This year SIL is celebrating its coming of age, as it was launched as a Symposium 18 years ago, in 1998; one year later the Exhibition’s first edition was held, and year after year it has continued to evolve alongside the industry, remaining faithful to its annual appointment without interruption to its 17th edition. In all this time, we have been reinforced as the leading International Exhibition of Logistics, Transport and Material Handling in Southern Europe and in Spain, and the second in Europe. This has been possible, owing to the complicity and great support received from the institutions, fruit of the need there was to have a logistics meeting point on a national and international scale.
SIL is an international trade platform that brings together supply and demand over three days, with the aim of being the main international enclave for businesses, high level trade relations, and knowhow, by attracting investors and buyers from the whole logistics chain sector. An Exhibition where networking, contacts, and knowhow are more present than ever before through the great trade offer presented by participating companies, the largest International Congress in the industry in Europe –which has the participation of the most outstanding professionals in all the sectors of the Supply Chain – and the different business meetings.
Currently, a significant change in traditional supply chains is taking place due to the greater dynamism and complexity of markets and their logistics networks. We are facing the era of smart logistics, which is why this year in SIL, we have opted for the Smart concept and we will have an exhibition area called “SIL Smart Logistics & Mobility”, as well as specific sessions and talks devoted to this issue of such great importance to our sector.
Another important aspect of SIL 2015 will be the participation, in a special exhibition area of 1,600 m2, of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), the most logistic unit of the Armed Forces. It is worth remembering that logistics stems from wars. In fact, Napoleon, with good logistics, would have conquered Russia, and owing to good logistics man reached the moon. The case of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) is most interesting as it participates in the aid of people affected by a catastrophe, of any kind (floods, fires, etc.) and there are many countries that have been inspired by its successful model.
It must also be remembered that the largest International Congress in the industry is held in SIL, with the celebration of 20 different sessions, encompassing the distinct sectors and aspects that make up the supply chain, with the participation of over 230 world-renowned speakers, and the presentation of a hundred successful cases. It is worth noting that last year the SIL International Congress gathered over 3,600 professional attendees, and forecasts indicate that this year’s edition will surpass this figure. In short, SIL is the annual meeting point for the whole logistics sector that no professional can afford to miss.
See you from 9 to 11 June at SIL 2015!
Enrique Lacalle
President of the International Logistics and Material Handling Exhibition (SIL)
