International Firefighting Expo Held at EXCO with Largest Scale ... Top Firefighting Equipment Company 'NAPCO' Participates for the First Time

Export Consultations with 150 Overseas Buyers

Lee Sang-gil "Expecting Support for Overseas Expansion"

The largest specialized exhibition in the domestic fire and safety sector, the ‘2023 International Fire & Safety Expo Korea (Fire & Safety expo Korea 2023),’ will be held for three days from August 30 to September 1 at Daegu EXCO.

Marking its 19th year, the International Fire & Safety Expo will be held under the theme ‘K-Fire Industry, to the World and the Future!’ It is hosted by the National Fire Agency and Daegu City, and organized by EXCO, the Korea Fire Industry Technology Institute, the Korea Fire Industry Association, KOTRA, and the Win-Win Growth Committee.

This year’s exhibition will take place across 25,000㎡, including the entire East Hall and the West Hall of EXCO, featuring 1,372 booths from 378 companies. This is an expansion of 8,000㎡ compared to last year’s 17,000㎡, and the number of participating companies has also increased by 20% from 315 last year, making it the largest scale ever.

Lee Sang-gil, President of EXCO (right), is visiting the headquarters of NAFFCO to discuss participation in the International Fire Safety Expo.

Notably, for the first time this year, defense officials from 10 countries in the New Southern and New Northern regions with purchasing power have been invited, expected to invigorate exports for domestic fire companies.

During the event, the 200-meter road connecting EXCO’s East and West Halls will be transformed into an outdoor demonstration and fire suppression vehicle exhibition space, offering a variety of attractions.

To secure a global distribution network, NAFFCO, the largest fire equipment manufacturer in the Middle East and the market leader, will participate for the first time with a large-scale booth. In May, EXCO visited NAFFCO’s headquarters in Dubai to establish a cooperative relationship aimed at supporting fire-related companies in Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions to target new overseas markets and secure a foothold in the Middle East market.

At this exhibition, NAFFCO will hold an international conference on fire prevention for super high-rise buildings and conduct one-on-one purchasing consultations through a dispatched purchasing team from its headquarters.

Through this, exchanges between local fire companies and Middle Eastern fire manufacturers will expand, sharing advanced technologies and laying the groundwork for domestic fire equipment, fire supplies, and fire mobility equipment industries to enter the Middle Eastern market.

In the future, plans are in place to gradually implement continuous exhibition participation and investment consultations through strengthened cooperation with NAFFCO, with expectations that the International Fire & Safety Expo will establish itself as a key distribution channel hub in Asia.

The scene from last year's Fire Safety Expo

Last year, a robot pavilion and drone pavilion were created to introduce the future of the fire industry in line with the 4th Industrial Revolution trends. This year, in line with the expansion of advanced equipment such as robots and drones and Daegu City’s 8th-term future new industry promotion policy, a ‘Fire UAM (Fire Unmanned System) Special Pavilion’ will be set up to envision the digital transformation of the fire sector and an upgraded future of the fire industry.

This expo has focused on globalization through aggressive overseas marketing, resulting in increased participation from Chinese companies, and direct participation from Germany’s NORAFIN and Malaysia’s EMACO to exhibit their products. Domestically, leading companies in the self-contained breathing apparatus field such as Hancom Lifecare, Honeywell Analytics, and KD Defense have confirmed their participation.

Additionally, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the only aerospace company in Korea, will expand its participation, Hyundai Everdigm will exhibit the country’s first aerial fire suppression fire truck, Jinwoo SMC will showcase armored robots, and Tyson and Intusky will display fire drones.

The invitation of overseas buyers for export consultations will also be conducted on the largest scale ever. This year, 150 overseas buyer companies, an increase of 30 compared to last year, will be invited, demonstrating quantitative and qualitative expansion.

Furthermore, as interest in the defense industry has recently expanded to the fire industry, defense officials from 10 countries in the New Southern and New Northern regions are invited for the first time. The invitation of overseas defense officials is the result of efforts to attract overseas stakeholders with actual purchasing power to increase the practical export of domestic fire technologies.

Through this, excellent domestic fire technologies will be fully showcased, and it is expected to invigorate exports of domestic fire companies.

Moreover, on the opening day of the expo, August 30, VIPs from overseas fire departments such as the Dubai Civil Defense, Uzbekistan Fire Department, and the Philippines Fire Department will visit Korea to discuss cooperation plans with the National Fire Agency of Korea.

The International Fire & Safety Expo will be held simultaneously with the ‘Central Fire Equipment Evaluation Meeting,’ which assesses equipment requiring rapid and balanced distribution by identifying the demand for fire equipment from fire headquarters nationwide. The Central Fire Equipment Evaluation Meeting will take place during the exhibition period at the EXCO West Hall 3rd floor Grand Ballroom and 1st floor exhibition hall, where fire equipment purchasing officials from across the country will visit the site to experience equipment and watch demonstrations to evaluate equipment quality. Designed as a ‘purchase-linked’ central evaluation meeting to ensure that evaluation results lead to actual purchases, it is expected to be an opportunity to stimulate the domestic fire equipment industry.

Also, for the first time this year, a ‘Large and Small Business Purchase Consultation Meeting’ will be held jointly with the Win-Win Growth Committee. This will create a business platform between mostly small and medium-sized fire industry companies and large corporations and public demand sectors, fostering an industrial ecosystem where large and small businesses coexist, and leading efforts to develop domestic market channels through cooperation with major construction companies.

Outdoor side events will also be abundantly prepared. The four-lane road spanning 200 meters between the East and West Halls will be closed off to showcase demonstrations of fire suppression for electric vehicles and fire-fighting drone water spraying and control systems, which have recently attracted attention, enhancing understanding of advanced fire equipment technology. The latest fire trucks will also be exhibited to provide visual attractions for general visitors.

EXCO, the venue for the Fire Safety Expo.

In addition, a 119 emergency medical activity competition to prevent mass casualty accidents and improve accident response capabilities, along with more than 40 specialized fire technology seminars and workshops, will be held simultaneously, expected to create synergy in strengthening the expertise of the domestic fire industry.

Lee Sang-gil, CEO of EXCO, said, “With the participation of global companies from Germany, Dubai, and others expanding at the largest scale ever held International Fire & Safety Expo, we hope it will help domestic companies enter overseas markets.” He added, “We will do our best to advance beyond Korea’s largest International Fire & Safety Expo to become an international exhibition leading Asia and Europe.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.