IWA 2017: Numerous Innovations, Notable Israeli Participation
Several Israeli companies chose IWA 2017 as the venue for showcasing their new products. Exhibition statistics recorded almost 400 visitors from Israel, an increase of 10% compared to last year's exhibition
Eyal Boguslavsky
| 14/05/2017
Photo: NürnbergMesse
Last March, everyone involved in the fields of small arms, law enforcement and outdoors activities flocked to Nuremberg, Germany, where the IWA exhibition, regarded as the largest exhibition in this field outside the USA, was held for the 44th time.
Indeed, this year's exhibition was massive and has broken all the previous records, with 1,515 exhibitors, 4% more than the number of exhibitors in 2016 – almost the same as the number of exhibitors at IWA's elder American sister, the largest exhibition of them all – the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. IWA 2017 had exhibitors from 57 countries and the number of visitors soared to more than 49,000 men and women from 120 countries. 80% of the exhibitors and nearly 2/3 of the visitors came from countries outside of Germany. This year's exhibition had an additional hall (Hall No.11) and the total area of the exhibition exceeded the limit of 100,000 square meters for the very first time.
The massive attendance of Israeli exhibitors and visitors at this year's IWA exhibition could not be overlooked. The IWA exhibition – along with the SHOT Show in Las Vegas – serves as a primary target exhibition for professionals during the first quarter of every year, and this is clearly reflected in the number of visitors. Exhibition statistics recorded almost 400 visitors from Israel, an increase of 10% compared to last year's exhibition. The dominating language in the hall where most of the Israeli exhibitors were concentrated was Hebrew.
Several Israeli companies chose IWA 2017 as the venue for showcasing their new products. FAB Defense, specializing in the development and manufacturing of accessories for small arms, showcased a dedicated folding tactical sniper bench, developed in collaboration with the Zikitec Company of Israel. The tactical sniper bench is already used by several specialist units of the IDF, Israel Police and Israel Prison Service and by dignitary protection units in Eastern Europe.
The Opgal Company, specializing in the development and manufacturing of thermal sensing and surveillance systems, unveiled their SII-HB binoculars – a medium-range day/night vision surveillance system capable of detecting a human target at a range of 2 km and identifying a human target at a range of 1.2 km. The binoculars system is intended for field and surveillance units as well as for police patrol and security units. It was launched in 2016 and is currently sold to police forces in Israel and around the world.
The Silver Shadow Company, manufacturers of the Gilboa line of assault rifles and the patented Corner Shot weapon system that fires from around corners, unveiled their Gilboa Snake, a double-barreled assault rifle that utilizes a parallel-double-magazine holder, with each loading cycle feeding two rounds into two separate barrels and firing mechanisms.
The Maglula Company, manufacturers of military-grade magazine loaders, also presented new products at the IWA 2017 Exhibition: the new LULA magazine loader & unloader for CZ Scorpion EVOS 9mm magazines and an improved version of the StripLULA 10-round magazine loader & unloader for AR15/M4/M16 5.56mm x 45mm (.223 Remington) caliber metal and polymer magazines.
One stand that drew the attention of many visitors, not only Israelis, was the stand of the CAA Company. At the center of their presentation was the AK-ALFA assault rifle – the first Kalashnikov assault rifle made in Israel. Although this was not the unveiling of a new weapon, the rifle generated a lot of interest among many visitors.
The IWA exhibition serves as a primary target exhibition for Israeli companies from the fields of small arms and tactical accessories, and for this reason, some major companies from this field participated in this year's exhibition in addition to the companies reviewed above: Meprolight, Front Line, IMI Defense, Bull, Source, E-Lander and other companies all showcased their products at this year's IWA exhibition. This may be a good opportunity to suggest, as we did last year, to consider the establishment of a separate Israeli pavilion for the IWA exhibition, sponsored by some official Israeli body. Such a pavilion will be able to promote the interests of the Israeli exhibitors more effectively – mainly with regard to small and medium enterprises, which account for the majority of Israeli industries these days, but find it difficult to finance their participation in this important exhibition.
Regarding the exhibition as a whole, the field of security (in which most of the Israeli companies that participated in this year's exhibition are involved) has evolved into a major category at the exhibition. Guido Welk, public relations manager of the Nuremberg Trade Fair Center, confirmed that the exhibition organizers intend to increase this sector at the exhibition of 2018 and provide an additional hall for this category. According to Welk, "Although IWA also has its focus on sports shooting, hunting and other outdoor activities, the security sector is the most demanded one. So, for 2018 – the 45th edition of IWA OutdoorClassics – we shall add one more hall to the 'tactical hall 9', which will offer more space for exhibitors and an even broader range of security products to the visitors."
