International Logistics and Material Handling Exhibition kicks off in Barcelona with 550 firms

Barcelona (ACN).- The 17^th edition of the annual International Logistics and Material Handling Exhibition (SIL) kicked off on Tuesday in Barcelona and will be on until Thursday 11^th June. Held at Fira de Barcelona's Montjuic venue, the show will host more than 550 companies (45% international) presenting about a hundred innovations for the first time. The event is the only one of its kind taking place in Spain and the second-biggest in Europe. During the opening ceremony, SIL's President, Enrique Lacalle, pointed out that the logistics sector had not been severely affected by the crisis and now "is giving good news" with a4% rise in corporate turnover expected for 2015. In addition, the nature of the exhibition reflects the character of the hosting city: the port of the Catalan capital has the largest logistics concentration of southern Europe and the Mediterranean area within a radius of 5 Km and also has a geostrategic location, being Europe's main gateway to Africa, the Middle East and Asia. In addition, the main roads and railways connecting the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) with the rest of Europe pass through Greater Barcelona.

This year's edition opens under the slogan 'Number 1 in Logistics', hosting Spanish and international companies from different sectors, such as Transport and Logistics Systems (accounting for 42% of the total companies present), Telecommunications and IT Solutions (27%), and Warehousing, Equipment and Material Handling (31%). However, SIL 2015's main player will be 'Transport' with a special area dedicated to this industry and the participation of worldwide-known companies such as EKOL Logistics, Serveto, Mail Boxes ETC. The Catalan trade fair will also have other more traditional exhibition areas such as the Exhibition Village, the Hospitality Area, SIL Competitiveness and Future, SIL CTL and Círculo Logístico.

"SIL is one of the European leaders in logistics", Manager Victor Vilas said

During the first day of the 2015 edition of SIL, AndSoft's Business Development Manager Europe Victor Vilas told ACN that his company "invests each year in this show, considering it one of the European leaders in logistics". Vilas explained that AndSoft will present "its new Mapping Tool to plan and control on a map the fleet of the Transports and Logistics Operators", as well as other novelties developed by the company in the field of Big Data. "We are working on these formulas, which correspond to trends currently prevailing in Europe," Vilas concluded.

Josep Blázquez, representative of ATOX (a Spanish company specialised in the manufacturing of racks and storage systems), presented to ACN the main innovations of its firm, including its light-guided technology for pick-to-light operations. Based on illuminated devices, it allows workers to know at all times where to go and what picking operation to carry out at each place. "The workers save a lot of time, but also errors are eliminated and risks reduced," Blázquez said.

The Spanish logistics sector will increase its turnover by 4% in 2015 and 2016

During the official opening ceremony, the President of the event Enrique Lacalle stated that the logistics sector - a segment of the economy "which is giving good news" - ended 2014 with 720,000 workers (12,000 more than last year), a 3.5% growth in turnover and with a 40% rise in the number of warehouses contracted by operators. SIL 2015's President also predicted that the sector will increase its turnover by 4% in both 2015 and 2016.

The Catalan Minister for Planning and Sustainability, Santi Vila, stressed the economic importance of the logistics sector in Catalonia and its "resilience" during the economic crisis. The Minister recalled "the need to have the Mediterranean coastal system - with Barcelona as the forerunner, and Valencia and Tarragona following - play a key role in transport and logistics on a global scale". Vila also noted that this coincides with a time of domestic market recovery and a growth in exports.

"I want to stress the importance for public and private sectors to align in order for us to become Europe's southern gateway", he concluded. Vila called for determination, "as years passed and still no [international standard width] rail connection to the ports of Barcelona and Tarragona exist, while the Mediterranean Railway Corridor has not been executed" by the Spanish Government, despite it being included among the European Union Transport Priorities.

SIL will show the "importance" of logistics in improving the economy's competiveness

The Spanish Deputy Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Housing, Julio Gómez-Pomar said that the 2015 SIL will show the "importance" of logistics in improving the competitiveness of companies and the Spanish economy. "We need a more comprehensive vision of logistics and intermodal freight transport", he said. "Spain is a great gateway and a site where goods coming from Asia are processed and circulate towards Europe. It is therefore important to continue boosting intermodal trends", Gómez-Pomar concluded.

In this regard, he assured that the Spanish Government has made "efforts" to connect Spanish ports with railways, launching instruments such as the Interport Compensation Fund and Background Terrestrial Port Accessibility. He recalled that currently most of the transport of goods in Spain is still carried out by road.

SIL - a knowledge crossing point for an industry - holds its 17^th edition in a row

The International Logistics and Material Handling Exhibition is an annual event conceived as a meeting and knowledge crossing point for an industry as well as a bridge for business between the Mediterranean and Latin America. Founded in 1998 by Barcelona's Zona Franca Consortium (a public body with representatives from the 3 levels of government which works to promote economic development), the exhibition has now been running for 17 editions in a row.