Temperature sensor built into tap.

Although the main thrust of Germany's ISH 2009 show appeared to be on sustainable models and products, the problem of protecting Hong Kong-grown copyright turned out to be a worry for the territory's exhibitors at the show for sanitary, building, energy, air conditioning technology and renewable energies. There were also conflicting views over the right strategy for pricing, given the global economic downturn.

Ilife is a Hong Kong firm working with an Italian designer to cover global engineering trends. The company's focus is on sanitary fittings and water taps in a price range up to around US$40. "For us, the outlook is not so good because of the exchange rate," commented James Chan, Operations Director.

He complained about the growing number of copyright infringements by customers. He said Ilife doesn't print samples for new customers because of a fear of copyright loss.

Another Hong Kong exhibitor, Agnes Wong (of Main Plan Limited) also mentioned this problem.

Her company showed fittings with integrated thermostats priced at around US$50, with the product also shown as part of a shower mechanism. "We are importing components from France to ensure quality," Wong said. Her company's office in Spain was responsible for covering the market. Wong said she did make useful new contacts at ISH.

Beilby: no price war.

Also at ISH was Tim Beilby from SB Co Ltd, Co-owner of Hong Kong-based SCE Hardware Group. The group specialises in manufacturing hardware for the plumbing, heating and building materials industries, as well as audio and video components through a separate unit.

Beilby said many Hong Kong and Chinese mainland companies "underestimate themselves, like Italian companies did some years ago". They start from the premise that they have to produce cheaper goods to stay competitive; but in Beilby's opinion that is not the case. "We are not in a price war," he emphasised. Good research and having a European unit can give Hong Kong and Mainland companies the standing to negotiate better prices.

High visitor numbers despite the slowdown

Some 202,000 visitors attended the Frankfurt-based ISH between 10 and 14 March. The number of visitors was a little down on the last biannual show (2007 had 217,000 visitors) but nevertheless it was a remarkable turnout in poor times, particularly for business visitors.

Good attendance despite the downturn.

Hong Kong attendance was positive.

Over 80,000 fitters' firms attended. Other key groups included engineers, architects, designers, planners and retailers. The number of foreign guests increased from a quarter in 2007 to just under a third (30%) of all visitors this time.

With 2,361 companies from 58 countries, the Frankfurt exhibition grounds were fully booked, with some 20 small- and medium-sized companies from Hong Kong.

According to surveys by organiser Messe Frankfurt, the sector is relatively resistant to the economic crisis. In particular the trend for consumers to spend more time at home - together with a growing demand for and interest in sustainable sanitary solutions and efficient heating and air-conditioning systems with renewable energies - have given rise to optimism in the industry.

Some three-quarters of the exhibitors view the current economic climate in the sector as good or satisfactory. In 2008, the German heating and plumbing sector generated turnover of almost Euros40 billion. Although the business climate index for the segment is worse than a year ago, the Association of German Central Heating Industry (VdZ) said the market is slowly improving.

"Green" trend proving popular

For Jens Wischmann, President of the German Sanitation Industry Association (VDS), there are 10 identifiable import trends for bathroom goods. These are covered in the English language on the homepage.

Integrated systems for energy.

"Green" solutions to help an aging population.

Wischmann believed a "green bathroom" was one of the most important issues. "It is interesting that the sanitation industry has been tackling this issue for a very long time and has been coming up with solutions. Just think of the three-litre toilet flush or water saving faucets and handshowers that use less water," he said.

Other solutions are dedicated to a society with a large percentage of elderly people. "I see this not only as an area with huge growth potential but also an area that's got some catching up to do," Wischmann added.

That evaluation seemed to be even more important during the economic crisis, according to the industry's President. In a survey before the fair, more than 67% of respondents expected the home to be the centre of most consumers' attention during the economic crisis.

Saving energy and renewable energy sources were connected issues tackled by the heating systems sector too.

A requirement for technical innovation in Germany comes from recent legislation on renewable energy; in June 2008, the German government agreed on the legal blueprint for raising renewable energy options for domestic heat supplies to 14% by 2020.

Water-saving flushing system.

The purpose of the law is to promote climate protection by setting sound management of fossil resources and a lower dependence on energy imports. Further, it aims to facilitate sustainable energy supplies and develop technologies generating heat from renewable energy sources.

The law took effect on 1 January 2009 and is expected to further push revenue savings in this segment. In fact, the German government has initiated an incentive programme worth Euros5 billion to replace the nation's heating systems and create a more energy-sustaining grid.

Viessmann, a leading player in the sustainability field, said 30% of Germany's energy systems sold last year use renewable energy sources. Another big player, Vaillant, reported similar growth in the segment, topped by heat pumps with a growth of 55% last year, with solar thermic systems up 60%.

Heat pump to assist efficiency.

To implement its outlook, Viessmann is to expand production facilities in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province on the Chinese mainland. This was only opened two years ago, as well as in other locations on the Mainland. Earlier this year, the company opened a subsidiary in South Korea.

The focus on renewable energy also applied to systems which integrate different energy sources in one appliance. These mainly involved the integration of heat pumps, air conditioning and solar energy as well as smaller systems for combined heat and power generation in private households.

One example was Germany's Schucos, a very compact hybrid heat pump which comes with a 500 litre tank, as well as an air-water-heat pump combined with solar thermic panels. The price for the whole system will be around Euros24.

Zehnder of Germany showed a compact system for heating, cooling and air conditioning priced from Euros14,000.

US firm Buderus showed a prototype consisting of a heat pump with gas.

Sustainable shower.

Household generating system.

Systems for combined heat and power generation for private users were announced by Vaillant. They will be produced in co-operation with Honda. SenerTec, a smaller German company specialising in this segment also announced a very small system dedicated to private households.

BAXI-INNOTECH of Germany is to produce an appliance with a 1 kw power supply, it emerged at the show, while another appliance run on fuel cells is being developed by Hexis, Stiebel-Eltron and Hoval, to be introduction to the market in 2012.

from special correspondent Pia Grund-Ludwig, Frankfurt