Messe Düsseldorf

Messe Düsseldorf GmbH
legal form	GmbH
founding	1947
Seat	Dusseldorf , Germany
management	Werner Matthias Dornscheidt (chairman), ; Wolfram Diener, ; Bernhard Johannes Stempfle
Number of employees	831 worldwide (2018)
sales	EUR 294 million (2018)
Branch	Trade shows
Website	www.messe-duesseldorf.de

Today's Messegesellschaft Messe Düsseldorf GmbH was founded on January 7th, 1947 under the name Nordwestdeutsche Ausstellunggesellschaft mbH - NOWEA . This was done initially with a view to the organization of a “commercial performance and export show”, which was initiated by the British occupation . At the end of the 1940s, however, a few other exhibitions were added, so that the exhibition company established itself permanently.

Today the company runs 70 events in various industries at home and abroad. There are also 11 partner and guest events at the Düsseldorf location. Messe Düsseldorf employs around 830 people worldwide. Messe Düsseldorf achieved total group sales of 294 million euros in the 2018 financial year. At the events in Düsseldorf in 2016, more than 26,000 exhibitors presented their products to 1.1 million trade visitors at 26 trade fair events (15 own events and 11 partner and guest events).

Messe Düsseldorf has a broad international presence with 77 foreign representatives for 141 countries. This can also be seen in the high proportion of international visitors and exhibitors, for example in the field of machines, systems and equipment (72% exhibitors from abroad, 72% trade visitors from abroad). A total of 30% of the visitors and 69% of the exhibitors at the Düsseldorf location came from abroad in 2018. This makes Messe Düsseldorf GmbH the world's number 1 in terms of internationality at capital goods fairs.

history

Beginnings in the 19th century

The tradition of Düsseldorf as a trade fair city goes back to 1811. The city and the Grand Duchy of Berg had been under French rule since 1806, but were largely controlled from Paris. A complete connection to the French Empire failed, however, whereupon the economic situation deteriorated increasingly. When Napoleon visited Düsseldorf in 1811, an industrial and commercial exhibition was organized. The exhibition took place in November in the hall of the old government chancellery of the town hall , where 14 companies from the Bergisches Land presented various products such as steel and metal goods, fabrics and food. Napoleon was delighted with the variety and the art of manufacturing the goods on display, but did not give in when it came to the economic development of the Grand Duchy.

From July 15 to October 1, 1852, the provincial trade exhibition for Rhineland and Westphalia took place in Düsseldorf Castle .

A few years later the next major exhibition took place in Düsseldorf. From the beginning of May to October 1880, the trade and art exhibition was presented on the site of what would later become the zoological garden . The "Rhenish-Westphalian Art and Trade Exhibition" attracted over a million visitors and was therefore an economic success.

Illustration for the provincial trade exhibition for Rhineland and Westphalia , Caspar Scheuren , 1852
Main building for the trade and art exhibition in 1880
Plan of the trade and art exhibition 1880

Trade fairs until 1945

Building on this success, the associations of the Rhenish-Westphalian steel and iron industry as well as other branches of the economy began to prepare an industrial, commercial and art exhibition for 1902. The exhibition grounds extended from Golzheim via the Ehrenhof to the Hofgarten . Over 2,500 exhibitors presented their goods and thus consolidated Düsseldorf's reputation as an up-and-coming industrial and commercial city. In particular, the coal and steel industry in the nearby Ruhr area with the companies Krupp , Hörder Bergwerks- und Hütten-Verein and Bochumer Verein decided to take part in the exhibition and built extra-large exhibition halls for it. For 1915, the city planned another major exhibition, the preparations for which, however , were suspended due to the First World War , which had now begun .

In the Weimar Republic , Germany's largest trade fair took place in Düsseldorf. The GeSoLei 1926 drew around 7.5 million visitors to the Rhine metropolis. The focus of the “Great Exhibition for Health Care, Social Welfare and Physical Exercise” was not only on health care but also on services from the economy and urban development. The 400,000 m² exhibition grounds were in Pempelfort and Golzheim , where the industrial, commercial and art exhibition took place as early as 1902 . Several buildings at the exhibition, such as today's Tonhalle or Ehrenhof , are still preserved today and shape the cityscape.

During the Third Reich , another large exhibition took place in Düsseldorf. The Reich Exhibition of Creative People took place in 1937 on the site of what is now the North Park. However, the fair was shaped by the propaganda ideas of the NSDAP and was intended to present the superiority of the German people and the worldview of the National Socialists. Düsseldorf was named the “Travel Destination of the Year 1937” in order to attract so many visitors to the exhibition. Achievements from four areas were shown: a material exhibition, a performance exhibition of industry and economy, achievements from space management and urban development as well as garden culture and art. Many buildings, facilities and sculptures were created especially for the exhibition and today form the area of the north park .

