VSK trade fair 2022, which took place at the Jaarbeurs last week, was a special edition right from the start. This was because Minister Hugo de Jonge (Housing and Spatial Planning) announced there that from 2026 it will be compulsory to install a hybrid or fully electric heat pump. So work to do for installers. The exhibition floor reflected this and showed that sustainability is more than ever on the minds of the installation world.
"It is better for everyone's wallet if we use less natural gas," Minister De Jonge stated at the opening of the VSK trade fair. "That is why the cabinet wants the hybrid heat pump to become the standard from 2026 when the central heating boiler is due for replacement." That wish of the cabinet will soon be enshrined in law. And to support homeowners in doing so, 150 million euros a year will be provided in subsidies for (hybrid) heat pumps until 2030.
In other words, the installation world can no longer ignore sustainability. And it knows that all too well. The VSK trade fair 2022 was entirely dedicated to the techniques (and labour market challenges) associated with energy transition. From a sustainability square to a heat pump innovation route. And numerous lectures and workshops on hydrogen, heat pumps and other sustainable techniques that are essential for the energy transition.
Joyce van de Hoef, sales project manager at Jaarbeurs, also notices that sustainability is a much more important theme at this year's VSK fair. "The climate targets are getting closer and the technical solutions have to come now. You noticed that on the exhibition floor. During the previous edition of the VSK trade fair (early 2020, ed.), sustainability was also an important theme, but it was a bit more non-committal. Back then, sustainability was still approached as something that was going to play. Now it is seen as an absolute necessity, which the installation world has to get to grips with as soon as possible."
Van de Hoef sees this urgency among both exhibitors and visitors: "Exhibitors need to make sure they have a complete range of technical solutions that will help the energy transition move forward. Installers, meanwhile, need to make sure they have the knowledge and skills to apply those techniques. In addition, the issue of manpower also plays a huge role: how do we ensure enough hands to install all those techniques?"
The workshops and lectures at the VSK trade fair spoke volumes in this respect, says Van de Hoef. "Of the 143 sessions we organised, more than half were purely about sustainability. That was really not the case during previous editions of the VSK fair."
Mark Vellinga, commercial director of Remeha, also sees the trend towards sustainability on the show floor. "You see heat pumps everywhere. That has really exploded compared to the previous edition of the fair. To give an example: at Remeha, we have been focusing on hybrid heat pumps for three years, but this year, for the first time, we see other market players betting on this as well. That's great, because we as a full industry have to work to meet the rapidly growing demand."
There were two themes at Remeha's stand this year: sustainability and unburdening the installer. Or summed up in Remeha's exhibition slogan: 'For sustainability. For you.' Sustainability is almost impossible to miss there. For example, the Hydra, a boiler that runs entirely on hydrogen, is prominently displayed on the stand. The same goes for the Elga Ace, Remeha's hugely popular hybrid heat pump. "The number of enquiries we get for hybrid heat pumps has increased by a factor of 4/5 this year. And that will only increase in the coming years," says Vellinga. "That shows that the installation market must take action: invest even more in the technologies needed for the energy transition, scale up production capacity as quickly as possible ánd prepare as many installers as possible for what is to come."
The second theme (supporting installers) is therefore at least as important, Vellinga emphasises. After all, there is an awful lot coming at installers these days. "The central heating boiler has been their bread and butter for decades, they know that technology like the back of their hand. But now more and more consumers are asking for something else, namely (hybrid) heat pumps, and they generally have much less experience with this. So installers really need to get on board, because they are the ones who sell, install and service these technologies. Remeha offers several service packages to support them in this."
In addition, Remeha is actively training installers for the energy transition to overcome the looming labour market shortage. Currently, thanks to Remeha, 5,000 installers a year are trained for the energy transition. The ambition is to more than double that, to above 10,000 installers a year.
But sustainability was not only found among exhibitors at the VSK fair. Jaarbeurs itself also invested in a more sustainable fair in various ways. "Sustainability is an increasingly important consideration for us when organising a fair," says Natasja O'Connor, manager event & exhibitor success at Jaarbeurs. "We are exploring all kinds of ways to offer our services in a more sustainable way."
During the VSK fair, for example, Jaarbeurs used the circular carpet Rewind®, from carpet supplier JMT Floorcoverings. This is an important step, as trade fair carpet is one of the largest sources of waste at a trade fair. It is estimated that more than 300,000 square metres of carpet are laid and disposed of every year. With Rewind® carpet, Jaarbeurs is therefore taking an important step towards its goal of being the most sustainable conference and event venue in Europe by 2030.
The sustainable carpet contains no latex and consists of only one material, allowing it to be fully and high-quality recycled. "But in addition to this, we also critically reviewed whether the use of carpet is necessary everywhere," says O'Connor. "We have therefore not laid carpet everywhere this year."
The catering offerings were also changed this year: as much as 75 per cent were vegetarian. That was quite an exciting choice, says Van de Hoef. After all, the installation sector does like a bit of meat. "But when you introduce people to something new, you do set something in motion. We think that is important. It was great to see that visitors actually found a vegetarian bitterball just as tasty as a meat one. And the vegetarian kebab was also a hit."
In addition, the stands at this year's VSK trade fair also had a sustainable character. Such as the VSK knowledge theatre, where presentations took place on a conveyor belt, which was constructed of one hundred per cent recyclable aluminium and walls made of seventy per cent recycled material, such as recycled granulate from the production process of those panels.
"This was a trial, but in the coming years we intend to use sustainable stand building more and more often and more widely. Indeed, from 2023, we will offer our exhibitors a fully sustainable stand option," O'Connor said. "We are going to take a bigger and bigger approach to this."
This article was produced in collaboration with Change.Inc and Hidde Middelweerd
Our goal is clear: we want to be Europe's most sustainable conference and event venue. We believe in a world where we treat each other and our environment with care. Where the impact on the earth is reduced by recycling raw materials, controlling and reducing waste and generating our own green energy. With the 2.3 million people we host every year, we can have a positive impact on our environment and the people we touch. You can read how we put this into practice on this page.
