As this year’s SMM conference and exhibition in Hamburg is expected to be the largest so far, the same goes for the Holland Pavilion at the fair.

Earlier today Monique van Daalen, Dutch Ambassador for the Netherlands in Germany has officially opened the Holland Pavilion at the international shipping trade fair in Hamburg.

At the official opening ceremony the Ambassador said she was very proud of both the pavilion and the exhibitors, adding that “it is one of the pavilions that is standing out. If you enter the hall, you already see it from the distance.”

The Holland Pavilion has been described as the place to meet shipyards, suppliers and service providers who work together to achieve the impossible in all locations and conditions.

Ambassador van Daalen said: “We have about 136 companies that are participating, we have about 53 here in this pavilion, and it shows that the Netherlands is really a maritime nation, and that we have a lot to offer to the world.These range from very small companies that are specialized in certain aspects of maritime industry, to large companies that build ships and can advise on the best way to handle your business and in the matter of building a ship.”

Engine of economy

Asked if the maritime industry was one of the engines of the Dutch economy, van Daalen said:
“We’ve been a seafaring nation and maritime nation for many years, and this continues. We have a vast experience, we have a vast know-how, we are very innovative when it comes to the maritime industry, and I think this fair is an excellent opportunity to show what we can do; to show our might.”

The official pavilion of Netherlands Maritime Technology hosts 52 companies spread over 1,000 m2 of the exhibition space in hall B7 of the Hamburg Messe.

Also, elsewhere on the trade show floor and in the port of Hamburg, the Netherlands is well represented. The opening day of the exhibition, which takes place from 9th till 12th of September, is the ‘Holland Day’.

“I haven’t visited all of the boots yet. I started, but because there are 136 boots it’s a bit difficult to do it in two hours. I visited about 10 or 15 of them, and it is amazing. It is really inspiring to see the variety of products they are making and developing,” van Daalen concluded.

As for the SMM itself, more than 2,100 exhibitors and over 50,000 visitors are expected, more than ever in the history of this fair.

Sjef van Dooremalen en @MoniquevDaalen hebben vanmorgen het Holland Paviljoen op #SMM2014 geopend! http://t.co/ku6tJaCBYw

— Maritime Technology (@MaritimeTechNL) September 9, 2014