The EWEC '97 exhibition was low key, as befitting an event with a political and technical slant rather than an industrial focus. Stands, though smart, were minimal and designed for short and sharp business meetings rather than lavish sales demonstrations. There were 23 exhibitors in all, most of whom expressed themselves satisfied with the exhibition, despite its distribution in several small rooms on different levels. "Within the limitations of holding the event in Dublin castle, I'm satisfied," said Bob Leicester of NEG Micon. "Everybody did eventually find us." David Lievesley from the Wind Energy Group was not as magnanimous: "The community atmosphere is gone, lost to holding it in small venues. It has been hard work to find us," he said. Henning Kruse of Bonus agreed. "But EWEC is the prime place to meet people," he added. "Everybody is here." New to a wind exhibition was a large UK company, David McLean Contractors of Liverpool, which is keen to increase its work in wind farm development. "We have come here to find out about the market," said the company's Bill Addy.
Wind turbine manufacturers made up the largest group of exhibitors at EWEC 97, with 11 stands. Only Enercon missing from the big names. Smaller companies with stands were Windtec of Austria, Dutch Lagerwey, DeWind of Germany and Jacobs Energie, also from Germany, represented by its local agent. The only company from outside Europe was Enron Wind Corporation from America, manufacturer of Zond turbines. Suppliers and consultant to the wind industry numbered six and there were just two developers, Renewable Energy Systems from England and Ireland's B9. The remaining stands were occupied by the Irish and European wind associations, the Irish energy centre and the European Commission.
