REHACARE is the world’s largest trade fair for rehabilitation and care. It took place in mid-September in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia. Of course, we did not want to miss this meeting of international exhibitors and experts.
In Hall 6 of the Düsseldorf trade fair, it was hard to miss the 150 square metre API stand. Together with our partners Activa, Bilanpassning i Staffanstorp AB and Zawatzky, we welcomed numerous visitors. In personal conversations, many old contacts were refreshed and many new relationships were established.
New cooperation planned with major retrofitting company
Naturally, our FlexiRamp, Active FlexiRamp and Robot offers were the focus of the exchange. “It quickly became apparent that many market participants in our industry are currently facing special challenges,” explains Stephan Schwartz, Managing Director of API Germany.
Examples of this are the long delivery times for vehicles, increased material costs and the general lack of qualified skilled workers. Electromobility, one of the top topics of the year so far, was somewhat surprisingly less in focus for us.
Talks with a new company on the market that specialises in the conversion of special vehicles, including those for transporting the disabled, were particularly pleasing. Here we were already able to talk in detail about a future cooperation.
REHACARE 2022: Smaller, but with a positive outlook
A total of around 35,000 visitors from over 80 countries came to Düsseldorf and visited the stands of 691 exhibitors from 38 countries. In addition to handicapped-accessible conversion options for cars, the main focus was on aids for children and, for the first time, exoskeletons for the re-entry of people with handicaps into working life.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, there are about 7.8 million handicapped people in Germany. That is almost ten percent of Germany’s population and shows how great the need for support is for this very heterogeneous population group.
The 46th edition of REHACARE will take place again next year in Düsseldorf from 13 to 16 September.