The opening speech at the SMM 2004 will be held by Federal Minister of
Economics and Labor Wolfgang Clement. The official opening of the 21st
Shipbuilding, Machinery & Marine Technology, International Trade Fair
Hamburg, will be in the Kaisersaal of the Hamburg City Hall on 27
September, that is the evening before the first day of the Fair. The
Fair itself from September 28 to October 2will feature more than 1,400
exhibitors from over 50 countries at the Hamburg Fair site, showing the
latest technologies and products from all areas of the maritime
industry.
Following acceptance by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder of patronage of the
SMM for the third time this year, the presence of the Minister of
Economic Affairs is another clear sign from the Federal Government of
its commitment to the maritime industry. "I will be delighted to
officiate at the opening of the SMM at the Hamburg City Hall", writes
Minister Clement. The shipbuilding industry and its leading trade fair
evidently have a very prominent position in the economic and
technological priorities of the Cabinet in Berlin. The SMM has a
reputation in the global shipbuilding industry as a source of stimulus
and a seismograph of economic and technological development. Mr. Clement
went on to express his hopes that the SMM 2004 would give new impulses
to shipbuilding in Germany, and would be a "complete success".
Other speakers at the opening ceremony will be Ole von Beust (Mayor of
Hamburg), Jürgen Kennemann (Chairman of the Management Boards of the two
Aker shipyards MTW and Warnowwerft and Chairman of the SMM Consultative
Committee) and Rolf Westfal-Larsen (Chairman of the International
Chamber of Shipping (ICS)).
The SMM 2004 is expected to attract more than 1400 exhibitor companies
from over 50 nations and 40,000 visitors from the whole of the world.
The SMM 2004, as the world's premier shipbuilding trade fair, presents a
comprehensive range of maritime hi-tech products and services; it is a
trendsetter and platform for innovation and knowledge transfer in all
areas of the maritime industry.