ITS ALIVING ORGANISM

The joint CEO of Messe München, Stefan Rummel, on what it takes to organise the world’s largest trade show and what the future holds for the industry giant

The world's biggest construction trade show

How best to illustrate the sheer size of the event that is Bauma Munich? The show is 614,000m2in size, which is equivalent to 86 soccer fields and will welcome over half a million visitors, the police and fire brigade are involved in helping to steer traffic in Munich both to the showground and around it, and it even has its own dedicated Lufthansa baggage drop centre.

As Stefan Rummel, joint CEO of Messe München, tells International Construction at the event’s pre-show at an icy cold Munich, Germany, in February, the show is a “living organism”.

The event runs in a three-year cycle, but Rummel says that this doesn’t mean they have three years to plan. The planning actually happens right after Bauma has finished. “We take some time to analyse the last show and say, what went very well? What segments are more interesting than others? What should we, for the next time, strategically push forward? What should we disinvest?

“There are some strategic questions and operational questions that we analyse and discuss with our key customers and with the associations.

Out of that, we create the way forward for Bauma in three years.”

Stefan Rummel, joint CEO, Messe München

This year’s Bauma is fully booked and Rummel, who looks energetic and full of energy – something that no doubt stands him in good stead during show week – is obviously pleased at the large OEMs that are returning to the 2025 event, such as Volvo Construction Equipment, Deutz, CNH, and LiuGong. The last Bauma was held in October 2022 rather than its traditional April slot due to the disruption caused by Covid. It was a success: following the pandemic and some events either cancelling or going online, 495,000 visitors from around the world converged on Munich and the feeling was very much that live and inperson events were back.

Strong numbers expected

Fast forward three years and Rummel expects approximately 550,000 visitors, as well as an exhibitor lineup that is more international than ever.

“Overall, we’re talking about 3,500 exhibitors this year from 57 countries. If you compare it to 2019, we have almost around 20% less from Germany. It’s a very international show. We have strong growth from Asia, especially exhibitors from India, Japan, China, and Korea. And we even have some first-time exhibitors from Argentina and the Philippines,” says the joint CEO. Rummel says that the show doesn’t set specific targets for the number of exhibitors that come from each country, but they do strive to ensure that it reflects current market conditions. “For the strategic layout of the show we take a look at the market shares of the companies and look at who are the key players of the market and who are the most important suppliers. Based on that, you try to acquire them for the show. So, it’s not, ‘We need more exhibitors from China’, but we take a look at the market shares of the big brands, and these are the first ones that need to be there. Then we look at the midsize companies and the small companies that are especially innovative. In this way we create the show floor.”

Key trends and themes

Two of the biggest trends in the industry are sustainability and digitisation, so it’s no surprise that these will be a focus. An interesting point that Rummel makes is that there will be an increasing focus on the infrastructure needed for alternative powered machines.

“I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen any Tesla charging stations so far for any excavator. So, the question is: what does the infrastructure look like? If you have electric excavators, how does the infrastructure look like to charge? I think there are interesting points on that,” he says.

The show itself is looking to be more sustainable – an entry ticket now allows its holder to access public transport to attend the show and Rummel says that they are working on a “sophisticated” waste management system that can increase the amount of materials that can be recycled.

Bauma is a busy week for everyone; what’s it like for one of those in charge of the event? “It’s completely crazy,” he says with a hearty laugh. “It means very long working hours. The day usually starts at 7.30am, and we have a show meeting with the whole team where all the work streams are discussed: social media, security, traffic, projects, marketing, press.

“I have a lot of political appointments. There will be our prime minister from Bavaria, the Lord Mayor of Munich, the minister of construction in Germany.

“I have a lot of discussions with key exhibitors. I ask them how: How’s business going? Did you get any leads? Did you sell machinery? We’re trying to get a feeling of how the business value of Bauma. How is the experience and what do we need to improve. And then there are, of course, a lot of evening events. It’s a pretty busy week,” he concludes, with admirable understatement.

Covid changed the world forever, and there was a time when it looked like in-person events might be on the way out. However, the appetite for meeting in-person remains and Rummel believes that, almost conversely, it is the more digitally savvy that appreciate in-person events the most.

“I believe the more digital you work, the more important it is to meet face to face. Especially if it’s products like capital goods, which are very complex products, which are very expensive products. You wouldn’t buy a one million euro excavator online, at least not for the next years,” he says.

Pre-Bauma was held in February in Munich

“It’s also this trust feeling; is that product really good? Is it worth the price? I think creating meaningful handshakes with people is very important and it only works face to face.” With over half a million visitors to cater for, 3,500 exhibitors’ happiness to ensure, stands so big they have working elevators, and goodness knows how many pints of beers to be served, it is important for all concerned with organising the behemoth to focus on who and what they are doing it for.

For Rummel, this is, “When you see the big crowd waiting to come in: that’s the goosebump moment. When it starts and everybody’s waiting and the turnstiles are starting to turn, and then they turn, and everyone streams in.” The clock is ticking until the turnstiles, once more, turn – and the biggest trade show on earth begins with a sea of people streaming into the showground.