submitted by Anne Meerboth-Maltz, Messe Düsseldorf North America
Significant increase: Sales grow by a third, profits up 10%
New subsidiary: Expansion into the growth market of Turkey
Strong new business: 18 new events in Düsseldorf and worldwide in 2023/24
Messe Düsseldorf GmbH is reporting a great result for 2023. The company organized a total of 73 events – another increase compared to the already successful prior year. Sales rose by more than 30 percent, with after-tax profit growing by more than 10%. Thanks to solid business management practices in previous years, the company was able to carry out important modernization work at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Center and drive new business in Germany and abroad.
Messe Düsseldorf can look back on a successful year 2023. Messe Düsseldorf Group sales were up over last year, reaching nearly EUR 410 million (prior year: EUR 310 million). Messe Düsseldorf GmbH was able to record a large part of this, increasing its previous year’s turnover from EUR 294 million to EUR 388 million. This leads to a result of over EUR 80 million after taxes (previous year: EUR 71.6 million). “The increases underline the economic strength and international competitiveness of Messe Düsseldorf. This is excellent news for Düsseldorf as a trade show and business location,” summarized Lord Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller, the Chair of Messe Düsseldorf’s Supervisory Board.
New subsidiary delivers growth
This year, the international network will also be expanded to include a new subsidiary in the growth market of Turkey. Together with Deutsche Messe AG in Hannover, Messe Düsseldorf will, starting in February, hold a 50% stake in Hannover Messe Ankiros Fuarcilik A.S., the organizer of the leading Eurasian metallurgy and foundry trade shows ANKIROS/TURKCAST and ALUEXPO. Both partners contribute their individual expertise: Messe Düsseldorf’s network and industry expertise around its world-leading trade shows GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS and NEWCAST (“The Bright World of Metals”) and Deutsche Messe AG’s many years of extensive experience in the Turkish market. With this joint venture, Messe Düsseldorf is not only expanding in the Eurasian market, it’s also bolstering its global leadership role in metallurgy and foundry trade shows. In 2023, Messe Düsseldorf already organized wire Eurasia and Tube Eurasia in Istanbul for the first time. The group of companies has been active in the Turkish market since 1996, where its portfolio also includes the TOS+H occupational safety show.
Messe Düsseldorf drives expansion strategy
Wolfram N. Diener, President and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf emphasizes that “with every new event, we’re further expanding our global leadership position in numerous industries. Our leading world trade shows in Düsseldorf benefit when we optimally position ourselves in the global competitive landscape while bringing even more international companies and guests to Düsseldorf. In that way, we can continue to reflect each respective industry’s global market here in Düsseldorf and simultaneously create new platforms abroad in order to develop attractive growth markets. That’s why we’re specifically investing in the high-potential regions and technologies of the future.”
The best example is XPONENTIAL, which in 2023 was jointly organized for the first time by Messe Düsseldorf North America and the Association for Uncrewed Vehicles International (AUVSI), the world’s largest association for uncrewed systems and robotics. The world-leading show on this emerging topic, which most recently was held in Denver, Colorado, represents the largest event acquisition in the history of Messe Düsseldorf. Against the backdrop of the growth offensive in the mobility sector and the expansion in the North American market, the new event is a major win for Messe Düsseldorf. Once a year starting in 2025, the new XPONENTIAL Europe will turn Düsseldorf into a center for uncrewed and autonomous systems and robotics in Europe. With this commitment to mobility, Messe Düsseldorf is setting the tone for the future while doubling down on an issue that’s already been a major focus of both the City of Düsseldorf and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
In addition to XPONENTIAL, the nine new events outside Germany in 2023 include REHACARE China (Suzhou), Valve World Southeast Asia (Singapore), GIFA Southeast Asia (Bangkok, Thailand), GIFA and METEC Indonesia (Jakarta), GIFA, METEC, wire & Tube Middle East Africa (Cairo, Egypt), Central Asia Plast World (Almaty, Kazakhstan), Wine & Gourmet Japan – powered by ProWein (Tokyo) and wire Eurasia and Tube Eurasia (both in Istanbul, Turkey). Five more new foreign trade shows will follow in 2024: wire Mexico (Monterrey), GIFA Mexico (Mexico City), Plastics & Rubber Indonesia (Jakarta), Plastics & Rubber Thailand (Bangkok) and ANKIROS/TURCAST (Istanbul, Turkey).
