Hannover, Germany Deutsche Messe can look back on an extremely positive fiscal 2023, with revenues of 350 million euros and a profit figure just short of 30 million euros clearly exceeding the company's original projections. "2023 has been an entirely successful year, and proof that our customers continue to attach considerable value to face-to-face interaction and exchanges at trade fairs," says Dr. Jochen Köckler, Chairman of the Managing Board of Deutsche Messe AG. "Our trade fairs are, and will remain, the central business, inspiration and knowledge platforms for their respective target sectors."

This year saw Deutsche Messe host some 90 trade fairs and events at home and abroad – with a total of more than 4.8 million visitors and 26 000 exhibiting companies. Besides those in Germany, the events in Turkey and China in particular exceeded expectations.

Köckler: "Not only were our existing trade fairs excellently received; our new events, too, developed according to plan, and we were able to gain numerous new trade shows and events for our exhibition center here in Hannover."

With ITMA, Deutsche Messe succeeded in attracting the world's largest international trade fair for textile and garment technology to Hannover. The event will be held in Hannover in 2027 for the first time since 1991. In addition, hagebau Handelsgesellschaft für Baustoffe mbH & Co. KG will be hosting a total of 18 trade shows over the coming five years in Hannover.

New business unit for even more new business

To enable an even greater focus on the acquisition of new business, Deutsche Messe is setting up a new business unit, centrally tasked with the development of new events at home and abroad.

The "New & Global Business Development" unit will, on the one hand, be developing and organizing new trade fairs and events in Germany. On the other, it will strategically assess which trade fair themes developing successfully in Hannover also have potential abroad. The plan is for those events with positive potential to then be implemented, in cooperation with Deutsche Messe's international network comprised of eight subsidiaries and representatives in 78 countries.

Köckler: "In this way, we are relaying our current momentum in new business in Germany to the international level."

Sustainability remains a central topic of the future

Sustainability remains a central topic for the future and a cornerstone of Deutsche Messe's corporate strategy. The company aims to be carbon-neutral by 2035, having initiated an extensive package of measures in recent months towards achieving this climate goal. These include the first-time determination of Deutsche Messe's CO2 footprint, putting an extensive energy transformation concept in place, optimizing the company's waste disposal management, and scaling up its range of sustainable stand concepts.

Sustainability remains a key theme in Deutsche Messe's trade fair portfolio. At HANNOVER MESSE, for example, the main focus is on carbon-neutral industrial production, energy management, and hydrogen and fuel cells.

Köckler: "Our roadmap to the carbon-neutral trade fair of the future is gradually being imbued with concrete measures and milestones. We are thus taking on our social responsibility and, at the same time, securing our attraction as a trade fair location over the long term."