The new director of boot Düsseldorf, Petros Michelidakis, is a man of action. Barely in office - since March of this year - he is strengthening the superyacht area of the world's largest yacht and water sports trade fair. From 21 to 29 January 2017, boot will have a special show on the subject of superyacht interiors. It will most likely be located in Hall 7a, i.e. between designers, suppliers and shipyards that are not exhibiting a yacht in Hall 6. If demand requires an area of several hundred square metres, the so-called "boot Interior" will be held in a neighbouring exhibition hall. Michelidakis: "Our aim is to further develop the world's largest yacht and water sports trade fair and consolidate its importance. An important step in this strategy is to give the extremely important and widely diversified interiors sector its own forum at boot in future. With its own special show on the subject of interiors, boot Düsseldorf is sending a clear signal to expand the B2B area of the trade fair."
Co-initiator of the special show is BOOTE EXCLUSIV editor-in-chief Marcus Krall, and BOOTE EXCLUSIV is also the exclusive media partner of "boot Interior" - the first dedicated forum at a yacht show to focus specifically on the most expensive part of a mega yacht. "From door handle manufacturers to surface finishers, the variety of companies and specialists involved in fitting out a yacht is enormous. There are thousands of suppliers worldwide. I am convinced by the idea of an interior trade fair as part of boot and am delighted to be involved with our brand," says Marcus Krall.
Another highlight will take place at the same time as boot Düsseldorf at the Hotel Intercontinental on Königsallee: On 25 January 2017, the industry elite will meet there for the German Superyacht Conference (GSC). This is the first time that the sixth and always fully booked event has left its home port of Hamburg and docked on the Rhine. "The proximity to boot makes sense for us," says GSC organiser Marcus Krall. "There are many important decision-makers from the scene on site who can easily combine their visit to the trade fair with the conference." boot Düsseldorf, Pantaenius Yachtversicherungen and WolzNautic are once again participating as partners and sponsors, as well as Tai Ping, manufacturer of exclusive carpets for yachts, jets and residences, for the first time.
The first speakers have also been announced: Martin Bremer, Head of Mercedes Benz Style, will give the keynote speech. Bremer has just transferred the Mercedes brand to the water: With the Arrow 460-Granturismo, the first day cruiser with Mercedes genes recently sped across the Mediterranean (see issue 4/16). Accordingly, Bremer's theme is "Transfer of Design". He will be followed by Dr Jens Ludmann, Chairman of the Management Board of FEV GmbH, one of Germany's leading engineering service providers. Ludmann, who has already been Global Chief Engineer at Ford and highly acclaimed CEO of Bavaria Yachtbau, knows both the automotive and yacht industries from a leading position through his career. His presentation topic is therefore almost obvious - "Automotive approaches for the yacht industry". The morning will be rounded off by the creative directors of the design and construction office Vripack, Bart Bouwhuis and Marnix Hoekstra. They will explain their approaches to yacht building with "Thinking out of the box". Also at the lectern will be Anthony Sheriff, CEO of Princess Yachts, who will talk about the "Risks and opportunities of Brexit" and BOOTE EXCLUSIV author Prof Dr Christoph Schließmann. His topic is: "Guarantee & warranty in international yacht purchase and construction". Alberto Galassi, CEO of the Ferretti Group, has also been invited.
Registrations for the GSC are now possible via the following website (150 places are available):
www.superyacht-conference.com
Martin Hager
Editor in Chief YACHT
