ORTHOPÄDIE SCHUH TECHNIK- Fair and IVO Congress postponed to October 2022
ORTHOPÄDIE SCHUH TECHNIK - International Trade Fair and Congress and the associated Congress of the International Pedorthic Association (IVO) will be postponed by one year to October 14 and 15, 2022. The originally planned date was October 22 and 23, 2021.
The organizer C. Maurer Fachmedien and the German Zentralverband Orthopädieschuhtechnik (German Pedorthic Association) as the conceptual sponsor of the event are thus reacting to the still tense and uncertain situation in the Corona pandemic. "Even though the German Chancellor has promised that all citizens will receive an offer of vaccination by September, we must assume at this point in time that not all restrictions on contacts and especially on events will have been lifted by the fall of 2021," explains Carl Otto Maurer, Managing Director of C. Maurer Fachmedien.
Especially for large events such as trade fairs, there is a high probability that – also due to the experiences last fall and this winter – strict distance and hygiene rules will still apply in the fall of 2021 to prevent the virus from spreading again. And it cannot be ruled out that, depending on the infection situation, events may not be possible at all, Carl Otto Maurer says.
"The pandemic will still not be completely over by October," explains Stephan Jehring, president of the Zentralverband Orthopädieschuhtechnik. "With regard to the expected restrictions on major events, a trade fair this year does not make sense."
"A trade fair thrives on communication between all participants," says Carl Otto Maurer. With a date in October 2021, one has to fear that by limiting the number of visitors allowed in the exhibition hall and on the exhibition stands, exactly this communication will be very limited, he says. Higher costs for exhibitors for hygiene and stand construction would very likely be offset by a significantly lower number of customer contacts.
IVO also supports the decision to postpone. "The IVO Congress is the world's most important meeting place for the international community of pedorthists," explains Serge Mathis, IVO president. "But for this year we would have to fear that especially the international guests would not visit, because many people are very reluctant to travel internationally or possibly even travel restrictions are still in place." Therefore, he says, it would be better to postpone by a year when there are no more restrictions and all visitors, regardless of country, can travel to Cologne safely.
"We did not take the decision to postpone the trade fair lightly," explains Carl Otto Maurer. In the end, however, he says, no alternative was seen. "With our decision to postpone the event to October 14 and 15, 2022, we will again be able to offer our exhibitors and visitors optimal trade fair conditions." Carl Otto Maurer is confident that there will be no more restrictions until that time. Above all, international visitors would then again be able to come to the world's largest trade fair for the orthopedic footwear industry without any problems. He added that this also means that the IVO Congress, which is organized by C. Maurer Fachmedien and ZVOS as part of the event, will become a truly international meeting place for all foot experts worldwide.
"Moving the event is the best solution," emphasizes Stephan Jehring. "We are already looking forward to being able to meet again next year, informally and without restrictions."
With the postponement, all registration dates for the congress and the trade fair will also change. The new dates will soon be available on the website of the fair (www.OST-Messe.de).
If you have any questions, Wolfgang Best of C. Maurer Fachmedien will be glad to help (
