Federal Economics Minister Michael Glos to open SMM on 22 September
The world’s leading shipbuilding industry show with 1,950 exhibitors from 55 nations
SMM 2008 – 23rd International Shipbuilding Fair at Hamburg Trade Fair from 23 to 26 September

The shipbuilding, machinery & marine technology international trade fair hamburg SMM 2008 will
be opened at the CCH-Congress Center Hamburg at 19:00 on Monday 22 September by
Economics and Technology Minister Michael Glos. The official opening ceremony, on the evening
before the start of the trade fair, will be attended by some 500 international guests from business
and government. Other speakers will be Ole von Beust (Mayor of Hamburg), Dr. Corrado Antonini
(Honorary President of CESA, the Community of European Shipyards’ Associations), and Antonio
Tajani (Vice President of the European Commission).
SMM 2008, the world’s leading shipbuilding fair, will be held at the Hamburg Messe site from 23 to
26 September, using all eleven halls of the Fair, with a total of 87,000 square metres. There will
be 1,950 exhibitors from 55 nations exhibiting high-tech products and technologies for the
shipbuilding and marine equipment industries, and offshore engineering. That is more than at any
previous SMM. The main areas are shipbuilding and ship fitting/equipment, prime movers and
propulsion systems, ship operating systems, marine electrical engineering and electronics, marine
and offshore engineering, maritime services, and outfitting in the specialist superyacht segment.
SMM 2008 will focus not only on economic issues and shipbuilding policy, but also on
technologies such as energy efficiency, combating climate change, and protection of the
environment.
There will be 1,240 exhibitors from abroad using SMM 2008 as an international market place, and
a total of 22 official national pavilions. First-time exhibitors at SMM are Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico
and Serbia, and Vietnam is back at SMM after some years of absence.
The supporting programme comprises more than 160 events, 125 of these purely specialist events.
There will be a range of conferences, symposiums, workshops, meetings, panel discussions, and
numerous official receptions. On the day before the start, that is 22 September, the Ship Finance
Forum will be hosted jointly by the Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) and Lloyd’s Shipping
Economist together with Hamburg Messe. It will bring together leading experts from the world of
finance and of shipbuilding and the shipping industry to discuss the present and future challenges
of the market.
A special highlight during SMM 2008 will be the first International Conference on “Maritime Security
and Defence” (MS&D), to be held at the Hamburg Fair site on 24 and 25 September. The
speakers will be from the top leadership level of many navies, including the Royal Navy from the
UK, the French, German and Malaysian Navies, experts from the security industry, and academics.
They will address the growing threats to shipping and ports from piracy and armed attacks, and
from terrorists.
“Environmental Protection and Innovation” are the topics of the workshop hosted by the Federal
Ministry of Economics and Technology and the Community of European Shipyards’ Associations
CESA in collaboration with Hamburg Messe on Tuesday 23 September. This event will be opened
by Dagmar G. Wöhrl, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economics and
Technology, and Government Coordinator for the Maritime Industry. Participants will include
Kommer Damen (President of CESA) and Jaakko Eskola, President of the European Maritime
Equipment Council EMEC.
There are many other events, such one which is a regular at SMM – the CIMAC Circle
(International Congress on Combustion Engines), held by the International Council on Combustion
Engines, on environment friendly transportation by ship.
The international “Marine Coatings Conference” will focus on environmentally sound coating
systems; it will be held on 24 and 25 September, organised by the MPI Group from the UK
together with Hamburg Messe, and with the support of the specialist magazine Drydock and the
Journal of Protective Coatings & Linings.
The working group of the shipbuilding and offshore equipment industry within the German
Engineering Federation (VDMA) and the German Shipbuilding and Ocean Industries Association
(VSM) will use SMM 2008 for their “Think.ING” campaign aimed at attracting young people to
engineering careers.
The 23rd International Shipbuilding Fair SMM 2008 will be open at the Hamburg Fair site daily from
9:30 to 18:00 on 23 to 26 September.