Koelnmesse and CFTC Sign Partnership Pact
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 2/20/2006
China's footprint in the international tradeshow arena is growing, and so is Koelnmesse's involvement in China. Koelnmesse Managing Director Jochen Witt and China Foreign Trade Centre Director Hu Chusheng have signed an agreement for the two exhibition behemoths to form an extensive strategic partnership.
Witt said the agreement aims to bring the giant Cologne firm up to speed in international operations after a slow start. It will include cooperation by Koelnmesse in existing Chinese shows, joint development of new shows in Germany and China, and joint executive training. Hu said that Canton-based CFTC also envisions cooperation in facility management.
CFTC owns and manages exhibition facilities in Liuhua and Pazhou. He said the Pazhou exhibition complex, on Pazhou Island in southeastern Guangzhou, is the largest trade fair center in Asia. Upon completion of its expansion, Pazhou will offer 250,000 square meters (2.7 million square feet) of exhibition space. Currently, it has 16 indoor exhibit halls spanning 160,000 sq. m. (1.7 million sq. ft.), plus outdoor space.
In 2005, 73 exhibitions were held in CFTC's two exhibition complexes. Hu estimated the total showfloor space sold in 2005 at 2.6 million sq. m. (287 million sq. ft.). CFTC, which is affiliated with China's Ministry of Commerce, organizes 10 international shows annually, including the Chinese Export Commodities Fair and the China Guangzhou Intl. Furniture Fair, as well as trade fairs in more than 20 countries.
A joint group is working on specific plans for the partnership, with results expected in six months. The companies expect to create a joint subsidiary.
