Business at the stands: Had more than 200 sales leads on the first day

Exhibitors are already reporting strong visitor numbers at their stands – and, most importantly, they are meeting the right people. The visits are generating both sales and promising leads.

We spoke to a selection of exhibitors about the level of interest they have experienced at the exhibition.

“We had hundreds of serious sales conversations on the very first day. We serve the entire industry – from fishers and vessel owners to boatbuilders and vessel designers – and we have met representatives from all of these groups here,” says Trond Strømmen, Managing Director at Furuno.

At the stand, he enthusiastically demonstrates BlueBridge™, a flexible and scalable display management system that supports centralised operation. The system has attracted interest from across Furuno’s customer base and is just one of many examples of the technology the company is showcasing.

“Incredible Activity at the Stand”

The Ahlsell team describes the level of activity at its stand as “incredible”. Among the products on display is the Øy-Vind Survive survival suit.

“We generated more than 200 new sales leads on the first day. The attention we have received has been exceptional. We had not actually planned to offer direct sales at here at the exhibition, but we have already sold hundreds of survival suits. There were so many relevant visitors at the stand yesterday that I had to skip both lunch and toilet breaks,” says Torbjørn Johnsen of Ahlsell with a laugh.

“Right now, we have an 88-year-old fisher visiting the stand who is purchasing personal safety equipment for the first time in his life. He says that Øy-Vind Survive is the first product he has found that he believes could actually save his life if he were to fall overboard.”

Reaching a highly specialised target group

At the Danish pavilion, we meet Martin Christensen, who represents a group of companies providing ship repair and conversion services. Here, too, there has been a strong turnout of relevant visitors.

“Our target group is quite specialised. We are primarily looking to meet owners operating trawlers over 50 metres in length, and we have already met many of them here,” says Christensen.

Within the fishing industry, the Danish group is particularly interested in speaking with owners of relatively small fleets. They have met many such operators at the show, especially among the Norwegian vessel owners they have spoken to.

Meeting customers from around the world

At the Skipsteknisk stand, the team was surprised by how many people stopped by on the opening day.

“The visitor numbers have been exceptional, with both established customers and prospective new clients coming to see us. We have also noticed that many of the people visiting our stand are decision-makers,” says Tore Opsvik.

“In addition to the many productive meetings at our stand, we are taking the opportunity to meet with international clients from countries including the United States and Australia.”

View the full list of exhibitors at Nor-Fishing 2026 here or in the Nor-Fishing app.