"The investment required is immense"
Deutsche Messe AG has appointed Eberhard Roloff as "Special Envoy Central and Eastern Europe". He is fascinated by these countries economic and political momentum.
You are the only "Special Envoy Central and Eastern Europe" in the German exhibition industry. What is your mission?
Deutsche Messe AG perceives dynamic development of the political and economic situation in the central and east European countries (CEEC) as an outstanding strategic opportunity. The position was created to exploit this.
What does the exhibition company expect from your work?
My duties consist of analysing and further developing Deutsche Messe AG's sales and communication structures in these countries. The appointment of a special envoy highlights the outstanding position that the exhibition company assigns to this particular region within the framework of its global strategy. Once again it is putting down innovative organisational markers relative to its competitors, to the benefit of exhibitors and visitors.
What does Deutsche Messe AG understand by CEEC?
The region to be covered comprises the central European 2004 EU accession countries from the Baltic states to Slovenia, the Balkan countries and the CIS.
What makes these countries so special?
Together they are home to more than 300,000 million people. This potential demand lies in our immediate economic catchment area. The investment required is immense. The countries powerful economic and political momentum holds out outstanding potential for exhibitors and visitors to our fairs alike.
Do the Hanoverians plan to buy an exhibition centre there or stage their own small events?
At present Deutsche Messe AG is not considering investing in exhibition infrastructure in these countries. The infrastructure needed to implement exhibitions is already in place; exhibition demand and themes are under constant review.
Surely the CEE region has already been occupied by other companies?
Initially, our priorities lie in attracting additional exhibitors and visitors from these countries. For that, we have an incomparable and extremely attractive offering with our international benchmark capital goods exhibitions. The dynamic development in the countries themselves means that, if at all, there is still demand only for exhibition themes and quality of the kind Hanover has to offer.
What about the number of German participations in the region?
There is no representative and reliable figure on the number of German exhibitors at tradeshows in the CEEC. German firms, including their local subsidiaries, most certainly make up the biggest foreign exhibitor complement at shows in the CEEC and Russia. Roughly 1,400 companies went on show last year in central and eastern Europe at 50 joint participations in the federal government's foreign exhibition programme. Of these 50 fairs, 33 alone took place in Moscow.
How is the number of exhibitors and attendees from this region developing in Germany?
Bucking the general trend, the number of exhibitors and visitors from the central and east European countries is developing very positively. Between 1999 and 2003 both the volume of exhibitors and attendance from the region climbed by an average of 5 percent a year.
And in Hanover?
Across all fairs there, the proportion of exhibitors and attendees from abroad is rising, exceptionally so from the CEEC.
Which exhibition themes are in the greatest demand?
Demand reflects the needs in the various countries. All our leader capital goods shows meet with an excellent reception. Top of the list is interest in information and communications technology at CeBIT. Hanover Fair, covering demand in practically all sectors with its globally unique range of technology, likewise features prominently with exhibiting companies and the executives deciding on capital investments. The same applies to EMO and LIGNA+.
A year ago people were saying that eastward enlargement of the EU was setting the scene for growth. Does that statement hold true?
In the exhibition industry there was a longer lead time. In particular, the state sponsored exhibition participations from these countries have been stepped up in recent years. At present a lot of EU structural promotion funds are being used in the accession countries to support exhibitors wishing to participate in fairs. In the promotion lists for exhibition participations the shows in Hanover are regularly given top ratings.
After years of opening up, in some countries the clocks now seem to be going backwards. Corruption and bribery are unquestionably issues for potential exhibitors. What security concepts are needed to ensure that the entry into a new market is a success for German companies?
This problem is not endemic to the exhibition industry alone. Besides which, you can't tar all the "east bloc" countries with the same brush; other regions in the world are also facing similar developments.Generally speaking, participation in joint German stands offers a safe setting for an exhibition appearance abroad.
Interview: Christiane Appel
m+a report Nr.2 / 2005 vom 23.03.2005
m+a report vom 23. März 2005