A unique meeting place

The Swedish Maintenance Fair (Underhållsmässan) is Europe’s largest trade fair for operations and maintenance. A meeting place to learn about the latest technology, make important contacts and be inspired by exciting new ideas. Mia Ilkko, chairperson of the board of the Swedish Maintenance Association (Svenskt Underhåll), says that the Maintenance Fair is unique.

– The way people meet and have the opportunity to hold individual meetings is what sets the Maintenance Fair apart from other international events. As a trade association, the fair is the biggest event for us to socialise with our members.

The Swedish Maintenance Fair’s biggest mission is to bring the maintenance sector together. The national organisation’s members consist of maintenance stakeholders from the Swedish business community, suppliers, academia, government agencies and other businesses. Mia Ilkko is Chairman of the Board of Svenskt Underhåll, a member of the EFNMS (European Federation of National Maintenance Societies) Board of Directors and a senior business consultant in maintenance development and maintenance systems.

– We exist for our members and also act as a network as we see a great benefit in meeting and discussing things together. Bringing together people with the same interests. We also see an opportunity to gain new members.

One of the biggest challenges facing industry by far is skills supply, and the maintenance industry is no exception. It’s first and foremost about finding skills, but it’s also about skills development. How to further develop and manage the skills that already exist.

– The skills issue is a big one right now. Then, of course, there is more and more interest in sustainability issues, which is incredibly important. Always having an energy perspective on new projects and changes. The payoff is not only economic but also affects energy and climate issues.

The essence of the event is in dialogue

During the 2024 Maintenance Fair, the entire maintenance sector will gather around the current issues facing the industry today. Mia is excited and is looking forward to meeting with stakeholders from across industry to engage in fruitful dialogue and agree on innovative solutions.

– It’s great that you get to meet like this. As a visitor, you get an opportunity to benchmark yourself and your business but also to find new directions and make new contacts. You get a chance to immerse yourself in things you don’t otherwise have time for.
The Maintenance Fair enables important exchanges of knowledge. And networking extends to meeting rooms and one-on-one conversations.

– Dialogue is very important. I always take the opportunity to schedule individual meetings to continue conversations and look at things together. You get so much out of it, Mia says. She continues:

– I want people to leave the fair with a fresh commitment and lots of inspiration and enthusiasm. Full of new impressions and with new-found contacts and opportunities to carry away with you. And if you already had ideas beforehand, you should be able to put some flesh on the bones.

Read more about the Swedish Maintenance Fair.