The HVAC-R industry has responded well to the crisis and is already growing in double digits this year

This data emerged at MCE LIVE+DIGITAL, the event launched by MCE – Mostra Convegno Expocomfort that confirms itself as the reference point for the entire market.

Over 4,500 meetings and 40,000 interactions are some indicators of the first exclusively digital edition of MCE – Mostra Convegno Expocomfort that has closed with positive results confirming itself as a leader in plant engineering, air conditioning, renewable energy industries. According to analysis by Cresme and Assoclima presented during the event, in 2020, the sector suffered, but for 2021, there are growth opportunities.

22 April 2021 – Over 290 companies and brands as well as 35,000 visitors worldwide confirm that the HVAC+R sector holds despite the crisis dictated by the health emergency. MCE LIVE+DIGITAL 2021 offers a snapshot of the digital meeting and business opportunities for the whole HVAC+R industry. 38% of the professionals who participated came from abroad, from 116 countries, with a robust presence from Turkey, Germany, Spain and Greece. 36.4% of visitors were purchasing managers, followed by installers (30.6%), professional offices (19.6%) and finally agents/representatives, home & building automation specialists, schools, universities and research institutes.

Over 140 virtual meetings online, with more than 5,000 participants in the sessions, to create moments of discussion and comparison between operators, institutions and companies: 8 official conferences, 15 webinars organised by partner associations and 129 managed by exhibiting companies. The rich programme offered the opportunity to thoroughly investigate professional skills, analyse the reference sectors and discover the novelties launched on the market by companies. Participants had the chance to interact and discuss in more than 36,000 chats and manage more than 4,000 meetings with complete satisfaction.

The curtain went up on MCE LIVE+DIGITAL with the presentation of the seventh Forecasting and Cyclical Report on residential and industrial installation industries by CRESME, with updates on market trends, the effects of the pandemic and the potential for a return to growth offered by the 110% Superbonus. According to the report, the HVAC+R industry, which accounts for 2.1% of national GDP employing more than 410,000 operators, recorded a revenue loss of almost 6% in 2020. However, from 2021, it is expected to grow steadily to take the revenue back to pre-2008 levels within three years. Assoclima also predicted for 2020 a value of the Italian market slightly more than one and a half billion Euros, down 7.7% compared to the previous year, and a decrease in domestic production, from 762 million euros in 2019 to 712.3 million euros in 2020.

Against the flow were the portable or mobile monoblock air conditioners, which closed 2020 with a 22% increase in value and 25% in quantity, and heat pump systems with a power less than 17 kW in percentage increases of about 10%, a constant panel, both in
value and quantity for air-to-water and more than 50% for water-to-water.

Once again, That’s Smart has been one of the strengths of MCE. The discussion focussed on the full integration of increasingly intelligent, carbon-neutral smart buildings into the smart city platform, where public and private mobility is also more efficient and
eco-sustainable. The webinar: “The energy efficiency and opportunities offered by the process of reforming the electricity market for the Italian industrial sector”, by the Energy & Strategy Group of the Polytechnic University of Milan, offered an overview of energy
efficiency in the industrial sector, presenting hardware and software solutions that the leading Italian energy intensive industries can adopt.

The in-depth study on the energy efficiency of two critical industrial sectors such as health care for older people and food were at the core of the Energy Efficiency 4.0 events respectively: “Residential care homes: in strong technological evolution and processes”
on 8 April and “Food industry, efficiency and innovation with a new market idea” on 9 April. Greenlight also to a series of webinars dedicated to MEP BIM by the Polytechnic University of Milan: “BIM Adoption in Europe” to introduce fundamental tools and experiences that saw BIM-MEP platforms confirm themselves as a winning practice for the design processes of the HVAC&R value chain, and the meeting “BIM Maintenance and Management” deepened plant management and maintenance opportunities.

“The appointment with MCE LIVE+DIGITAL 2021 ended with the awareness that the digital approach determined by the pandemic is offering opportunities, tools and experiences until recently unthinkable”, – declared Massimiliano Pierini, Managing Director of Reed Exhibitions Italia. “The digital platform provided new services and new usage formulas that attracted great interest both among companies and operators.”

The next appointment with MCE – Mostra Convegno Expocomfort, the first for the sector, taking place in person, will be held from 8 to 11 March 2022 at Fiera Milano.

MCE LIVE+DIGITAL is an event organised under the umbrella of MCE – MOSTRA CONVEGNO EXPOCOMFORT owned by Reed Exhibitions, a leading global events business. It combines face to face with data and digital tools to help customers learn about markets, source products and complete transactions of over 400 events in almost 22 countries across 43 industrysectors, attracting more than 7 million participants. Events organised thanks to leverage industry expertise, large datasets and technology to enable our customers to meet whether in-person or online and generate billions ofdollars ofrevenues for the economic development oflocal markets and national economies around the world. Reed Exhibitions is part of RELX Group plc, a global provider of information and analytics for professional
and business customers across industries.www.reedexhibitions.com