New events in Düsseldorf
Messe Düsseldorf hosts four new events in two years on the national level. In 2023, Tissue World, the world’s largest trade show for the production of paper tissues, was held in Düsseldorf for the first time, and, as part of a strategic partnership, Düsseldorf was able to secure the long-term commitment of Flotte! Der Branchentreff, the leading national trade show for fleet management, which will be held as a separate event for the first time in 2024. The leading industry event for the lubricants industry in Europe, Lubricant Expo, and the international exhibition for fine and specialty chemicals, Chemspec Europe, will also take place in 2024.
Trade show operations in full swing again
Messe Düsseldorf counted 27 events at its home venue in 2023, eleven of them guest events. Some 27,000 exhibiting companies (prior year about 21,650) participated, 78% of them from abroad. Covering the six competence areas of industry, trade, medicine, lifestyle, mobility and leisure, the trade shows attracted a combined total of around 1.1 million attendees (prior year: about 801,000). An additional 304,000 participants (prior year: 187,000) attended the 847 conventions, corporate events and conferences (prior year: 783) organized by the subsidiary Düsseldorf Congress. Erhard Wienkamp, Managing Director Operative Trade Show Business, is delighted with the success of Düsseldorf’s events: “The results of Düsseldorf’s trade shows and the positive feedback from customers speak for themselves. The attendee numbers alone show that the trade show business has picked up speed again – and that we’re focusing on the right topics.”
Successful restart in China
Business in China was also exceptional in 2023. After only one trade show could take place in 2022 due to Covid restrictions, Chinese trade shows made a compelling comeback. From CIOSH and ProWine Hong Kong to REHACARE CHINA, all shows were able to take place as usual. CHINAPLAS, in which Messe Düsseldorf is a shareholder, even broke a special record as Messe Düsseldorf’s largest foreign trade fair of all time. More than 10,000 exhibiting companies and half a million visitors attended the 13 events organized by subsidiary Messe Düsseldorf Shanghai – surpassing even the pre-Covid year 2019.
Worthwhile investments in the future
Like last year, further investments in the infrastructure of the Düsseldorf Exhibition Center are planned for 2024. “Modernizing the exhibition halls and the entire site is one of our most important tasks. Investments play a central role because they lay the foundation for efficiency and sustainable development,” says Bernhard J. Stempfle, Managing Director Finance and Infrastructure at Messe Düsseldorf. More than EUR 15 million in investments have been budgeted for construction measures alone. Some EUR 10 million of that will go towards the complete modernization of Hall 9, which will be renovated for a total of EUR 160 million by 2029. Total investment expenditure will rise to more than EUR 42 million (prior year: EUR 33.8 million).
The Messe Düsseldorf Group
Messe Düsseldorf is among the most successful trade fair companies worldwide. It hosts around 40 trade fairs including 20 leading international trade fairs at its 613,000 m² exhibition center. In the 18 halls the international market leaders and top decision-makers of various sectors get together every year in order to present and discover innovations, to exchange and network. The sectors of expertise of Messe Düsseldorf include: “Machinery, Plants and Equipment” including metallurgy and foundry technologies (inter alia drupa, K, interpack, glasstec, wire and Tube); “Retail, Trades and Services” (EuroShop, EuroCIS, ProWein); “Health and Medical Technology” (MEDICA, COMPAMED, REHACARE); “Lifestyle and Beauty” (BEAUTY, TOP HAIR) as well as “Leisure” (boot, CARAVAN SALON). Add to this numerous conventions, corporate events, conferences and meetings by its subsidiary Düsseldorf Congress. Abroad, Messe Düsseldorf organises 65 events and participations. The global network of the group of companies encompasses 77 foreign representatives for 141 countries – including 7 international subsidiaries.
