Eleven plus one own events were organized by HMC in the reporting period 2018.

There is no substitute for personal contacts, even in the digital age. That is one of the main reasons why trade fairs and congresses are still successful and will continue to take place in future, despite the many gloomy forecasts.

This is because they provide a meeting place for decision-makers and experts from around the world to exchange their wares and share information with one another. It is striking that the international exhibition and congress industry is being enhanced by digitalization: trade fairs and congresses with an IT angle are growing faster than average. In Hamburg we are seeing this too. But on the other hand we are also experiencing how traditional formats remain very popular, especially when they are able to combine tried-and-tested favorites with new ideas. Examples for this development include our two oldest fairs, INTERNORGA and SMM – the leading international maritime trade fair. Both are able to compete because they have kept renewing themselves and keep delighting their visitors with current topics related to sustainability and technological innovations.

SMM: 13 exhibition halls for the maritime industry

Touchscreens, simulators and virtual reality goggles put innovative technical solutions at the heart of the last SMM. In 2018 it was the only exhibition in Hamburg that took place in 13 halls. To make this happen, HMC added two high-end temporary halls to the existing eleven exhibition halls. SMM provided impressive proof of its position as the biggest and most important fair for the global maritime economy in 2018. It attracted some 50,000 trade visitors from more than 120 countries. The SMM takes place every two years, this time with the title “Trends in SMMart Shipping”, and featured digitization and green shipping on the agenda. It was not by chance that the organizers chose this title: digitization and environmental protection are key drivers in the industry.

INTERNORGA: Still young at over 90

Among the big trends at the INTERNORGA 2018 was the major topic “Handcrafted”. Once again the 92nd INTERNORGA underlined its status as a catalyst and the main industry gathering for the entire out-of-home market. The three industry meeting places – the 37th International FoodService-Forum, the 44th Deutsche Kongress für Gemeinschaftsgastronomie and the 8th INTERNORGA Forum Schulcatering – provided professional networking opportunities at an international level. 93 percent of trade visitors ranked the fair as “very good” or “good” and 94 percent would recommend it to others.

WindEnergy Hamburg: Center of the global wind power industry

Keynote topics at the WindEnergy Hamburg – “Dynamic markets”, “Cost efficiency” and “Smart energy” reflected the current developments in the growing global wind power market. Exhibitors came from more than 40 countries to present their new products for onshore and offshore farms, with the share of international exhibitors passing the 50 percent mark. The Global Wind Summit also attracted great attention in 2018: the WindEurope global conference took place concurrently with WindEnergy Hamburg for the first time in 2018. For four days that made the Hanseatic city the center of the global wind power industry.

GET Nord and NORTEC celebrate jubilee

2018 was also a year of jubilees. GET Nord celebrated its tenth anniversary, having started in 2008 with a unique concept that has not been challenged to this day. Electrical, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning joined forces under one roof at the GET Nord to showcase interdisciplinary system solutions. This far-sighted approach has paid off, because trades, products and sectors now work together closely to outfit a building. More than 500 exhibitors from 15 nations presented a comprehensive range of innovative products, interdisciplinary system solutions and services to some 40,000 visitors. A visitor survey also confirmed the innovative exhibition concept: around 90 percent of visitors ranked the trade fair as “good” or “very good”.

NORTEC celebrated its 30th anniversary. This time the production fair presented itself in an even younger light than ever. The hot topic for its jubilee was “Internet of Things for the Mittelstand”, with a special focus on 3D printing and digital production. In addition to an inspiring product show, the visitors – most of whom were from the metal and plastics processing industry – praised NORTEC’s conference and workshop program.

Premiere for oohh! The Leisure Worlds of Hamburg Messe

HMC really caught the public imagination with its decision to merge four events related to travel and leisure activities. The new oohh! They ensured Leisure Worlds had a successful premiere. Four “Leisure Worlds” across multiple halls offered visitors a mixture of experience, information and meetings: the “Travel Hamburg”, “Cruise World Hamburg”, “Caravaning Hamburg” and “Bike Hamburg”.

HansePferd Hamburg got hearts beating faster

Visitors also gave top marks to the HansePferd Hamburg. The 17th edition of the most popular equestrian fair in north Germany attracted some 50,00 visitors to the Hamburg exhibition grounds. A good 470 companies showed an attractive range of products and services for horse fans, riders, owners and breeders. Many different horses were on display too, making visitors’ hearts beat a little faster, as did an impressive gala show.

Second time round for home² and Hamburg Motor Classics

Following its premiere in 2017, home² – Hamburg’s consumer exhibition for everyone interested in real estate, owners and sellers – also opened its doors again last year. And the Hamburg Motor Classics welcomed guests to the exhibition center for the second time also, where there were plenty of chrome-laden vintage and classic cars, motorcycles and accessories to admire and buy.

Jewels, tea and great yachts

Finally, MINERALIEN Hamburg and COTECA, the trade fair for coffee, tea and cocoa, also made their appearance in 2018. HMC again had a safe harbor with the hanseboot ancora boat show, Germany’s largest in-water boat show. The exhibition hall at the five-star ancora marina in Neustadt, Holstein, and Jetty Y hosted exhibitors in 2018 for the first time. For its tenth jubilee in 2019 the hanseboot ancora boat show will be getting a new name. Then it will be time to “cast off” for the HAMBURG ancora YACHTFESTIVAL.

All the exhibition dates can be found here