Pioneers in Global Growth

Messe Duesseldorf produces more international shows in Germany than any other ... and it has been a pioneer overseas for years. In China since the mid-1990s, it founded subsidiary Messe Duesseldorf China in 1999. MDC markets Duesseldorf-based events in China, and develops and stages local trade fairs in partnership with Chinese and international industry associations. Key Messe Duesseldorf event themes, such as print and media, equipment and technology, medicine, and health and fashion are its focus.

MDC employs more than 50 people in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Shenyang, Beijing and Hong Kong. In 2005, it staged eight fairs; in 2006, 11. In the future, Messe Duesseldorf plans to debut an average of two new events in China annually. An offshoot of its specialist glass fair, glasstec, is planned for 2007 in Guangzhou and a fashion trade fair drawing on the similar Igedo events in Duesseldorf will also launch in China, said Messe Duesseldorf Managing Director Joachim Schafer.

The Shanghai New Intl. Expo Center is a joint venture operated by Messes Duesseldorf, Hannover and Munich, and a Chinese partner. Opened in 2001, it will add two additional halls of 123,800 square feet each, slated for completion in September, at a cost of $65 million. By 2010, when the final expansion phase is expected to be complete, a total exhibit area of 2.1 million sq. ft. in 17 halls, plus an open-air area of 1.4 million sq. ft., will be available.

Schafer said Duesseldorf's greatest success has been the Wire & Tube franchise, which it cloned in Russia, Thailand, China and Dubai. However, unlike other messes, it doesn't always use the original show's name in other countries.

"We feared hurting the brand name if the spin-offs failed," Schafer said. "We know the cloned shows are very different animals, and we didn't want to set ourselves up for failure because customers came to a show of the same name expecting to see one as huge as the original, but only saw a fifth or sixth of what they expected. This way, the cloned show has its own identity and there are no issues if it doesn't succeed."

QUICK STATS: DUESSELDORF

• Exhibit space in German facility: 252,000 sq. m. (2.7 million sq. ft.)
• International shows produced in Germany: 21
• Shows produced overseas: 30

Messe Frankfurt will host the most shows of all the messes outside of Germany in 2007. The company is so active overseas because, although it owns a portfolio of very successful brands in Frankfurt like Heimtextil, Automechanika, Ambiente, Musikmesse, Paperworld and ISH, it still can't reach 100 percent of the global market by staying in Germany. So, it takes the shows elsewhere. One example is Heimtextil's incarnation as Intertextil Shanghai.

Messe Frankfurt also enters new markets via acquisition, but with a twist. For instance, it first acquired Texworld, a show for lower-priced Asian and Middle East fabric manufacturers in Paris. Later, it launched Texworld USA in New York. Both are under Messe Frankfurt's Interstoff banner and use the same exhibitor base. The New York show is collocated with Premiervision, and is another good example of a spin-off that, instead of overlapping with its parent show, attracts participation from those who otherwise wouldn't attend the original event.

"About 90 percent of the buyers at Texworld USA didn't go to Paris," said David Audrain, managing director of Messe Frankfurt's North American subsidiary.

Messe Frankfurt is also in China and has one of largest organizations, with more than 250 employees in the country. Like Messe Duesseldorf, Messe Frankfurt has been in the country for some time, launching its first show in the mid-1990s. It's been building its base there ever since, with a new show launch every few months.

Messe Frankfurt continues to scout the world for new opportunities. It's had a South American presence for more than a decade, and is active in Russia and Eastern Europe, Singapore, Southern Africa, North America, Dubai and Turkey.

How does Messe Frankfurt zero in on promising new territories and industries?

"We always are out in the field," said Audrain. "For instance, I'm responsible for North America and I know the key markets. Our brand managers know their industries. For example, the heads of Musikmesse decide when to launch in particular markets, and it's the same with the ISH and Intertextile shows. We approach launches from both sides: where a show will work based on the market geographically and on its industry."

QUICK STATS: FRANKFURT

• Exhibit space in German facility: 324,000 sq. m. (3.5 million sq. ft.)
• International shows produced in Germany: 17
• Shows produced overseas: 79

Industrial technology is Messe Hannover (Deutsche Messe)'s forte, and it plans to continue to export that show concept in 2007 through a wide range of events. The firm develops, plans and runs plenty of trade fairs and exhibitions in Germany and abroad. One example of a major Messe Hannover event is the Oct. 1–13 staging of PTC Asia and CeMAT Asia, all under one roof in Shanghai.

Another significant overseas Hannover event is the collocation of Factory Automation, Interkama Asia, Energy Asia and Metal Working China, which will take place Nov. 6–10, alongside the China Intl. Industry Fair at the Shanghai New Intl. Expo Centre.

Then, of course, there is the noteworthy CeBIT, a showcase for digital IT and telecommunications, which is beginning to change. The 60-year-old show's international focus on industrial technologies, materials and product ideas has shifted from stand-alone components to end-to-end solutions. Technical innovation is a key element in Hannover Messe shows, as is the application of existing knowledge.

The firm's annual revenues are more than €250 million ($326 million). It has 790 employees and boasts 60 agencies abroad. Its modern exhibition center spans 1 million sq. m. (10.7 million sq. ft.). The firm plans and executes about 50 trade fairs and exhibitions annually, attracting 21,000 exhibitors, 1.79 million visitors and 16,000 journalists from more than 100 countries.

