Successful Maastricht return for APEX & IRE

The APEX and International Rental Exhibition (IRE) events for the access and rental industry made a successful return to Maastricht, the Netherlands at the beginning of June.

Held at the MECC venue, the two exhibitions attracted more than 6130 industry professionals, which is only a fraction less than the 6250 when the shows were last staged in 2017, demonstrating a continued appetite for in-person events for networking and supplier meetings.

The events attracted many of the biggest buyers of equipment in the world, including more than 350 delegates at the European Rental Association (ERA) annual convention, which was held at the same venue on the second and third days of the shows.

The positive atmosphere was highlighted by a record-breaking attendance of 410 at the European Rental Awards dinner, held at the MECC on 7 June. The shows – which attracted a total of 225 exhibitors - saw multiple launches of new products and services, including many electric machines.

APEX saw the launch of a significant number of new products, ranging from spider lift-related equipment on the AlmaCrawler, CTE, Oil & Steel, Omme Lift and Platform Basket stands to vehicle mounted lifts from Time manufacturing brands Ruthmann, Versalift and France Elévateur, alongside electric launches from Multitel Pagliero and Palfinger. 

Genie presented its latest technician VR training suite, while Haulotte showed its FSTN boom lift basket safety device. Asia-based OEMs were out in force too, with Nagano expanding its tracked booms with a new electric offering and LGMG, Liugong and Goman presenting their latest electric units at the show. New access manufacturer I-Lift Access Solutions chose APEX to announce Itself to the world for the first time.

IRE also saw multiple electric machine launches, including new products from Eliet, Hitachi and HG. Stephane Henon. President of the ERA, speaking to delegates at the start of the ERA convention, said the energy transition presented “a unique opportunity to increase penetration of rental… With the support of the OEMs that are invested heavily on low emission technologies - as you will see at IRE - the rental industry is at the forefront of the carbon footprint reduction on worksites.”

The ERA was a partner in the IRE exhibition, while the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) was the official supporter of APEX. The two shows were last held in 2017 in Amsterdam, with the 2020 events cancelled because of Covid.

Tony Kenter, Managing Director of show organiser Industrial Promotions International (IPI), said: “We were delighted to be back in Maastricht again. Visitor numbers were back up at close to pre-Covid levels and it was a serious, professional group of buyers.”

“There is clearly a place for international events, a venue where buyers can meet hundreds of suppliers in the space of a few days. We thank all exhibitors and attendees and look forward to hosting the events in Maastricht again in 2026.” The dates of the 2026 shows will be in June, 2026, exact dates to be announced soon.