A number of exhibitors at the recent EuroTier Show in Germany say they are concerned about ‘corporate spying’ by attendees believed to be working for Chinese OEMs at the event.
EuroTier, a trade fair for professional animal farming, is held every two years in Hannover, Germany. The 2024 event, held November 12 to 15, hosted 2,193 exhibitors from 51 countries, plus around 120,000 visitors from 149 countries.
The show’s organiser DLG, the German Agricultural Society, also organise Agritechnica, a trade fair for agricultural machinery, held each alternating November.
During both these events, exhibitors launch brand new machinery, equipment and technology, and introduce their latest concepts to give visitors, mostly farmers, an idea of the technology they can expect in the future.
Any new concept ideas are obviously exhibited with a great deal of the manufacturer’s discretion, to protect their design copyright or patent.
However, it appears at this year’s EuroTier some exhibitors took exception to some Asian visitors on their stands taking “endless photos of every inch of the machines.”
Indeed, some exhibitors said they were “frustrated” at the number of times they saw attendees that were believed to be working for Chinese OEMs on their stand taking photos classifying it as a form of “corporate spying.”
There were also a number of Asian exhibitors at EuroTier displaying goods and services, many of which had only product photos on their stand walls.
In one specific incident a prominent and regular EuroTier exhibitor saw a very similar looking product to his on the stand of a exhibitor who they believed was working for a Chinese OEM, as well as posters showing a farm with that product installed.
The exhibitor, who prefers to remain anonymous, said he went over to the exhibitor and asked them to remove the product from the stand and take down the posters, as they were clearly his products.
The exhibitor said: “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The other exhibitor had clearly my product on his stand, and the posters, we believed, were of my products on a farm in my country. After I explained this to the other exhibitor he instantly removed the product and the posters from his stand without objection. I reported this incident to DLG and hope they can monitor these things in the future.”
Another exhibitor that showcases machinery at both Agritechnica and EuroTier also voiced concerns, more so from last year’s Agritechnica.
He said during one of the mornings when staff arrived to open the stand there were a number of Asian visitors waiting. When the stand was open, they entered and progressed to take lots of photos of the new machines being launched.
Both exhibitors, plus others, stressed that this was not the behaviour of all Asian visitors and exhibitors, but it was becoming “a common practice” and was “very concerning.”
They all said their investments in the stand costs were significant and that DLG should be monitoring this type of behaviour, taking action if necessary.
DLG was quick to reassure exhibitors that certain protocols are in place to assist them with such behaviour.
“DLG strives to balance an open, innovative environment with strong protections for exhibitors. Concerns about unauthorised photography and potential plagiarism at EuroTier are taken very seriously by the DLG. Any company exhibiting at DLG exhibitions is informed about the policy of photography at the exhibition grounds,” said Ines Rathke, EuroTier project manager. “Clear rules are in place to regulate photography and protect exhibitors’ intellectual property. If a company suspects unauthorised activity, they have access to legal support. On-site security and DLG representatives as well as legal counsel are available to handle such cases promptly.”