Panorama of the 1902 exhibition, view from the Oberkasseler Bridge
State railway exhibition building for the 1902 industrial and commercial exhibition
Exhibition building of cities Exhibition in Dusseldorf in 1912, taken from the Parseval airship "Charlotte" by Julius Söhn
Exhibition street on the GeSoLei , 1926
Tonhalle Düsseldorf, venue of the GeSoLei 1926
House of Confectioners during the Reich Exhibition of the Creative People in 1937
Sculpture group Die Rossebändiger by Edwin Scharff as a relic of the Reich Exhibition Schaffendes Volk in Nordpark Düsseldorf

Development of the fair until 1971

With the end of the Second World War , Germany's trade fair landscape changed fundamentally. As a result of the division of Germany, the previously leading Leipzig trade fair ceased to exist as a direct competitor, which led to the creation of new trade fair operations in western Germany. In 1947, Messe Düsseldorf was founded under the name Nordwestdeutsche Ausstellunggesellschaft mbH - NOWEA, in order to maintain the strong trade fair location in the region. One focus was placed on trade fairs. The exhibition grounds were provisionally set up in the halls of the Court of Honor and the Palace of Art . In the years that followed, the exhibition grounds were gradually expanded, but due to the spatial conditions and the increasing number of exhibitors and visitors, the operators soon reached their capacity limits. A new location was sought and found with today's exhibition center in Stockum . The trade fair company has had its headquarters there since 1971.

View of the Ehrenhof in 1953, from 1947 to 1971 the exhibition grounds of the Düsseldorf Exhibition Center

Trade fair operation today

The Düsseldorf trade fair location has continued to grow over the past 40 years. Today around 50 trade fairs take place in the 17 exhibition halls - 23 of which are world-leading fairs. In 2016, 23,100 exhibitors showed their services to 1,600,000 visitors. In addition, the Messe Düsseldorf Group organizes around 80 trade fairs abroad. The trade fair company is a member of the Association of Large-Scale German Trade Fairs . V. and ranked 7th in Germany in terms of sales behind Messe Frankfurt , Messe München , Messe Berlin , KölnMesse , Messe Nürnberg and Deutsche Messe .

The shareholders of Messe Düsseldorf GmbH are: City of Düsseldorf (56.5%) State of North Rhine-Westphalia (20%) Düsseldorf Chamber of Commerce and Industry (1.75%) Düsseldorf Chamber of Crafts (1.75%) Industrieterrains Düsseldorf Reisholz AG (20% )

Exhibition area

Most of the current exhibition grounds come from the new building from 1971, which was gradually expanded and modernized. By the end of 2016, 11 of the 19 halls had been modernized or rebuilt, and work will be completed by 2030. The investment volume amounts to 636 million euros. Major new construction projects were the new construction of the multifunctional Hall 6 with 24,635 m² in 2000, the opening of the newly built North Entrance with the connected underground station Merkur Spiel-Arena / Messe Nord in 2004 and the construction of Halls 8a and 8b with 12,850 each m² of exhibition space in 2004 and 2007. In June 2017, Messe Düsseldorf began with the demolition of today's halls 1 and 2 and the subsequent construction of a new 12,025 m² hall 1 and a completely new southern entrance area.

Messe Düsseldorf now offers a total of 261,817 m² of hall space. The individual hall sizes are between 4,000 m² and a maximum of 25,000 m² for flexible use. The halls are lined up in a ring and connected with each other with closed corridors. The administration building of Messe Düsseldorf GmbH is located in two high-rise buildings in the south of the exhibition grounds.

There is a direct connection to the Merkur Spiel-Arena to the north of the fair via a plateau, which connects to exhibition hall 6 (RheinHalle) . This special position of Hall 6 enables it to be operated independently from the rest of the exhibition grounds. Central access to the exhibition grounds is mainly via the north entrance. From there, there is a direct transition to public transport and the shuttle buses that take visitors to the exhibition car parks. Further entrances to the south of the exhibition center are the south and east entrances.

Exhibition grounds of Messe Düsseldorf GmbH
Administration building of Messe Düsseldorf GmbH
Hall 6 - "Rheinhalle"
North-east entrance
Animation of the new south entrance

Transport links

The A 44 motorway runs north of the exhibition grounds and the Merkur Spiel-Arena . There are also large parking spaces and a caravan center for trade fair visitors and truck parking spaces for exhibitors, accessible via the company's own motorway junction No. 29 Düsseldorf-Messe / Arena. Unlike the trade fairs in Cologne and Essen , Messe Düsseldorf is not in a driving ban zone for vehicles with older diesel and gasoline engines. The Düsseldorf airport is also only a few kilometers away.

Messe Düsseldorf is well connected to the light rail network, so that the journey time to and from the Düsseldorf main station is 15-20 minutes and other destinations in Düsseldorf and Duisburg can also be reached quickly.

