MAFO spoke with Mido president Giovanni Vitaloni on the last day

Was it easier for you to organize this Mido compared to the 50th edition?

No, they are all difficult to organize. The team works 365 days a year to prepare the three days of event. There is no discount anywhere. If you organize an event that is so crucial to the industry, e verything has to be planned in detail. It is not just a matter of a floor layout but if you walk around the show, you see how many areas are beautifully organized. I would say that the experience the visitors are living within the show is not comparable to any other event in our industry.

What is the ratio of exhibitors compared to the pre-pandemic show of 2019?

In 2019, we had over than 1300 exhibitors. In 2022, we had 670 and now we have a thousand. This means that we have an increase of close to 70% compared to 2022. Basically, we have the same numbers as in 2019 minus a portion of Asian companies, which could not show up because they only opened the borders recently. Nevertheless, we have a good number of companies from all over the Asian continent, around 400, including China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, India, and while there is a little gap compared to 2019, we are happy that a good portion of these manufacturers are back. We have also visitors coming from the Far East.

From your point of view, what role will high tech like AI play for the optical industry in the future?

There have been already several AI products introduced to the market. Some did not have great success, but I definitely think there is a role for them and high tech will be developed more and more. I do not think there will be a revolution in our field that will change our work completely. But high-tech is a very solid segment that will be developed in the next years. I saw that we have already many examples of smart glasses or projects involving the metaverse at the show. I would like to see greater use of smart glasses in the industry. Glasses turn into displays in which the necessary information is projected into the worker's field of vision and in real time. The worker then has his hands free and his eyes focused on the task at hand. Still improvements definitely need to be done on lightness and adaptability to the face, but given the many possible applications, I believe they can be an excellent work tool that our companies should consider.

of Mido.

How was the show received by the machine manufacturers and the supplier industry?

The feedback was very good. Mido is the only trade show where we have the entire industry present – from the manufacturing machines to the raw materials components and all the brands that are presenting their new projects. If they have to pick one event where to present all their technologies, this is the event where they want to come. We have a whole area that is dedicated to technology and machinery and I saw myself just a few minutes ago that they have many visitors.

What are the advantages for Mido to be held already in early February?

The advantage is the fact that exhibitors can present new collections and projects early in the month when the buying process has just started and there is full motivation. It is a benefit for most of the exhibitors to have an impact on their economic numbers within the first semester. This is a good moment to sell and to buy, to have the numbers and the orders being shipped out. I think the companies are happy for this reason. In the next years, Mido will always be positioned at the beginning of February. It is important that the markets know this well in advance, so that they can get into the rhythm to present their new products here.

How were the topic of sustainability and the sustainability award received by the visitors?

As an association, we are very careful and focused on sustainability. That is why we are working on a sustainability label for products with a technical table and many companies being involved. It probably will be launched within this year. This will be a voluntary certification, so that companies in the industry will be able to understand what lies behind each single product – where, how, and when products are made. This is very important in order to transmit the sentiment of being transparent. Based on this label, we have created six awards for sunglasses, frames and packaging, for products being made in Europe and the rest of the world. I think that the jury has done a very good job in the sense that they dig deep. We have to fight greenwashing and try to give awards and underline the processes that really have a low impact towards the environment and a big positive impact towards the social aspect. Our role is to shine a light on these companies and products and I think we did that with the awards yesterday.

Thank you for the interview.