Bauma looks to add visitors

The organisers of next year’s massive Bauma show are hoping to improve on the near 584,000 visitors who attended in 2016.

Munich, Germany, will again be the venue for the largest construction machinery trade fair in the world, and it will be held from 8 to 14 April, 2019.

Mareile Kästner, exhibition director at Messe München, the company that organises the show, made it clear why she felt that visitors should attend.

She said, “Bauma is the event that sets the future direction of the industry.”

And for exhibitors, she said, “It is more than just an exhibition and is also perfect for networking. The show is without doubt the most important trade fair worldwide for the construction machinery industry.

“The atmosphere is unique – Bauma is huge. It is overwhelming, busy, international and entertaining.”

Kästner has been with Messe München for 15 years, and for the last six years has worked as project manager for Bauma.

Benchmarks

She said that Messe München expected Bauma to set new benchmarks for the industry again in 2019.

“We are well on our way to increasing the number of exhibitors from 2016 and now expect approximately 3,500 exhibitors. We also want to see an increase visitor numbers at the coming show, from 583,736 in 2016.

“The increase in the size of Bauma with new halls and outdoor areas encourages us to believe that this will happen.”

The 2019 edition of the show has two new halls and claims “optimised layout planning of the outdoor areas”. It will grow to 614,000m² from the 605,000m² of the last event.

“In addition to increasing the exhibition space, we have also optimised the structure of the content so that visitors can find their way around the fair easily,” said Kästner.

Bauma 2019 will see construction machinery extended to five halls. Additional areas in the north outdoor area and to the north of Halls C4 and C5 are available for this. Lifting equipment is a new area in Hall C4. The exhibition area for components has also increased to five halls. Formwork and scaffolding will now be in Hall B3 and also on the larger north outdoor area.

“The increase is due to the high demand from exhibitors and changes that are taking place in the industry,” said Kästner. “Digital topics from the industry will be shown separately in Hall A2.

“Digitalisation as a social megatrend is, of course, also reflected in the construction machinery sector, components, mining, and construction material systems. At Bauma, visitors will find the solutions they are looking for at many exhibitor’s booths.”

The subject of digital technology will also be discussed in more detail in the forum in Hall C2.

“We are close to the industry and its decision makers. Within the scope of our Bauma industry barometer, which was conducted at the start of 2018, we spoke with approximately 10,000 Bauma visitors and decision makers from all around the world.

“We identified topics that concern the industry and that are also reflected in our Bauma network. Autonomous driving, electric mobility, remote control, BIM (building information modelling), and sustainability in mining are just a few of these trend topics with which we mirror the industry.”

She said, “Among other things, all of these topics will be discussed within the scope of a forum. We will also be focusing on special regions, such as our current partner country Canada, with which we will be increasing our profile in the area of mining, for example.”

Kästner said that once again, the winners of the 2019 Bauma Innovation Award would be presented in the forum of Hall C2.

She said, “Messe München has a long tradition when it comes to construction machinery fairs.”

The first Bauma took place in 1954 and occupied 20,000m². Since that time, Bauma has grown enormously.

Every three years

In the 1950s, Bauma was an annual show. However, nowadays it takes place every three years.

“We still believe that the three-year rhythm is right,” said Kästner, “also to respond to developments in the industry. If you consider our five international construction machinery fairs, we are active almost every year from an international aspect.”

She said the Bauma show did not stand still, and nor did the company.

“Over recent years, Messe München has built up global competence in the organisation of international trade fairs for construction machinery.

“The successful concept behind Bauma has been transferred to a range of countries outside Germany – namely China, India and South Africa – in each case taking into account the needs of those regional markets.”

She pointed out that in December 2015, Messe München had expanded its portfolio again by purchasing the leading Russian construction machinery exhibition CTT.

In March 2017, the Bauma Network was extended again with M&T Expo, in the form of a licence agreement with Sobratema (Brazilian Association of Equipment Technology & Maintenance).

The first Bauma in 1954 took place on Theresienhöhe in the centre of Munich. Messe München took over Bauma in 1969.

“Since then, Bauma has been professionally expanded and internationalised,” said Kästner. “To put this in perspective, in 1954, the fair had about 8,000 visitors and 58 exhibitors. By 2016, this had increased to around 580,000 visitors and more than 3,400 exhibitors – figures that illustrate the enormous difference.

Record show

The show in April 2016 was a record Bauma in many aspects, she added. The 580,000 visitors from more than 200 countries was an increase of more than 9%. The total of 3,425 exhibitors – 1,263 from Germany and 2,160 from abroad – came from 58 countries. Exhibitors from outside Germany accounted for 63% of the total, which was higher than ever before.

The top five international exhibitors by country were said to be Italy, China, Turkey, the UK, and the US, and 59% of visitors came from Germany.

Kästner looked ahead to the 2019 show, saying, “The largest outdoor exhibitor is once again Liebherr, closely followed by Wirtgen/John Deere. The largest indoor exhibitor is Caterpillar.”

She recommended climbing the Selfie Tower in the north outdoor area to enjoy a view of the site from high up.

“The VR Experience in Hall B0 is also sure to be fascinating. This is where the industry presents itself in a virtual manner.”

Webcam

The Bauma website at www.bauma.de is the place for more information, and Kästner said that anyone who couldn’t wait until April could watch the show’s progress from this autumn on the Bauma webcam.

“From a global aspect, the industry continues to grow, with a few exceptions in various regions. We notice the strong demand through the large number of people at the global market platform Bauma in Munich. Many exhibitors want to present their products and services with us so that visitors can see what they have to offer.”

And looking beyond next year to Bauma 2022, Kästner said, “We are constantly developing our fairs. Changes in the market are also reflected in the trade fair platform. Also important are the experiences that we will gain during Bauma 2019 and the feedback from our customers.

“A few ideas have already been noted for Bauma 2022. Implementation will then start on day one after Bauma 2019.”