Messe Frankfurt organizes German pavilion for 2015 World Expo

The German Ministry of Economics has entrusted Messe Frankfurt with responsibility for organizing the German pavilion at the 2015 World Expo in Milan, Italy. The German market leader prevailed against numerous competitors in a public call for bids.

“Compared to other bidders, Messe Frankfurt’s proposal better met the requirements of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi),” said Dietmar Schmitz, commissioner general for Trade Fair Policies and EXPO Participation at the BMWi. “We look forward to a fruitful cooperation.”

Universal Expositions take place every five years, and Milan follows on the heels of Hannover (2000), Nagakute (Japan, 2005) and Shanghai (China, 2010). Fifty-four countries have registered so far, a figure that already exceeds the organizers’ target of 50 confirmed participants by the end of 2011. The theme of the 2015 Expo is “Feeding the planet, energy for life.”

“This is a great achievement for Messe Frankfurt,” said Petra Roth, chairwoman of the supervisory board of Messe Frankfurt and Frankfurt Mayor. “It also marks the beginning of a new era of cooperation in the town twinning between Milan and Frankfurt am Main.”

Messe Frankfurt is Germany’s leading trade fair organizer with more than 1,600 active employees worldwide.

“We are pleased to have won the contract and would like to than the federal government for their trust in Messe Frankfurt’s expertise,” said Wolfgang Marzin, president and CEO of Messe Frankfurt.

Messe has operated its own subsidiary in Italy since 1998 and also organizes its own fairs in the country.

“We serve the many Italian companies which exhibit at fairs in Frankfurt and around the globe and at the same time hold our own events such as SPS/IPC/Drives in Parma,” said Dr. Donald Wich, managing director of Messe Frankfurt Italia.

As one of three pavilion directors, Dr. Wich and his team will be working on the large EXPO 2015 project effective immediately.

According to the organizers, the national pavilions will focus on issues such as food, energy, life and the globe.

The world expo is scheduled to be open for six months, from May 1 to October 31, 2015. The expo site will be built near the existing Milan exhibition grounds.

“Although there are still roughly 1,300 days before the expo opens, the work for the German federal government begins now, and we are all highly motivated,” said Marzin.