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[January 2008]
BAU 2009 Almost Fully Booked
Around one year before BAU 2009 opens its doors, almost all the space at the event has been booked. Only a few spaces remain in the 17 exhibition halls in Munich, Germany covering a total of 180,000 square metres. Between 12 and 17 January 2009 around 2,000 exhibitors from 40 countries will be presenting their products and solutions at Europe's largest trade fair for architecture, building materials and building systems.
Demand for space at BAU is stronger than ever before. A whole year before the start of the event, the job of allocating space in the halls is almost finished and a glance at the hall plans shows that only a few gaps are still available. “In some sections, like tiles and ceramics, but also in stone and urban design, there is still some capacity, but in general we are full,” said Markus Geisenberger, the Exhibition Group Director at Messe München responsible for BAU. However, experience has shown that in the months before a fair starts, there are a number of cancellations and some shuffling of space, so that there is always a chance for companies to find a gap. “Opportunities to take part do crop up,” said Geisenberger.
The fact that BAU can report such a high level of bookings at this early stage also has to do with the exhibitors’ wish for larger stands. ‘More space’ – this has been a frequent request to the exhibition managers in recent months, and in most cases the organisers have been able to accommodate them. Another factor at play here is that companies that did not take part in BAU 2007 are now returning. Finally of course the positive economic development is giving a boost. Markus Geisenberger commented: “The situation is not always simple, because we do have a natural limit at 180,000 square metres of space. On the other hand, this strong demand is showing that BAU, as Europe’s leading trade fair for the sector, is of tremendous significance in the marketing mix of the companies”.
BAU has long been more than just a platform for building materials. It presents what is said for Europe to be a unique combination of architecture, materials and systems for commercial, industrial and residential building, and for interior fittings. This is also reflected in the new subtitle for the fair: ‘Architecture, Materials, Systems’. BAU is therefore about “an integration of architectural planning and technical realisation,” said Markus Geisenberger.
ENDS