Joining forces

Seeking synergies: The hand-in-hand appearance by both divisions of Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH is designed to give the company market clout.

No other environmental issue has attracted such public awareness in recent years as climate change - a buzzword that continues to provoke controversial debate among politicians and scientists alike. Our climate has undergone a sustained shift in the past hundred years, the impact of which is clearly being felt. Climate change is the focus of interest at the International Trade Fair and Congress for Flood Protection, Climate Implications and Catastrophe Management subsumed under the name acqua alta - high water - which from September 13 to 15, 2006 takes place in Hamburg for the first time. The exhibition previously had its home in Munich.
acqua alta makes demands of Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH in its entirety. Dietmar Aulich, CEO of Hamburg Messe, and Bernd Aufderheide, in charge of congress activities as managing director, are banking on the synergies from both divisions of the company - and the expansion of international business. "The hand-in-hand appearance gives us market clout," Aulich says. The company is relaunching itself accordingly. Its promotional appearance has been honed and a new logo and web presence created. Both guarantee a high recognition value - for both the exhibition and the conference division. Aufderheide: "Our external image is being projected more strongly."
The executives believe that congresses with accompanying exhibitions and trade fairs accompanied by conferences will gain in importance. A survey by market pollsters Phone Research conducted in the summer on behalf of the company bears this out. Altogether 764 exhibitors and visitors at international trade fairs with accompanying congresses (Internorga, SMM and WindEnergy) were quizzed as well as exhibitors and participants in congresses flanked by exhibitions (DIVI and NO-DIG). The findings show that two-thirds of all visitors and participants and well over half of all exhibitors at combined exhibitions and congresses are convinced that the additional content on offer adds substantial value. Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH aims to benefit from this trend in the long run.
Two business areas, one company. Whereas in the past the divisions tended to be run separately, Dietmar Aulich and Bernd Aufderheide are now focusing on togetherness. Added to joint company management is the proximity of the exhibition centre and CCH. A covered passage connects the buildings in which the production capacities, exhibition halls and congress centre are housed.
In the course of construction of Hamburg's new exhibition facilities, conference rooms holding up to 800 people are being installed in the immediate vicinity of the expo halls. By September 2006 the CCH - Congress Center Hamburg will have been given a full makeover to the tune of EUR 25 million. Work includes the addition of a 7,000 m2 multipurpose hall bringing exhibition space up to roughly 12,000 m2. "This will make Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH even better equipped to implement increasingly important combined exhibitions and congresses of varying sizes," Aufderheide says. On two floors the new conference wing abuts the existing infrastructure. As a result around 60 % more guests can be accommodated in the CCH, with a total of 16,000 seats available once the extension is complete.
More than EUR 308 million is being ploughed into extension and modernisation of the exhibition grounds, which have also become rather outdated. In future, too, the walking distances will be short, Aulich promises, adding that its visionary architecture will make Neue Messe Hamburg an outstanding eye-catcher and turn it into one of the most state-of-the-art exhibition centres in the world by 2008. The exhibition company is looking to present itself as a progressive, extremely flexible and considerably larger facility.
In the centre of town, surrounded by parks and green spaces, it will both add to the tradeshow experience for exhibition visitors and bring the logistics and facilities for exhibitors and event organisers right up to date again, the executives insist. Completion of Neue Messe Hamburg will provide an exhibition area of around 84,000 m2 (gross).
In the Bertelsmann Foundation's current locational ranking of the German states, the city-state of Hamburg with a population of 1.7 million is right up at the top. It is the front-runner nationwide in terms of its residents income and employment, garnering praise for its economic strength and Hamburg's role as an international hub. In terms of container handling, the Hanseatic City is the second largest port in Europe. What is criticised, however, is its exhibition centre, which does not meet the international standards that Hamburg sets itself. But as we have seen, this is a work in progress ...
The port of Hamburg, gateway to the world. And thanks to Airbus, the Hanseatic City is also one of the major aviation locations in the world, alongside Toulouse and Seattle. These themes are reflected in Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH's calendar of events, lending it high authenticity. The SMM Shipbuilding, Machinery & Marine Technology International Trade Fair Hamburg is considered the most important industry show in the world. With 42,000 professional attendees and more than 1,400 exhibitors it is the maritime industry's pilot fair. The shows in the Netherlands and Norway cannot hold a candle to the SMM.
hanseboot, the international boat show, suffers a little from the no longer quite up-to-date halls. But for the 46th edition taking place from October 29 to November 6 on Hamburg fairground and in the hanseboot harbour there are some innovations. The new Hall 14, Neue Messe Hamburg's first new hall completion, ratchets up exhibition space this year by almost 10,000 m2 to approximately 74,000 m2. In the transparent, light new hall motor yachts will be on show. For the trade fairs Aircraft Interiors EXPO - Aircraft Interior Design Show and Aerospace Testing Expo - Exhibition and Conference, exhibitors and visitors throng the city. Internorga has a waiting list. The International Fair for the Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Baking and Confectionery Trades is growing and urgently needs more space. It was consequently from this quarter that the greatest pressure to expand came.
Hamburg is considered an attraction, and its magnetism is also impacting the development of Hamburg Fair. Shows such as the previously mentioned SMM, the tourism fair Reisen Hamburg, WindEnergy and Nord Elektro are posting increases in exhibitor numbers and attendance. With a total of 13,677 exhibitors in 2004 Hamburg Messe raised the bar by 10.4 %. Attendance also grew 5.4 % on 2002 to around 982,000.
With the construction of a new exhibition centre Hamburg is looking to secure its position against international competition. Successful events requiring more space in the coming years can then exploit their potential to the full there. Management duo Dietmar Aulich and Bernd Aufderheide are firmly convinced: "As from 2008 no one will get past us any more."

m+a report Nr.7 / 2005 vom 27.10.2005
m+a report vom 27. Oktober 2005