AbroadLink at Medica 2021, the leading trade show for medical technology and medical devices

After the in-person version could not be held in 2020, the appetite had built up and despite health restrictions and the uncertainty of the moment 3141 brave companies met in Europe's largest international trade show in the medical technology sector.
At AbroadLink, we wanted to go there and see first-hand the innovations in the sector and also to be able to greet some of our clients. We were represented by Josh Gambín, sales and marketing director, and Sonja Honke, project manager specialising in medical device accounts.
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1. A trade show with a "cold" due to COVID
If we consider that Medica 2019, the last face-to-face version of the trade show, achieved a record participation with the attendance of some 5500 companies from 5 continents, the 3141 companies that attended this year represented a drop in participation of around 43%.
Health restrictions and security measures to fight COVID-19 are directly responsible for this lack of participation, especially in the cases of Asia and the American continent. The case of the Chinese companies alone is particularly significant: while around 1,000 Chinese companies travelled to Düsseldorf in 2019, only 189 did so this year. The Chinese participants were expected to spend a quarantine period in isolation upon their return to China.
Added to this, of course, we found the uncertainty about the evolution of the epidemic and its impact on the global economic activity, which has made many companies being reluctant to make the significant expense required to attend a trade show.
2. In vitro diagnostic medical devices: great things do happen
Most of the diagnostic companies were concentrated in halls 1 and 3. Of the 455 companies under this product category, that’s to say, almost 15% of all participating companies, 384 were located in these two halls.
Here the effect of the restrictions was much less noticeable. Significantly, 30% of the Chinese companies that came to Europe this year, which means 57 out of 189 participating companies, were under this product category.
This sub-sector has played a major role in the strategy adopted by governments to deal with the pandemic situation, which has led many of these companies to record turnover figures. In addition, the sector has high expectations for the future, which explains the relatively greater bustle in these halls.
3. Most represented countries: more than 100 companies
As expected, German companies made of Germany the most represented country at the fair with 545 participating companies. Italy, South Korea and the US were closely in second position with 267, 266 and 254 participating companies respectively.
The countries that placed in this top 9 group with more than 100 companies were:
1. Germany: 545 companies
2. Italy: 267 companies
3. South Korea: 266 companies
4. United States: 254 companies
5. China: 189 companies
6. France: 168 companies
7. Turkey: 157
8. United Kingdom: 111 companies
9. Poland: 104
4. List of participating companies by country
Note: data published by medica-trafair.com
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Blog writer and Community Manager interested in multiculturality and linguistic diversity. From her native Venezuela, she has travelled and lived for many years in France, Germany, Cameroon and Spain, passing on her passion for writing and her intercultural experiences.
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