A fusion of technology and investment as European Space Agency Investment Forum shares stage with satellite positioning, navigation and telematics trade fair Following exponential growth in the space sector, Messe Stuttgart has created POSITIONALE, an international trade fair and conference for satellite positioning, navigation and telematics technologies. The expo will run concurrently with the European Space Agency (ESA)’s annual Investment Forum in Stuttgart in May 2010, thus fusing investment and technology in this growing sector. The global space sector, worth Euro 90 billion and growing at 7% annually, influences most modern industries. Leading applications for modern satellite navigation technologies include transport, logistics, fleet and motor pool management, the automotive sector, traffic planning and control and navigation and mobile data utilisation.

Europe has a 40% share of the space market and the EU alone is planning investments of Euro 5 billion in the development of its Galileo satellite navigation system. POSITIONALE will focus primarily on the European market, although there are plans to connect and include the rapidly-expanding economies of South East Asia, the US and eastern Europe in the future. “POSITIONALE will provide ESA with an ideal platform to present innovation, so we are delighted that the Investment Forum is coinciding with the expo,” says Ulrich Kromer, managing director of Messe Stuttgart, creators of the event.

“ESA’s choice of Stuttgart, despite strong international competition, proves that our concept for POSTIONALE – that of bringing together users and supplier from the world of satellite navigation – is being supported by important international partners,” Kromer adds. POSITIONALE will take place at the International Congress Centre in Stuttgart, Germany, from 18th to 20th May, 2010. The ESA Investment Forum will be held on 18th and 19th May, 2010. For more information and press photos, contact www.positionale.de