2018 sales revenue three million euros above target
With 61+1 events, more than 1.2 million square meters of gross exhibition area covered, 102.8 million euros in annual sales, two leading international trade shows setting new exhibitor records, several awards, and one historic party convention, the year 2018 at Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH was colorful, exciting and successful. “In an eventful year, with the largest-ever total gross exhibition area occupied, we have once again managed to exceed our own sales target,” says Bernd Aufderheide, President and CEO, Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH (HMC). “Apart from eleven trade shows organized by HMC, we were able to host 31 guest events plus 19 events that had to be moved to the exhibition facilities because of the temporary closure of the CCH – Congress Center Hamburg. In addition, we organized the In-Water Boat Show in Neustadt, Holstein.”
Looking back: Leading trade shows set new exhibitor records
The solid basis for the excellent 2018 annual results was once again provided by the events organized by Hamburg Messe und Congress. Together with the services rendered in connection with each event, they accounted for three quarters of the year’s sales volume. The top-three events in terms of sales revenues were the industry-leading trade shows INTERNORGA with roughly 93,000 visitors; WindEnergy Hamburg, which increased the number of exhibitors to 1,482, an approximate 20 percent growth since the inaugural event in 2014; and SMM, the leading international maritime trade fair, were the number of exhibitors, now at 2,289, has seen an increase by nearly 1,000 since the year 2000. Each of the latter two events set a new record in the number of exhibitors. What is more, SMM is Hamburg’s only trade show occupying as many as 13 exhibition halls. This is made possible by two high-quality temporary halls being added to the 11 permanent halls for this show.
The revenue target for 2018, which had been set at 99.9 million euros, was exceeded by approximately 3 million euros; by year’s end, the total volume reached 102.8 million euros. This left HMC with an operating income of 25.3 million euros, and an annual result of zero after subtracting the high expenditures for leased venues as well as depreciation and interest. 3.4 million euros invested in upgrade construction projects were an additional cost factor.
Since the CCH – Congress Center Hamburg was unavailable due to the ongoing revitalization work, the key figures for events and visitors at the HMC complex again shifted somewhat in 2018. In total, 745,769 participants and visitors attended events at the exhibition complex during the past fiscal year. 722,649 guests were counted at trade fairs and guest events. An additional 23,120 people attended 19 CCH events which were held in the exhibition halls. With 1,221,888 square meters of gross floor area utilized, the record results of the previous years were topped once again.
An event that received extraordinary attention was the Global Wind Summit: In 2018 the WindEurope global conference 2018 was for the first time held in parallel with WindEnergy Hamburg. This meant that for four days, the city of Hamburg was the center of the global wind sector and a meeting place for the industry’s experts. The share of international exhibitors present at WindEnergy Hamburg crossed the 50 percent line.
GET Nord, a trade show launched in 2008, has an event format that was as unusual then as it is today. For the first time, the electrical engineering, sanitary installation and HVAC segments were represented at a single event to showcase interdisciplinary system solutions. With more than 500 exhibitors from 15 countries, and around 40,000 visitors, the sixth edition of GET Nord once again proved its reputation as a top-quality industry event. “The integration of trades, products and industries has long been a reality in modern building services engineering. We are pleased to have succeeded in providing a high-quality platform that reflects this development,” said Bernd Aufderheide.
NORTEC, the trade show for manufacturing, celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2018. An event that collaborates closely with businesses, universities and politics to address current challenges and showcase state-of-the-art solutions, NORTEC focused on 3D printing and digital production in 2018.
Visitors gave top marks to the 2018 HansePferd equestrian trade show, which enthralled its audience with a rich program of equestrian demonstrations, renowned horse trainers, expert presentations, top-quality products, the thrilling “Heartbeat” gala show, and around 300 live horses and ponies. In a representative survey, 94 percent of visitors rated the event “good” or “excellent”. 77 percent made purchases at HansePferd.
Guest events – a broad spectrum
The Guest Events division, featuring 31 industry exhibitions, festivals, sports and other events, again contributed to the outstanding annual result. Special highlights of the year included the 2018 hella hamburg half marathon, for the first time held at Hamburg Messe und Congress, and POST-EXPO, the leading global event for the world’s postal, parcel and express business, which had celebrated its premiere at the Hamburg Messe fair complex back in 1997. Of all the events held at HMC, the convention of the German Christian-Democratic Party on December 7 and 8 caused by far the biggest stir across the nation, with 1,001 delegates and more than 1,000 international journalists attending.
CCH events in the exhibition halls
Because of the comprehensive revitalization work continuing throughout 2018, the CCH – Congress Center Hamburg remained closed for the entire year. The 19 events relocated from the CCH to the exhibition complex comprised four annual general meetings of public companies as well as a number of medical and industry-specific conferences and conventions, including a logistics conference.
International presence on four continents
The HMC international department accompanied a total of 347 German exhibitors to trade shows in 10 different countries during the year 2018, visiting all continents with the exception of Australia. For example, HMC supported customers at the SIAL International Food Exhibition in Paris, France, the Seatrade Cruise Global trade show in Miami, Florida, and the oil and gas industry event OTC in Houston, Texas. In addition, HMC prepared the German Pavilion for EXPO 2019 in Beijing.
Outlook: New trade shows plus the Rotary International Convention
The top-three highlights for the year 2019 are all new events Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH has developed recently. The MARINE INTERIORS Cruise & Ferry Global Expo, powered by SMM, will premiere from September 11-13, 2019. It is an industry show dedicated entirely to interior design and engineering of passenger ships. This event expands HMC’s maritime portfolio, catering to strong demand from the booming cruise market.
Just over six weeks later, this event will be followed by therapie Hamburg, an industry show and conference for physical therapists, massage therapists and balneotherapists in northern Germany. It is organized by HMC jointly with Leipziger Messe, which has been hosting a similar trade event at its own venue for some time. The third new event to open for the first time at the HMC exhibition complex is Hamburg Open, a hybrid trade show and industry gathering for the German broadcasting and media technology sector.
All in all, Hamburg Messe und Congress will organize ten events; eight of them will take place at the Hamburg exhibition complex, while the HAMBURG ancora YACHTFESTIVAL will be held at the ancora marina site in Neustadt, Holstein, and INMEX SMM India in Mumbai. In addition, there will be more than twenty CCH events, again including four annual general meetings and numerous medical conventions. The Rotary International Convention in June will be among the annual highlights for the city of Hamburg and its exhibition complex, drawing roughly 30,000 Rotarians from around the world.
HMC’s international activities in 2019 will include coordination of about twenty German joint exhibition booths on behalf of various federal ministries, respectively, organized by HMC. Among these are the Kormarine in Busan, South Korea, the Trenchless Asia in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the Medic East Africa in Nairobi, Kenia. More than 30 guest events will contribute to the target annual sales volume of 68.2 million euros. Among these externally-organized trade shows, HMC will welcome numerous new guests such as the Spielemesse Hamburg toy fair, the Juice Plus Regional Leadership Convention, the Wein Hamburg wine fair, and the ‘Hall of Vape’. Furthermore, Intermodal Europe, the world-leading exhibition and conference for companies associated with the container and intermodal industries, is returning to Hamburg.