About 5,000 industry professionals from 31 countries visited the ITFM 2012 international industrial exhibition at Crocus Expo in Moscow, Russia on 27-30 September.

Organised by ITE Group plc and Deutsche Messe Russia, ITFM comprised of four expos - Industrial Automation Russia, MDA Russia, Surface Russia and CeMAT Russia.

Over 250 companies from Russia, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, China, India, Taiwan, Belgium and other countries participated in the expo. The event also featured the national pavilions of Germany and Italy, other international pavilions and a stand of Russian manufacturers organised by the Moscow City Department of Science, Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship.

Visitors learned about production automation systems, automation components for various areas of application, hydraulics, pneumatics, drive technology, solutions for industrial surface treatment and industrial coatings, warehouse management systems, and handling equipment.

TVH exhibited on a stand that was larger than the previous year's.

Exhibitors at CeMAT Russia, which was held from 25-28 September, included Dematic, EnerSys, Hans H Meyer, Jungheinrich, KNAPP, Linde Material Handling, Meta Regalbau, MTG, Rocla, SSI Schafer, STILL, Stocklin, Toyota Material Handling Europe, Trilogiq Group, TVH Group, viastore Systems, Volzhskiy pogruzchik, Rus, RusTrans, Sevco, Hyster, Trelleborg Industry, FABS Logistic, First Logistic, Schoeller Arca Systems and Universal - Spetstechnica.

A key event in ITFM's business program was the Russian-German Industrial Forum for Innovations, Modernisation and Energy Efficiency. In co-operation with the German Logistics Association (BVL), the third day of the forum featured a session on the development trends in Russia's logistics and intralogistics market.

Participants had the opportunity to discuss the current and future challenges in logistics for manufacturing, commercial and logistics businesses in the Russian market.

Toyota Material Handling Europe (TMHE) participated at the expo for the second time, presenting its products in the fair's largest stand, a space covering 200 sqm (2,153 sqft.)

"This CeMAT is the next step in the development of materials handling in Russia and we are very pleased to be a part of it. Today, we are confident about the solid relationship that we are constantly building and expanding with our customers in Russia," says Hans van Leeuwen, executive vice president marketing and sales, TMHE.

The expo was the first opportunity for TMHE to reveal a set of tailor-made services and solutions for the Russian market that include core fleet rental, short-term rental, and payback rental, as well as used truck solutions.

During the exhibition, the Russian partners of the Bolzoni Group, Hans H Meyer OOO LLC, a subsidiary of Hans H Meyer GMBH, announced that the first batch of forks from its newest production site in China will arrive in the next few weeks.

The group says the Russian market has great potential in the area of standard forks consumption. Hans H Meyer OOO LLC will offer forks of all cross-sections and lengths.

Stepan Kriushev, head of marketing for Linde Material Handling Russia, says the company had its own booth in the expo for the first time. "The fair became a good ground to communicate our new product and service offering to the market, as well as explain our progress and plans for the future.

"This year, the level and quantity of exhibitors (increased) significantly."

Jungheinrich AG, which has participated in all the CeMAT Russia shows, says the expo is important because local customers get the chance to see how logistics providers are positioned on the Russian market.

Spokesman Jan Kaulfuhs-Berger says that during the fair, Jungheinrich got new prospective contacts and also got to talk to the existing clients, who came with new ideas for further effective solutions. "Russia has become one of the most important markets for Jungheinrich with huge perspectives and possibilities for further development, and this is a reason for our participation in CeMAT in Moscow."

Jungheinrich presented a reach truck, the ETV 214, which it says has a 10% higher performance, with 10% less energy consumption compared to the previous model.

TVH, a global forklift spare parts and accessories supplier, exhibited on a stand that was larger than the previous year's. The Belgian-headquartered company introduced, among other products, a CAM positioner and rotator. CAM is an Italian forklift attachment manufacturer that was acquired by TVH in 2012.

"Thanks to the participation in CeMAT Russia, a lot of new contacts were made which leaves us to conclude that this year's exhibition was once again a success," says a TVH spokeswoman.

CeMAT Russia premiered in 2010 at the All-Russian Exhibition Centre.