Stuttgart: "Wonderful information center" and top-selling 2020

Ulrich Kromer (pictured above) and Roland Bleinroth, the two managing directors of Messe Stuttgart, are forecasting record results for 2020. 125 million euros were turned over in 2019. In 2020, the company expects 185 million euros and a profit of 34 million euros.

Company spokesman Ulrich Kromer, who will be "retiring" (he will continue to be heard from in the international events industry) on January 31, 2020, had this to say about the future of trade fairs, at least at the Stuttgart location: "Year 2020, things will continue like this. Trade fairs will remain" and he called trade fairs such as Dach + Holz, which takes place every four years, a "wonderful information venue".

Innovation leader

Kromer describes Messe Stuttgart as the "innovation leader among German trade fair companies". This is not entirely wrong, at least in terms of the permanent invention of new trade fairs, events and so-called "festivals". In 2019, the medical technology trade fair T4M took place for the first time with 250 exhibitors from 18 countries. It was followed a little later by the new In.Stand for maintenance. The three guest trade fairs The Battery Show Europe, Foam Expo Europe and the Glow beauty convention were held at Messe Stuttgart for the first time in 2019. In 2020, the premiere of the trade fair alliance for industry and technology, Expo 4.0, will take place.

Master plan and pitch for the IAA

The know-how of Messe Stuttgart and the distinctive service concept makes Messe Stuttgart a competitor in the competitive German market. As explained at the press conference on January 9, 2020, Messe Stuttgart is one of the locations applying for the newly planned International Motor Show IAA, previously in Frankfurt. Ulrich Kromer: "The organizing VDA has new ideas. We are intensively working on that."

Thanks to the successful development, Messe Stuttgart is planning further investments in the modern infrastructure. For this purpose, there is a master plan that shows what is possible on the existing site. The core of this is new parking spaces, the expansion of the service building and a larger home for the fire department.

Sales tripled

Ulrich Kromer came to Stuttgart in 2001 and helped to almost triple sales in the even, trade fair-strong years compared to the old Killesberg location. The ten-year target was already exceeded in 2010, a good two years after the move to the modern new trade fair center.

However, Messe Stuttgart also became the fastest-growing trade fair company in Germany through successful acquisitions and the development of new large trade fairs and congresses. Guest events now account for 30 to 40 percent of total sales. Roland Bleinroth (picture), who has played a major role in the development of Messe Stuttgart, remains Managing Director, now together with Stefan Lohnert.