Leading forecourt equipment manufacturers have voted to switch their allegiance from Automechanika to UNITI expo, a new European trade fair for the retail petroleum and fuel handling markets.

The new exhibition, to be held in Stuttgart, Germany, in June 2014, received a huge boost last weekend, following a meeting of the CECOD general assembly in Stockholm. (CECOD is a European association of equipment manufacturers for service stations, consisting of 25 leading industry equipment suppliers.)

CECOD members voted unanimously to nominate UNITI expo as their primary biennial European event, which means that major fuel handling equipment suppliers like Wayne, Gilbarco Veeder-Root, Tokheim, OPW, Petrotec, Scheidt & Bachmann, Franklin Fueling Systems, Doms, Elaflex Hiby Tanktechnik, Fafnir, Hectronic, Dürr Technik, Huth Elektronik Systeme, Bennett+Sauser AG and KPS Pipe Systems will now all have a significant presence at this new initiative, which its organisers claim will make it the industry’s leading international trade fair in Europe for 2014.

Elmar Kühn, managing director of event organiser UNITI, the German federation for petrol retailers, said: “The fact that CECOD have voted to make UNITI expo the most important trade fair for their member companies in Europe, is extremely exciting for us and acknowledges the excellent support generally that the industry is giving us. We welcome their members to our event. The focus we have on the international business, as well as our own domestic market, has certainly made a great deal of difference with the types of companies we are dealing with. While UNITI expo is dedicated solely to the retail petroleum and fuel handling sectors, the reason why most companies are signing up, is being able to demonstrate that we are working directly with oil companies, major retailers, distributors and installers worldwide, to make them a major focus of our attention, which is so important for all the companies taking part”.

After the meeting, Damian Tracey, president of Wayne, EMEA and chairman of CECOD said: “This was an important vote, taken on the back of a great deal of work conducted over the last six months, involving specific research among suppliers and visitors to existing trade fairs. We concluded that the member companies of CECOD and most probably the industry at large, would like to become involved in a new exhibition, dedicated and much closer to the industry’s expectations for the leading trade fair in our business. We look forward to working with UNITI over the coming years, in the best interests to make this new international event the preferred choice not only to our industry but most importantly to our customers.”

UNITI expo is to be a three day international exhibition for manufacturers, distributors, installers, retailers, PMCs and commercial operators of petroleum equipment, petrol forecourt services & retail technology. The fair will expand over 26 000 metres of space and incorporate three exhibition halls to feature exhibits on; forecourt equipment and technology; shop and convenience retailing; car wash and car care; payment and automation; fuel logistics, lubricants, fuels and additives.