NürnbergMesse: your strong partner abroad

NürnbergMesse has cemented its record number of contracts for organising pavilions overseas: in 2019 the Bavarian exhibition company can chalk up a total of 54 contracts to organise shared stands (pavilions and information booths) at trade fairs worldwide. This means that the company has maintained the same high level as the previous year. For Dr Roland Fleck, CEO of NürnbergMesse, the decisive factor is customer focus: “The subsidised pavilions allow small and mid-sized companies to have an effective, precisely tailored trade fair appearance overseas. The participating companies benefit from the longstanding expertise of NürnbergMesse in the organisation and implementation of trade fair appearances.” Fleck’s fellow CEO Peter Ottmann stresses another advantage of pavilions overseas: “For start-ups and SMEs in particular, having personal contacts on the ground is hugely important when trying to break into a new market. This is where NürnbergMesse can open up sales channels that at the same time offer synergies with our attractive range of events.”

Every year, some 6,000 exhibitors participate in around 230 trade fairs abroad thanks to the International Trade Fair Programme (AMP) of the German Ministry of Economic Affairs. According to a survey by AUMA, the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry, more than half of the German companies involved were able to increase their export rate. These figures illustrate how important this issue is, especially for the export-driven German economy.

“For mid-sized companies in particular, an appearance at an international trade fair is almost obligatory,” says Wolfgang Kranz, Head of International Business at NürnbergMesse. Yet it is mostly these firms that also need the most intensive support with their presentation, from budget planning through to technical and operational preparations. “We can take over a lot of jobs, from advice on stand design to the complete organisation of the company’s trade fair appearance,” says Kranz. Thanks to the government subsidies, participating in a pavilion can also offer SMEs considerable financial advantages.

Many SMEs have been relying on the expertise of NürnbergMesse for many years in association with the pavilions subsidised by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), the Ministry for Food and Agriculture, and Bayern International. “As a mid-sized company, having our own trade fair stand overseas is a major challenge involving a lot of time and organisational effort. The Bayern International Pavilion was a different matter: with the support of NürnbergMesse we were able to master these challenges. Taking part in international shows like Beviale Moscow is important for us because we come into direct contact with new customers. We hope that these opportunities will continue to be made available and will definitely take part again,” says Sabine Ohnesorge, International Sales Manager at HVG Hopfenverwertungsgesellschaft, which is typical of many companies that have had similar successes through the programme.

And she is not alone in this opinion, because other companies are getting involved every year. Whereas 617 exhibitors took advantage of the support of NürnbergMesse in 2017, that number rose to 636 in 2018. And already, just short of 400 companies have registered for 2019. “We are very proud to also have the privilege of working for NRW.International GmbH for the first time. We have won the contract for the CMEF (China Medical Equipment Fair) Spring event, where we will look after the North Rhine-Westphalia pavilion alongside the Bavarian pavilion,” says Kranz. With a total of 11 contracts, the medical technology sector makes up the greatest part of our overseas participations, closely followed by shows in the “windows and facades” segment.

As well as the focus on specific industries, the global presence of the NürnbergMesse Group also offers particular advantages. Because NürnbergMesse has won a lot of contracts to organise pavilions wherever our subsidiaries are extending our home-grown trade fair portfolio into other countries. Around half of the contracts received for organising pavilions and stands relate to events in the important international markets of Brazil, China, India, Italy and the USA. These are target countries that open up access to important international growth and trade fair markets for German SMEs in particular.