An exit	Recommended stop	Line and important stops on the route
North Exhibition Center	Merkur Spiel-Arena / Messe Nord	U 78 Freiligrathplatz - Heinrich-Heine-Allee - Düsseldorf Hbf 896 Airport Terminal A / B / C
East Fair	Fair, east entrance	722 Messe Ost / Stockumer Kirchstraße - Pempelforter Straße - Düsseldorf Hbf - Eller , Vennhauser Allee 896 Airport Terminal A / B / C
East Fair	Messe Ost / Stockumer Kirchstrasse (600 m away)	U 78 Heinrich-Heine-Allee - Düsseldorf Hbf U 79 Heinrich-Heine-Allee - Düsseldorf Hbf - Universität Ost / Botanischer Garten U 79 Freiligrathplatz - Kaiserswerth , Klemensplatz - Duisburg Hbf - Duisburg-Meiderich Bf SB 52 Freiligrathplatz - Hoterheide - Meerbusch-Osterath Bf
South Exhibition Center	Fair Congress Center	722 Messe Ost / Stockumer Kirchstraße - Pempelforter Straße - Düsseldorf Hbf - Eller , Vennhauser Allee 896 Airport Terminal A / B / C

Station Merkur Gaming Arena / Messe Nord

International network

Messe Düsseldorf has had experience abroad for over 60 years. To date, more than 5,000 events have been organized and supported. 71 international agencies for 132 countries are expanding the network and supporting foreign exhibitors at events in Düsseldorf. In 2016, 64% of the exhibitors at the Düsseldorf location and almost 25% of the visitors came from abroad. This makes Messe Düsseldorf one of the 10 trade fair organizers with the highest turnover worldwide.

Especially in economic boom regions, Messe Düsseldorf has foreign offices with its subsidiaries. These currently exist in Moscow , Hong Kong and Shanghai , New Delhi and Mumbai , Singapore , Chicago and Tokyo . The Düsseldorf exhibition company was one of the first in Germany to position itself internationally. The company, then still known as NOWEA, was the first accredited foreign trade fair company in what was then the USSR.

Events

Over the years, Messe Düsseldorf has specialized primarily in trade fairs. The most important business areas are:

The regular events include:

A + A - Leading international trade fair for personal protection and the implementation of healthy, safe operational processes

Beauty International - International trade fair for professional cosmetics

boot - leading international trade fair for water sports and tourism

COMPAMED - International Trade Fair for Components, Pre- Products and Raw Materials for Medical Manufacturing

drupa - the world's leading trade fair for printing and media technology

EuroCis - International Trade Fair for IT and Security in Retail

EuroShop - International Trade Fair for Shop Equipment, Sales Promotion and Retail Furniture

glasstec - International Trade Fair for Glass and Glass Processing

interpack - International trade fair for packaging machines, packaging materials and confectionery machines

K - International trade fair for plastics and rubber

MEDICA - International trade fair with congress for medical technology

ProWein - International Trade Fair for Wines and Spirits

REHACARE - International trade fair for rehabilitation, care, prevention and inclusion

literature

Messe Düsseldorf 50 years of Messe Düsseldorf Bridge to the world . Düsseldorf 1996
Edmund Spohr and Hatto Küffner: Düsseldorf A city between tradition and vision. Facets of the city . Boss Druck und Medien, Kleve 2002, ISBN 3-933969-06-9 .
Harald Frater among others: The Düsseldorf atlas history and present of the state capital on a map . Hermann-Josef Emons Verlag, Cologne 2004, ISBN 3-89705-355-1 .

Web links

Commons : Messe Düsseldorf - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Official website of Messe Düsseldorf

Individual evidence

↑ Facts and figures Messe Düsseldorf . Messe Düsseldorf, accessed on January 10, 2020
↑ Napoleon's visit to Düsseldorf in 1811 . Düsseldorf City Archives, accessed on January 10, 2016
↑ Facts and figures Messe Düsseldorf . Messe Düsseldorf, accessed on February 14, 2017
↑ Key figures of the trade fair industry 2019 (AUMA, as of January 1, 2019) (PDF) accessed on January 10, 2020.
↑ grounds & halls Fair Dusseldorf . Messe Düsseldorf, accessed on February 14, 2017
↑ Messe Düsseldorf subsidiary . Messe Düsseldorf, accessed on February 14, 2017

51.26 6.7408333333333Coordinates: 51 ° 15 ′ 36 " N , 6 ° 44 ′ 27" E

[1] Facts and figures Messe Düsseldorf . Messe Düsseldorf, accessed on January 10, 2020

[2] Napoleon's visit to Düsseldorf in 1811 . Düsseldorf City Archives, accessed on January 10, 2016

[3] Facts and figures Messe Düsseldorf . Messe Düsseldorf, accessed on February 14, 2017

[Kennzahlen_der_Messewirtschaft_2019_(AUMA)-4] Key figures of the trade fair industry 2019 (AUMA, as of January 1, 2019) (PDF) accessed on January 10, 2020.

[5] grounds & halls Fair Dusseldorf . Messe Düsseldorf, accessed on February 14, 2017

[6] Messe Düsseldorf subsidiary . Messe Düsseldorf, accessed on February 14, 2017