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J: Welcome, Mr. Didier Ramoudt! It is really our honor to invite you to our studio room. And first, please introduce yourself and your organization to our readers?
D: Yes, thank you! I am the president from the Busworld International. It all grew from our first Busworld in Belgium which was taken in 1971. So this is more than forty years ago, and which has grown now to the largest bus event in the world. Kortrijk in Belgium, a small country, but the largest bus exposition. During the times, we have expanded our activities to other countries. And we started in Asia, and then later on in India. We had it in Turkey, Russia. Now we are also investigating also the Latin America and the South Asian Market. So our aim and our goal is to improve constantly, on a constant base, the quality of the coaches we built. And for this, we organize, of course, our exhibitions, to support our manufacturers to be updated with the latest products and what the market is requiring. It is a very beautiful task I have, because the safety is involved for the people, the comfort is involved for the passengers which are the main users, of course. And the environment, which is today’s issue, is also a topic which we are very concerned with. And for all these, we organize all through the world Busworld Exhibitions. For the first time, we participate here, in a joint, let’s say, venture with DDEC and Beijing, and to give us the opportunity for next year to be on a high level and closer cooperation between our two organizations. Always with the same goal, give the best possibilities to the manufacturers to show what they can do. And from our side, we also give the necessary input via Busworld academy so that the product is evaluated on the high level and take into considerations the requirements of the market which I’ve just been telling.
J: How about the development of Busworld in recent years, especially in recent two or three years?
D: For a while, we can say, for example, our heart of business is still in Belgium. We feel that there is a big demand. So it’s already sold out eight months before the Busworld event takes place. It’s the largest in the world, 68,000 square meters. We have visitors coming from 134 countries. We have 34,000 single registered business to business visitors, which is really a lot and very important market. The development is to bring worldwide our messages that we are very concerned about the safety of the passengers, which is very important. We are very concerned about the comforts of the passengers. And we are very concerned about the environment. We try to get all the actors on the same level. This means including authorities. Because what can you do if you come with the best possible and clean energy if the authorities do still allow to use very bad engines, like Euro III, Euro IV, which are still a threat to the environment? If they don’t cooperate, Yes, then, we have a problem. Now, therefore, we are here with Busworld Academy, just to explain by the hand, and by the support of the experts, that showing graphics and figures, that really authorities worldwide should start to think over the problem, like public transport is growing worldwide, the whole coach business is growing worldwide. There has been now a survey done by the company Freedonia from the United States. It was a worldwide survey. They foresee by 2018 compared to the last ten years, the coach manufacturing will rise from 462,000 units per year to 664,000 units per year, so in ten years, 50% more production of buses. And this is all due to the authorities which are pushing the public transport to avoid congestions on the road. But at the same time, the authorities forget a bit to implement also the rules to make, to say OK, we will improve the public transport. They say, OK, you still can drive with such coaches Euro III, Euro IV. It’s a bit contradiction. In fact, we are in a very good growing market. We look with very bright eyes to the future.
J: What is the main reason that you and your organization, to focus on the Chinese market?
D: You know, the Chinese market is a very important market. It has become a very important market in a very short delay. The Chinese manufacturers have shown that they can make real good products. The Chinese are far ahead in electricity mobility. They are the leaders in the world for this. And therefore, the Chinese market is becoming a very important market. In the times they looked to try to import foreign brands. I think now the Chinese market is really looking to export their products and skills. That’s a fact. We have to live with it. From the worldwide growth, which I’ve just told you about, it’s also foreseen that China and India will take more than half for the part, so from the world growth of buses.
J: What’s your plan, especially in Chinese market? Just now you mentioned you created a joint venture company with DDEC?
D: We are working in two steps. Our first step is this year because we came to an agreement rather late. I would say we came to an agreement at the beginning of this year. So to cooperate, we limited our cooperation to the Busworld Academy. So we are bringing specialists from different countries to speak in our seminar, to show the evolution, to say, OK, what will be the future in technologies? Is it the electricity? Is it the hybrid? Is it the natural gas and so on? The challenges which are coming because, for example, China is focusing on the electric market while the Europe is busy more for the hybrid system. So is it a challenge, which is very interesting to be followed, which we are helping to do to guide them, to see which way it will go. We want to ahead. We try to be, a little bit, like a visionary because we as Busworld, organizes. We are born with the bus in our heart. I was also born between buses and coaches. We know what we are talking about. We are not only ordinary exhibition organizers. We are really from the young, my whole boss, from the first to the last are all bus owners, coach owners. We know what’s living in that world.
J: Ok. How do you think this exhibition?
D: I haven’t visited till now. I see it looks very good. I still don’t see trucks, which is good. I think it’s only buses now. I am looking forward to having some better, let’s say, more profound way of cooperation by next year. We are really looking forward to seeing you here in Beijing in 2016. We work with a good team from DDEC. We had good cooperation. We work with also very nice people whom we can trust and they trust in us. We are very complementary to each other. We can bring this exhibition to a high level. And that’s our goal.
J: Mr. President, Thank you very much for your time and sharing information with us.
D: Thank you!