Business & Money | Thursday 2 April, 2015 12:06 pm |

Leading trade fair organiser records 17 per cent annual revenue growth in past six years

Conference Division continues to gain traction with 17-event portfolio

With a new name and a renewed focus on the burgeoning Middle East market, Messe Frankfurt Middle East (formerly Epoc Messe Frankfurt) is set to further consolidate its position as one of the region's foremost trade fair and conference organisers.

Having recorded an impressive 22 per cent year-on-year sales revenue growth in 2014, Messe Frankfurt Middle East is targeting further success in the coming years with a sharpened focus on the company's core strengths across the region.

“The change of our name to Messe Frankfurt Middle East is an important milestone and reflects the company’s greater ambition to expand its activities throughout the region,” said Ahmed Pauwels, CEO of Messe Frankfurt Middle East.

“It also underlines our commitment to provide exhibiting partners, trade visitors, and delegates, a superior participatory experience and better than expected outcomes. Every event organised by us comes with the guarantee of the highly-reputed Messe Frankfurt brand with full organisational support and promotion.”

Between 2009 and 2014, Messe Frankfurt Middle East’s sales revenue from its event and conference portfolio has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 17 per cent. Exhibitor numbers during the same period have also nearly doubled, with its six events in 2014 featuring 5,103 exhibitors from 54 countries compared to 2,783 exhibitors from five events in 2009.
In May 2015, Messe Frankfurt Middle East will debut Leatherworld Middle East in Dubai, while the recently announced launch of Automechanika Jeddah 2016 brings the company’s event portfolio to nine, underlining its ambitious strategic expansion across the region.

The fast-growing line-up of events includes three of Dubai’s largest trade fairs: Intersec, Beautyworld Middle East, and Automechanika Dubai, while other shows include Paperworld Middle East, Hardware+Tools Middle East, Light Middle East, and the biennial Materials Handling Middle East.

Meanwhile, Messe Frankfurt Middle East’s dedicated conference division has also expanded significantly since early 2014. Last year saw the introduction of three new conferences including the Middle East’s first BOHS Worker Health Protection Conference and the highly popular GCC Car Modifications Conference.

Five new conferences in 2015, including Smart Traffic Middle East and the 1st GCC Virology Conference, both in May, and the Middle East Fire Safety Forum in November, brings the ever-expanding conference portfolio to 17.

Added Pauwels: “We are working hard to continually build on the success on what is now a portfolio of nine world-class trade shows and 17 conferences. We’re also growing our company in-line with our regional expansion to better serve the wider Middle East and Africa, with our staff count having increased from 46 in 2009 to 114 currently.”

Messe Frankfurt GmbH is one of the world's foremost trade fair and conference organisers. With €550 million in sales from 120 trade fairs and exhibitions held across the globe in 2014, Messe Frankfurt has a network of 28 subsidiaries across the world, five branch offices and 52 international sales partners.

In total, the group is present in more than 150 countries in order to better serve their customers. Messe Frankfurt events worldwide played host to over 84,900 exhibitors – more than ever before – and over three million visitors.