The firm's emphasis continues to be on flagship international trade fairs for capital goods run by Deutsche Messe in Hannover, the most ambitious being the Hannover Messe show itself. According to Sepp D. Heckmann, chairman of Deutsche Messe's managing board, it's the world's leading industrial show addressing automation, energy technology and power transmission and control.

The issues currently shaping the show are rising energy consumption, energy efficiency, the pros and cons of relocating production abroad and safeguards against product piracy in business. No other event in the world can offer so many stimulating new ideas or innovations in the production and process solutions area for every type of application right across the industrial spectrum, Heckmann said. The show's formula, with 13 international tradeshows staged in parallel at one venue, is unique. Instead of focusing on specific industrial sectors or technologies in isolation, the Hannover Fair shows how all the discrete elements are integrated and combined in modern manufacturing systems.

QUICK STATS: HANNOVER

• Exhibit space in German facility: 372,000 sq. m. (4 million sq. ft.)
• International shows produced in Germany: 7
• Shows produced overseas: 22

Messe Munich (Messe Muenchen) — The Munich Trade Fairs Intl. Group — organizes some 40 trade fairs for capital goods, consumer goods and new technologies. In addition to events at the New Trade Fair Center in Munich, Messe Munich organizes international trade fairs in China, India, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates, and has special expertise in such areas as building and construction and environmental technology.

At a year-end press conference looking back on 2006, Manfred Wutzlhofer, MMI chairman and CEO, reported the fourth largest sales volume in the company's history, with 16 percent of the company's sales generated abroad. MMI expanded its exhibition portfolio in 2006 by launching and acquiring events, and preparing for and entering into international joint ventures, he said.

MMI also organizes trade fairs in the Middle East and South America. It has four subsidiaries abroad and 66 foreign representatives covering 89 countries. The ongoing expansion of its portfolio of fairs and exhibitions is one of MMI's most important objectives. One example of a cloned MMI show is ispo, a sports equipment and fashion show, held in Munich, as well as Moscow, Beijing and Shanghai.

Wutzlhofer said that due to cyclical factors, 2006 was a year with fewer large-scale events to generate sales. But the company still managed to earn €30 million ($39 million) solely from its trade fair operations, an increase of €12 million ($15.6 million) from 2005. He also reported some 32,000 exhibitors from 108 countries at events at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre in 2006. About 45 percent of attendees at Munich tradeshows were international visitors, an increase of 3 percent compared to the last time those events were held.

QUICK STATS: MUNICH

• Exhibit space in German facility: 180,000 sq. m. (1.9 million sq. ft.)
• International shows produced in Germany: 14
• Shows produced overseas: 14

There is more than one way for NuernbergMesse to go after a foreign market, according to spokesperson Peter Ottmann.

In the case of what it considers its well-known brands, such as BioFach, a show that focuses on organic products, it's likely to export the entire show without changing much.

"We transfer the whole concept of the exhibition to other regions where the market is ready for the theme," Ottmann said.

Indeed, BioFach has been successfully established in the United States (BioFach America), South America (BioFach America Latina), Japan (BioFach Japan) and China (BioFach China).

In other cases, like when a country has an existing show in an industry in which Nuernberg has an interest, as was the case with a building and construction exhibition in Japan, the firm adapts the concept of its trade fair, often working with partners specialized in that particular market. The best example is the China Intl. Pet Show, which Nuernberg Global Fairs co-organizes with a Chinese partner and models as closely as possible after its own Interzoo in Nuernberg.

Subsidiary Nuernberg Global Fairs is responsible for the organization of most shows abroad. In China, it recently founded the subsidiary NuernbergMesse China. Nuernberg Global Fairs, founded at the end of the '90s, now develops trade fairs worldwide for companies in all sectors and implements trade fair participation on behalf of federal and state governments, municipalities and local authorities. Its event portfolio includes more than 30 trade fairs and joint participations.

Bernd A. Diederichs, managing director of NuernbergMesse, said the company posted record 2006 revenues of €125 million ($162.9 million), 838,000 sq. m. (9 million sq. ft.) of exhibit space sold, 24,497 exhibitors (including 8,909 international exhibitors) and 830,000 trade attendees.

QUICK STATS: NUERNBERG

• Exhibit space in German facility: 148,000 sq. m. (1.6 million sq. ft.)
• International shows produced in Germany: 15
• Shows produced overseas: 9

The new Cologne exhibition center, which opened in 2006, represents a quantum leap in quality, according to Koelnmesse President and CEO Jochen Witt. Four new multipurpose trade fair halls were built to replace the historic Rhineside Halls, and the infrastructure of the exhibition grounds was improved. There's a new, compact layout for the exhibition grounds, with 11 trade fair halls forming a single, continuous environment.

Koelnmesse organizes more than 40 trade fairs and specialist exhibitions, including global trade fairs for 25 different sectors. The trade fair program focuses on Koelnmesse's main areas of expertise: communications and new media; garden and leisure; art and culture; food; furniture and interior design; fashion; and health, environment and facilities.

Witt said 2006 was the firm's most successful year. The company's total revenue was just under €216 million ($281 million). It had five show launches in Cologne: ProSweets, Cologne Fine Art, Intermot, Net Solutions Days and Wellfood. The total number of visitors in 2006 (2,035,089) passed the 2-million mark for the first time, and more than 32,000 companies exhibited their products and services at Koelnmesse events.

QUICK STATS: KOELNMESSE

• Exhibit space in German facility: 284,000 sq. m. (3 million sq. ft.)
• International shows produced in Germany: 17
• Shows produced overseas: 12