From "janitor" to international trade fair company

NürnbergMesse was founded 50 years ago. At the time, it was a newcomer that was not expected to be very successful. With perseverance, courageous decisions and the "Spirit to Grow", it developed into a global player. The anniversary book "Messe.Stadt.Nürnberg" sheds light on its 50-year history.

Written by Maximilian Hensel

Aerial view of a large trade fair area with parking lots and surrounding greenery.

The origins of NürnbergMesse date back to the early 1970s. At that time, the exhibition grounds at Nuremberg City Park were bursting at the seams due to the growing toy fair. The City of Nuremberg and the Free State of Bavaria took the bold decision to build a new exhibition center.

In February 1969, the Nuremberg City Council decided by a large majority to build a new exhibition center. In the search for a suitable site, the decision was made in favor of an area in the south of the city, where the new district of Langwasser was being created. The site on which the exhibition center was to be built belonged to the Bavarian State Forestry Administration. The project was realized with a grant from the Free State of Bavaria. The ground-breaking ceremony took place on September 20, 1971 and the new exhibition center was built in just 16 months. It was officially opened in January 1973 with the mayor's New Year's reception.

Two men examining construction plans outdoors in front of new buildings. — The first managing directors of NMA: Heiko Könicke (left) and Dr. Hartwig Hauck, at the new exhibition grounds in 1974.

Put to the test: Toy Fair 1973

When it opened, the new exhibition center covered a total area of 320,000 square meters, including around 60,000 square meters in ten halls and 70,000 square meters in the outdoor area. The exhibition center passed its first major test with the International Toy Fair in February 1973. The event, which had been held in Nuremberg since 1950, attracted over 1,500 exhibitors from 34 countries and around 25,500 visitors.

The actual birth in 1974

A good year later, on April 5, 1974, Nürnberger Messe- und Ausstellungsgesellschaft mbH (NMA) was entered in the commercial register - the actual birth of the exhibition company. From then on, the newly founded exhibition company had to develop from a mere lessor of exhibition halls into an active organizer and host. The challenge was to fill 60,000 square meters of exhibition space.

This required perseverance, creative ideas and entrepreneurial foresight, recalls Walter Hufnagel, a marketing employee at the time: "In the end, people didn't trust NMA and the Nuremberg exhibition venue to actually put a new theme on track in Nuremberg."

Nevertheless, an important step was taken with the development of own formats and the acquisition of existing trade fairs. In 1975, the IWA International Trade Fair for Hunting and Sporting Arms was held in Nuremberg for the first time. The trade fair developed into the first leading international trade fair in NürnbergMesse's portfolio and is still successfully held in Nuremberg today as IWA Outdoor Classics.

Several men in suits smiling at a trade fair event. — Walter Hufnagel (right) at the ELTEC 1979 electrical and energy technology trade fair.

Breakthrough in the 1980s

The breakthrough for the trade fair company came in the late 1980s, recalls Walter Hufnagel: "Winning SENSOR, today's FENSTERBAU FRONTALE in competition with Frankfurt, the world's leading trade fair Interzoo in competition with Frankfurt and Cologne and winning back and securing GaLaBau in the long term. This finally made people sit up and take notice. The phase as a German trade fair nobody was over."

A detailed interview with Walter Hufnagel and more about the 50-year history of NürnbergMesse can be found in the anniversary book "Messe.Stadt.Nürnberg".

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Author

Maximilian Hensel

Online-Redaktion // Press Officer Corporate Communications