Looking towards the fall lineup of cycle show events - Eurobike in Friedrichshafen, IFMA in Cologne, EICMA in Milan and Interbike in Las Vegas - at least one trade show organizer came to the Taipei Cycle show with a specific agenda. Dr. Regine Kalka, vice president of KolnMesse, arrived in Taipei on a mission to promote IFMA with a vengeance.

"We are looking to reunify the industry in one show," said Kalka. "Over the past several years, IFMA has suffered from what could be called a complacency with its status in the industry, and therefore lost touch with a portion of the market," she said. Kalka is quick to note that this year the show's management has been completely revamped, enabling the development of an entirely new concept for the show.

"Although it is important to secure the commitment of the big players, such as Shimano and Cannondale, who have said that they will exhibit exclusively in Cologne this year, we are also trying to focus on the other 10 percent of our exhibitors that we may have been taking for granted in the past," Kalka commented. By this Kalka refers to some of the smaller, high-end companies, such as those coming from Taiwan, who are an integral part of the fair. "But first it is a matter of convincing these companies that the show is worth it, that it has both a commitment from the high-end players and a commitment from KolnMesse," said Kalka.

One of the main aims of this year's show is to build up the service and customer-oriented side of the event by offering technical clinics, seminars covering management topics and even a bicycle repair competition. A second goal is to promote and market bicycles as a product. Towards this end there will be an emphasis on the "fun" side of the fair, with the organizers having enlisted the cooperation of a local music television channel to add extra excitement to the atmosphere.

IFMA 2001 will be held September 13-16 in Cologne, Germany.