Interview
Man from the Messe
Dr Andreas Gruchow stepped down from the UFI presidential trio at the 86th Congress in Bangkok. He shares
some thoughts on his UFI work, and plans for his home tradefair stronghold - Hanover’s Deutsche Messe
r Andreas Gruchow left
the UFI 86th Congress
stage in Bangkok to
generous applause,
recognition of a huge personal effort
for the association over the years. He
has had a particular impact, in recent
years, as part of a presidential trio
that has elevated UFI’s structure and
work to a new level.
So, how did the Congress in
Bangkok measure up to previous
gatherings of the global exhibition
industry elite?
“This Congress was extremely well
organised,” Dr Gruchow told EW near
the end of a hectic three-day Bangkok
programme.
“It was our biggest gathering - at
the same level as Shanghai. There
were more than 500 participants as
well as other accompanying persons.
This UFI set up is very well structured.
“As a member of the presidential trio,
I can say we worked a lot on that. We
had all our UFI internal meetings and
gatherings of various committees and
special interest groups here in Bangkok
because the global Congress is not just
for the C-level or decision-makers of
organisers and venues, but also the
best place to be for experts on a whole
variety of topics. We have had working
groups looking at topics such as HR,
marketing and digital technologies.
We have talked a lot about the hot
topic of sustainability also.
“In the past 10 months
we have set up a dozen
events abroad... the
topics we do best in
Hanover we try to
export abroad”
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk
Dr Andreas Gruchow has been
on the management board of
Deutsche Messe since 2008 and
has also held the position of
Senior Vice-President for eight
years where he managed a
broad portfolio of international
tradefairs. He is also a member
of the board of the Shanghai
New International Expo Centre
(SNIEC) and Past President
of UFI, and a member of its
Executive Committee.
“So, if you would like to learn about
what is top notch in our industry,
what are the latest trends, what is
the global experience from the global
players and niche organisers, you
couldn’t find a better place to be, to
talk and to network.”
Deutsche Messe
With his Hanover hat on at Deutsche
Messe, Dr Gruchow says the goal on
the venue side of the business is now
a rolling programme to renovate and
update.
It is an exhibition venue with size
(still the largest in the world pending
Shenzhen World’s completion) and
pedigree, and a former host venue of
Expo 2000.
Above:
Dr Andreas
Gruchow,
Deutsche Messe
“Now we are concentrating on
delivering a smart venue, equipped
with 5G technology, digital signage,
and intent on integrating sustainable
infrastructure,” he adds. “Over
the last 10 months we set up 10
completely new events for Hanover
and have many activities abroad as
well.
“We have international subsidiaries
and run exhibitions in Mexico, US,
Italy, Turkey and Russia. We do most
of our events abroad in China, where
we have many offices and are also
part owners of SNIEC in Shanghai,
as well as being active in Indonesia
and in Australia. We are a global
organiser.
“In the past 10 months we have
also set up a dozen events abroad, all
helping to broaden our portfolio. The
topics we do best in Hanover we try to
export abroad, as well as establishing
new topics too, of course.”
The capacity in Hanover used to be
460,000sqm, but after Hall 1 went out
of action, it shrank to 390,000sqm.
The major refurbishment is now
underway.
In terms of its technology update,
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