About France

SIMA 2011 confirms recovery is underway in the farming equipment sector

Paris, 7th March 2011 – The 74th SIMA, the Paris International Agri-Business Show was held against a backdrop of much enthusiasm. “The last couple of years have been particularly difficult for equipment manufacturers in the farming sector, says Martine Dégremont, exhibition director, “and the success of SIMA 2011 is – I think – firm evidence that a recovery is under way. A number of exhibitors even revealed that they had secured significant sales as early as the 1st day if the exhibition.

According to Damien FETIS, Managing Director of HDS, a European designer of innovative high-power transmission systems for farming machinery, “SIMA 2011 went very well for us. We made many new contacts at the event, and even secured a number of very promising projects, although they have yet to be confirmed, of course. We very much felt that business was once again on the right track”.

Benoist Franquet, Chairman and Managing Director of Franquet, specialised in soil tillage, added: “This trade fair is becoming increasingly professional and we were struck this year by the high quality of the contacts we made and the sheer numbers of new visitors. There was a much more positive, more constructive atmosphere, and we felt that the recovery was under way”.

Patrick Lezer, member of the Management Committee and Export Manager for Razol, specialised in soil tillage, said that “After a couple of difficult years, we registered for this year’s SIMA with a measure of apprehension. But the quality of the contacts we established with farmers and the orders we closed at the show – and as a result the contracts that we entered into with our dealers who flocked to our stand – all made for an outstanding show and are evidence of a widespread recovery throughout the sector. And many visitors from overseas (the Far East, Asia, Africa, North Africa, etc.) were in attendance, hinting at strong growth prospects in these countries. SIMA 2011 was a great success!”

Patrick Perard, Managing Director of the PERARD Company founded in 1988 and well-known for its cutter bar trailers and grain carts, also spoke positively about the show: “French buyers were there of course, and we made some excellent contacts among them. We even closed a few deals – something which rarely happens! We were also aware of many more visitors from the US, Canada and Egypt. If I had to sum up this year’s show? I would say an excellent SIMA – the best since we started taking part in it”.

The aisles were packed from the minute the show opened on Sunday 20 February, setting the tone for SIMA 2011

• Despite the difficult economic climate, the exhibitors turned up in force: 1,300 came from 41 different countries, representing more than 1,550 brands. 50% of the companies present were from overseas – evidence of the international flavour of this year’s show. Also worth mentioning are the 285 companies who exhibited at SIMA for the first time this year.
• Visitors came in droves from all over the world: 209,800 entrances – 1 in 4 of which was from abroad - were registered over the 5 days, a slight increase on 2009 (208,550 entrances).
• A particularly broad selection of discussions were held with more than fifty workshops, conferences and visits to farms. The Paris 2011 AgriEvolution Conference took advantage of the record number of visitors to the show. The round-table discussions served as opportunities to take stock of the farming situations in several countries (India, Poland, China, the Ukraine, Romania, the US). Events which all served as opportunities for discussion and meetings!
• SIMAGENA (SIMA’s livestock & poultry section) was also highly successful. The highlights of this year’s show included the Prim’Holstein Avenir Awards and the Open shows with genetic selection criteria, as well as the packed Ring programme, which attracted a very high number of visitors. SIMAGENA has confirmed its status as the leading event for farmers, with more than 300 European animal breeders exhibiting, nearly 400 cattle (50% brood cows / 50% dairy cows) and a panel of international judges.
  The results of the open shows and sales are available by clicking here

A significant increase in the number of overseas delegations

This was one of the notable features of SIMA 2011: opened in the presence of several overseas ministers, including Senegal’s Minister for Farming, it hosted more than 300 overseas delegations. Among them were a number of new countries, such as Cameroon, Senegal, Egypt, Kenya…
It’s worth noting that 46% of the journalists at SIMA were from outside France, coming from 43 different countries.

“We cannot win the fight for agriculture without innovation – and innovation in the service of the environment”

These were the words with which Bruno Le Maire, France’s Minister for Agriculture, inaugurated SIMA on Sunday 20 February. “More than 40% of the innovations on show here at SIMA are world firsts”, replied Valérie Lobry, General Manager of Comexposium’s food and agriculture department. “What you are seeing here is the farming equipment of the future”, added Jean-Pierre Bernheim, President of Axema, “solutions designed to meet the challenges facing farmers”. Among the various innovations on show, 33 were singled out in the SIMA INNOVATION AWARDS in recognition of their contribution to bringing about sustainable, high-performance agriculture.