall 6.

Focus on Ergonomics

The focus of the A+A segment “Health at Work” will be foremost on issues relating to the promotion of workplace health and the design of healthy workplaces. With the theme park “WorkplaceDesign” in Hall 7a, A+A 2011 will concentrate in particular on the ergonomic design of workplaces and work processes in production and offices. The theme park will consist of  exhibitor presentations on the topic of ergonomics, the special exhibition “Ergonomic Workplace Design in Production and Offices” (organized by Dr. Curt Haefner Verlag publishing house in cooperation with the German Office Network and the ergonomics institutes of various universities) as well as a program of lectures, discussions, and presentations on ergonomic workplace design.

Partner Country Poland – a Market with Potential!

Poland will be the partner country of A+A 2011. Until the end of the year, Poland will hold the EU Council presidency. In addition, this country has also initiated a comprehensive political program to lower the number of occupational accidents and to improve work quality. With an employee pool of about 16 million, Poland also offers considerable market potential. An overview of the Polish market for personal protective equipment and the country’s political efforts will be given during an information and discussion event on October 18, 2011.

The A+A Congress will be held parallel to the A+A trade fair, focusing on ergonomics, health-related topics (e.g. occupational diseases), workplace design and challenges due to specific dangers and stress as well as technical aspects (e.g. plant safety and protective equipment). The A+A Congress will be organized by the German Federal Association Health and Safety at Work (Basi).

The core target group of A+A will be experts from the sector of occupational safety and safety management, company physicians, owners of smaller companies as well as personnel and works council members and relief units from the fire and police departments and the Federal Agency of Technical Relief. A total of 55,800 trade visitors took part in the last staging of A+A in 2009 - almost 25% of them travelled from abroad.

eTickets for A+A 2011 can be ordered online at www.aplusa-online.com

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 our web site http://www.mdna.com; Subscribe to our blog at http://blog.mdna.com; Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/mdnachicago

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