Enlarge image Consul General Wolfgang Drautz with IEC Berlin's Peter Seckel. (© Germnay.info/Los Angeles) Consul General Wolfgang Drautz visited German exhibitors at opening day of the 2012 NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center on January 19. The annual National Association of Music Merchants show is one of the largest music products trade shows in the world.

At the German Pavilion, hosted by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and organized by IEC Berlin, Consul General Drautz had an opportunity to speak to representatives of the 10 German companies exhibiting in the Pavilion.  An additional 20 German companies, represented by American exhibitors, were also participating at the legendary trade show marking its 110 anniversary this year.

Enlarge image German exhibitors at the2012 NAMM Show. (© Germany.info/Los Angeles) Peter Seckel of IEC Berlin told Consul General Drautz that this year's NAMM Show, running from January 19-22, 2012, was already looking to be larger than last year’s show with more than 1,400 manufacturers displaying their products and a record number of attendees expected. There was already a 25-minute wait in line to get into the show when members of the German Consulate arrived with attendees wanting to gain access to the show growing in number during the course of the day. 

Enlarge image Attendess wait in a long line to get into 2012 NAMM trade show. (© Germany.info/Los Angeles) Hopefully these signs all point to a steady industry  recovery following the economic downturn. This could bode well for the German exhibitors at the show, which included Hannabach GmbH, König & Meyer, Dörfler Bogen, AMA Musikverlag, Miraphone and Fiberreed -  companies that specialized in the high-end manufacturing of musical equipment and instruments ranging from grand pianos to violins, from saxophone mouthpieces to music stands and much more.