On February 24, 2026, the Qingdao Municipal Commerce Bureau and the Qingdao Council for the Promotion of International Trade issued a notice on the 2026 “Qingdao Premium” overseas exhibition participation plan.
On March 3, the German Cologne Hardware Fair opened. As the first stop for “Qingdao Excellent Products” to go overseas in the new year, Qingdao organized a total of 61 hardware industry companies to collectively appear at the exhibition. The exhibition area was nearly 600 square meters, covering Qingdao’s advantageous products such as manual and power tools, construction hardware, locks, and auto parts. It demonstrated the excellent quality and innovative strength of “Qingdao Excellent Products” in the hardware field to global buyers, and strived to achieve an intended order of 160 million yuan.
This exhibition attracted 2,770 exhibitors from 53 countries and 47,000 professional buyers from 143 countries.
During the exchanges with enterprises, combined with industry trends, Qingdao enterprises have reported that the 2026 exhibition is being upgraded in the direction of intelligence, humanization, and greenness, and overall presents new trends and highlights.
The first is the deep integration of intelligence and security: the popularity of 3D alarms, Bluetooth locks, AI tools and IoT devices is accelerating. There are special interactive workshops in Hall 10/11 to share practical skills and enhance practical experience; the second is humanization and health management.
Thinking about innovation: Tool design pays more attention to ergonomics (such as labor-saving pliers) and health protection (such as UV-resistant work clothes), which improves the comfort of operation; thirdly, miniaturization and breakthroughs in performance and appearance: compact handheld vacuum cleaners and high-pressure cleaners are powerful in function and lightweight in design.
The application of bright colors from natural to bright pink makes the tools both beautiful and highly visible; the fourth is green and sustainable design: the use of post-consumer recycled plastics, recyclable packaging and easy-maintenance designs integrates low-carbon environmental protection into the entire product life cycle; the fifth is scenario-based experience and omni-channel integration: multi-functional adaptive products (such as interchangeable cutter heads, blender systems, universal wireless chargers) have become hot spots, and online and offline linkage and retail scenario-based displays have become exhibitor configurations to enhance B-side/C-side reach.
A Qingdao exhibitor specializing in stainless steel rigging has participated in the Cologne Hardware Show since 2016 and witnessed the company’s export to Europe starting from scratch.
This exhibition contacted the person in charge of procurement of Globus, a well-known German hardware and building materials group, which was a crucial step for the company’s products to enter the mainstream supply chain in Europe. A cooperation agreement was signed on the first day of the exhibition. The booth of a Qingdao company that specializes in garden tools and yard care supplies was crowded with people. On the first day of the exhibition, it attracted more than 60 merchants from Germany, Italy and other European countries, with nearly 20 high-interest target customers and an intended order of nearly one million US dollars.
During the exhibition, the “Qingdao Premium” pavilion was arranged to visit Bauhaus, the largest hardware DIY chain supermarket in Europe, to conduct on-site research on the current status and sales model of relevant products in the local market, which will help companies develop targeted products that are marketable in the local market.
Since this year, the Qingdao Trade Development Service Center has conscientiously implemented the municipal party committee and government’s work arrangements for promoting enterprises to “go overseas”, strengthened exhibition organization and external liaison, timely contacted well-known domestic and foreign exhibition organizers and business associations, and guided exhibitors to participate in the exhibition efficiently throughout the process.
Before the exhibition, we assist companies in market analysis, buyer invitations, and exhibitor training to lay a solid foundation for participating in the exhibition; during the exhibition, we guide companies to conduct on-site traffic and communication to win more intended orders; after the exhibition, we assist companies in connecting with logistics, finance, certification and other services to accelerate the conversion of intended orders.
Through professional means such as overall image upgrade and precise business matching, we can effectively help companies grab orders, expand markets, and achieve high-quality “going overseas.”
