International marketplace and forum for further education at the Amsterdam Exhibition Centre

The city's location, transport connections and charm speak for themselves. In August, Amsterdam will offer yet another reason for the promotional products industry to travel to the Dutch metropolis. proPSI will be held here from 25th to 27th August 2010. The trade fair for promotional products will be organised by Rexpro International Exhibitions GmbH, a cooperative venture of PSI organiser Reed Exhibitions Deutschland GmbH, and Pro Exhibitions & Publishers B.V from the Netherlands.

For the industry, this autumn trade fair ideally complements the "big" PSI which is held at the beginning of each year in Düsseldorf. proPSI in Amsterdam will be particularly relevant for the important Christmas business. Another strong point of the trade fair is its European character. Out of the 110 exhibitors who have already booked their stands, almost 50 percent come from the Netherlands. The second biggest country in terms of origin is Germany, followed by the United Kingdom. Other exhibitors come from Belgium, Turkey, Poland or Spain, among others. Quite a strong point, according to PSI Director Michael Freter: "Distributors and manufacturers can strengthen their business relationships with other European countries. The Dutch market, in particular, has great potential for the industry." After all, it is the second biggest in Europe after Germany.

High-quality offers in the field of further education during the fair

It will not only be an international market place but a forum for further education as well: during the fair, proPSI offers its visitors a large number of seminars and lectures. These will start off with the proPSI Conference of the European Promotional Products Industry 2010, to be held on 24 August, one day before the trade fair opens, at the RAI Amsterdam. Under the theme of "Growth through knowledge: actively marketing promotional products", top representatives from the marketing and promotional products sector will discuss issues concerning the industry. The top speaker and absolute highlight here will be Dutch marketing expert Richard van Hooijdonk, who will conduct his "Marketing 2.0" power seminar at the conference. Participants are promised a "stirring" lecture. The agenda also lists further lectures from the fields of marketing, sales and distribution. An opportunity for participants to discuss these subjects in more detail will also be available during the closing social event. "The enthusiastic feedback from the participants at last year's premiere was a particular incentive for us, and we promise an even better conference programme this year", Michael Freter says. This being an exclusive event, the number of participants will be limited. Registrations will be taken by Daliborka Ergül, Project Manager PSI Conferences & Seminars, phone +49 211 90 191 337, Email  Dali.Erguel@reedexpo.de. The participation fee is €249 (plus Dutch VAT). "Professional Members" of PSI will be given a €50 discount. For more detailed information on the conference programme please visit http://www.pro-psi.com or www.psionline.de.

During the trade fair, the seminar programme familiar from pro9 will also be continued and extended. On the first two fair trade days, 25 and 26 August, experts will give a practice-oriented overview of current issues and trends in the industry.

Country and product-specific theme pavilions

Theme pavilions will help visitors to find their way around proPSI more easily. Joint stands grouping exhibitors according to product properties or location of production give a clear structure to the fair. For instance, a "Green Zone" is planned for exhibitors who are particularly committed to the issue of sustainability, as well as a "Made in Germany" pavilion and a joint stand for exhibitors from Scandinavia. Well-known companies including Oppenhejm & Jansson A/S from Denmark or Portia AB, KEBACK AB and Nordiska Etikettbolaget AB from Sweden will present themselves here.

Free tickets for early bookers  

An early decision really pays off with proPSI: Anybody already registering via the Internet will get their ticket free of charge. The only condition: visitors must register before the start of the trade fair on www.pro-psi.com/visitorinformation. Of course, buying your ticket on site is also possible. In that case, the cost per ticket will be €25. Conceived to be an open trade fair, proPSI also offers non-PSI-members the opportunity to exhibit at the fair and to visit it.