From 26 to 29 September 2006, a fully booked Aquatech Amsterdam took over all 22,700 square metres of the Amsterdam RAI Europa complex. Hosting no less than 861 exhibitors, introducing more than 135 innovations and products, the world’s leading trade event in the field of process, drinking and wastewater was visited over 20,000 times. The visitors originated from 47 different countries. New ingredients included an industry round-table meeting, a new segmentation of the exhibition floor and the successful AquaStages.

Held on the evening of the opening ceremony, the industry round table brought together Paul Reiter (Director of the International WaterAssociation), Jeff Connelly (VP GE Water & Process Technologies), Roger Radke (President and CEO Siemens Water Technologies) and Hank Driesse (President ITT Fluid Technology). Under the capable moderation of Pamela Wolfe, editor of Water & Waste Water International, they discussed issues such as water treatment, storage and quality in front of a highly interested audience. Radke’s proposition that 50 percent of people will refuse to drink recycled sewage water made for a sparkling debate.

AquaStages
Also making its debut at Aquatech 2006 were two AquaStages, one focused on Water Treatment/ Point of Use and the other on Transport & Storage and Process Control & Automation. The stages provided a platform for knowledge transfer, information exchange and of course networking. Lectures and seminars were given on subjects varying from the development of pressure pipelines to new techniques for sea water desalination. Many people were eager to hear what was being said and stopped by to listen. In 2008 the AquaStages will definitely return to Amsterdam as various parties have already expressed their appreciation for this initiative.

New division exhibition hall
The new segmentation of the exhibition hall, which divided the huge floor space by application, proved very successful indeed. Visitors found it far easier to find their way to subjects and companies of interest, making their overall visit more effective and pleasing the exhibitors at the same time. The overall atmosphere at Aquatech Amsterdam 2006 was hugely positive. And one of the more traditional highlights was also the subject of considerable media attention, namely the International Aquatech Innovation Award. This prestigious prize, which is designed to highlight the most promising new products, was won by Krohne for the Waterflux 2070. The CEPAration CeraCep of Hyflux Ceparation was named category winner. The next Aquatech exhibition in Amsterdam will take place from 30 September - 3 October 2008. All the signs are that the great success of the 2006 edition will be built on still further.