Messe Erfurt

Messe Erfurt is one of the smaller facilities on the German tradeshow scene, but it's still an active one. Located in the historic (more than 1,260-year-old) central German city of Erfurt (population 200,000), the facility aims to capitalize on the plethora of trade fairs and congresses in Germany.

Messe Erfurt spans 25,070 square meters (270,000 square feet) of covered exhibition space and 21,600 sq. m. (232,500 sq. ft.) of outdoor space. It includes three exhibit halls, and a conference center that can accommodate up to 1,600 attendees in seven divisible rooms.

Hall 1, a multipurpose facility, can accommodate another 5,200 meeting delegates. The exhibit halls are a short walk from the CongressCentre. Halls 2 and 3 measure 7,000 sq. m. (75,300 sq. ft.) each and, with the multi-purpose Hall 1 and the CongressCentre, are under a single roof, offering several options for a variety of events.

For concerts, sporting events and TV programs, Hall 1 can be reconfigured to seat up to 12,000 guests. The Erfurt area also offers a large selection of conference hotels with meeting space.

And although Messe Erfurt is fairly small by the standards of some other German messes, its CEO, Johann Fuchsgruber, follows the same messe business model as the big guys: hosting a combination of its own events and those organized by independent show managers.

In 2007, exhibitions scheduled at Messe Erfurt include inoga (hotel, catering and hospitality industry), znaro.tech (renewable resources), sports.aktiv (sports and fitness), Haus + Technik (home improvement), Grune Tage Thuringen (food and produce), Rassehundeausstellung (dog), Die Familienmesse Baby + Kind (guest event from Firma Kley Events), Ostpro (guest event from Scot Messen & Marketing for products of the Eastern German region) and Reiten-Jagen-Fischen (riding, hunting and fishing).