For the first time since the start of the corona pandemic, Messe Stuttgart, in Germany, has ended a financial year with positive results and says it plans to stage 60 events in Stuttgart in 2023, meaning its trade fair calendar will be fuller compared with the pre-corona period.
The Messe’s business model is being strengthened by new events in the area of the most important future technologies and by the formation of a subsidiary in India.
Roland Bleinroth, president of Messe Stuttgart, said: “A surprisingly strong comeback was achieved in the second half of 2022. With several new trade fairs and exhibitions that focus primarily on future technologies, the company emerges from the pandemic with an enhanced product portfolio. The company's commitment was also strengthened outside its own location and in the area of sustainability.”
A substantial rise in turnover produced the first profit since the start of the pandemic at the Messe, in spite of the pandemic-related ban on events that was in force in the first quarter of 2022. It was able to organise a total of 48 trade fairs and exhibitions with 596,086 visitors and 13,358 exhibitors in 2022 and the turnover was €122.7m for the year.
Management said the profit before leases and tax came in higher than expected at €6.6m.”
Highlights in 2022 included AMB, International exhibition for metal working, which was sold out and attracted large numbers of visitors. Events such as südback, trade fair for the bakery and confectionery trades, VISION, a leading trade fair for machine vision, and hy-fcell, an international exhibition and conference for the hydrogen and fuel cell community, which was staged by Messe Stuttgart on its own for the first time, reached visitor and exhibitor numbers at pre-pandemic levels.
In terms of new products: the first GrindingHub, the new platform for grinding technology, occupied four halls on debut.
With 60 events in the exhibition calendar for 2023, events in the second half of the year include, the new hy-fcell, the new product Quantum Effects, Bondexpo and Motek, SÜFFA, Messe Stuttgart's Autumn Trade Fairs and Comic Con Stuttgart.
Messe Stuttgart's Spring Trade Fairs in April were extended from six to 12 trade fair topics. didacta, Europe's largest trade fair for education and training, also celebrated a comeback at the Stuttgart Trade Fair Center this year. Over a period of five days, education and training trends were the focal points of interest among the 56,000 visitors. The new product Volta-X was another highlight. This new international platform provided answers to burning questions relating to the change to alternative energy sources.
Messe Stuttgart has created a new Future Technologies Team which is responsible not only for Volta-X but also for the new products hy-fcell and Quantum Effects.
The business has also been strengthened outside Stuttgart. With Reisen & Caravaning Hamburg, Messe Stuttgart not only successfully staged the leading holiday exhibition in north Germany in February for the first time, but also set a participation record.
The CMT network, which also includes the holiday and caravan exhibitions in Leipzig and Nanjing/China, was expanded. The takeover of Nortec in Hamburg also points in the same direction.
The establishment of another subsidiary, Messe Stuttgart India Private Limited, means increased co-operation with the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturing Association (IMTMA) which stages IMTEX, the largest Indian trade fair for machine tools. Messe Stuttgart will host the trade fair topics CastForge and Moulding Expo (MOLDEX India) concurrently with IMTEX in January 2024. The new subsidiary will also organise LogiMAT India for the first time at the end of February 2024 in New Delhi.
Messe Stuttgart now has subsidiaries in four countries: China, India, Turkey and USA.
Messe Stuttgart has also introduced new sustainable mobility offers such as the free Deutschland-Ticket for employees or charging points for e-bikes and pedelecs. In addition, there are photovoltaic systems on the trade fair grounds and the roof of the Bosch multi-storey car park. These systems cover a total area of 43,400sqm and annually generate around 3.63m kilowatts of solar energy.
It is also planned to install a photovoltaic system on the roof of the administration building. Messe Stuttgart is also intending to switch the hall lighting entirely to LED, increase the e-charging infrastructure, improve the colour coding system for effective waste separation and continuously extend the infrastructure in the area of digital signage.
Further information about Messe Stuttgart and its event calendar is available here: www.messe-stuttgart.de