Several Israeli companies chose IWA 2017 as the venue for showcasing their new products. Exhibition statistics recorded almost 400 visitors from Israel, an increase of 10% compared to last year's exhibition
Last March, everyone involved in the fields of small arms, law enforcement and outdoors activities flocked to Nuremberg, Germany, where the IWA exhibition, regarded as the largest exhibition in this field outside the USA, was held for the 44th time.
Indeed, this year's exhibition was massive and has broken all the previous records, with 1,515 exhibitors, 4% more than the number of exhibitors in 2016 – almost the same as the number of exhibitors at IWA's elder American sister, the largest exhibition of them all – the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. IWA 2017 had exhibitors from 57 countries and the number of visitors soared to more than 49,000 men and women from 120 countries. 80% of the exhibitors and nearly 2/3 of the visitors came from countries outside of Germany. This year's exhibition had an additional hall (Hall No.11) and the total area of the exhibition exceeded the limit of 100,000 square meters for the very first time.
The massive attendance of Israeli exhibitors and visitors at this year's IWA exhibition could not be overlooked. The IWA exhibition – along with the SHOT Show in Las Vegas – serves as a primary target exhibition for professionals during the first quarter of every year, and this is clearly reflected in the number of visitors. Exhibition statistics recorded almost 400 visitors from Israel, an increase of 10% compared to last year's exhibition. The dominating language in the hall where most of the Israeli exhibitors were concentrated was Hebrew.
Several Israeli companies chose IWA 2017 as the venue for showcasing their new products. FAB Defense, specializing in the development and manufacturing of accessories for small arms, showcased a dedicated folding tactical sniper bench, developed in collaboration with the Zikitec Company of Israel. The tactical sniper bench is already used by several specialist units of the IDF, Israel Police and Israel Prison Service and by dignitary protection units in Eastern Europe.
The Opgal Company, specializing in the development and manufacturing of thermal sensing and surveillance systems, unveiled their SII-HB binoculars – a medium-range day/night vision surveillance system capable of detecting a human target at a range of 2 km and identifying a human target at a range of 1.2 km. The binoculars system is intended for field and surveillance units as well as for police patrol and security units. It was launched in 2016 and is currently sold to police forces in Israel and around the world.
The Silver Shadow Company, manufacturers of the Gilboa line of assault rifles and the patented Corner Shot weapon system that fires from around corners, unveiled their Gilboa Snake, a double-barreled assault rifle that utilizes a parallel-double-magazine holder, with each loading cycle feeding two rounds into two separate barrels and firing mechanisms.
The Maglula Company, manufacturers of military-grade magazine loaders, also presented new products at the IWA 2017 Exhibition: the new LULA magazine loader & unloader for CZ Scorpion EVOS 9mm magazines and an improved version of the StripLULA 10-round magazine loader & unloader for AR15/M4/M16 5.56mm x 45mm (.223 Remington) caliber metal and polymer magazines.
One stand that drew the attention of many visitors, not only Israelis, was the stand of the CAA Company. At the center of their presentation was the AK-ALFA assault rifle – the first Kalashnikov assault rifle made in Israel. Although this was not the unveiling of a new weapon, the rifle generated a lot of interest among many visitors.
The IWA exhibition serves as a primary target exhibition for Israeli companies from the fields of small arms and tactical accessories, and for this reason, some major companies from this field participated in this year's exhibition in addition to the companies reviewed above: Meprolight, Front Line, IMI Defense, Bull, Source, E-Lander and other companies all showcased their products at this year's IWA exhibition. This may be a good opportunity to suggest, as we did last year, to consider the establishment of a separate Israeli pavilion for the IWA exhibition, sponsored by some official Israeli body. Such a pavilion will be able to promote the interests of the Israeli exhibitors more effectively – mainly with regard to small and medium enterprises, which account for the majority of Israeli industries these days, but find it difficult to finance their participation in this important exhibition.
Regarding the exhibition as a whole, the field of security (in which most of the Israeli companies that participated in this year's exhibition are involved) has evolved into a major category at the exhibition. Guido Welk, public relations manager of the Nuremberg Trade Fair Center, confirmed that the exhibition organizers intend to increase this sector at the exhibition of 2018 and provide an additional hall for this category. According to Welk, "Although IWA also has its focus on sports shooting, hunting and other outdoor activities, the security sector is the most demanded one. So, for 2018 – the 45th edition of IWA OutdoorClassics – we shall add one more hall to the 'tactical hall 9', which will offer more space for exhibitors and an even broader range of security products to the visitors."
