A NUREMBERG TRADE FAIR STAND – FROM IDEA TO REALITY

MESSE-PRO TRADE FAIR EXPERTS AND THEIR MASTERFUL TRADE FAIR STAND AT THE BRAUBEVIALE IN NUREMBERG

The stand was designed by external architects and seemed to present a seemingly unsolvable challenge to some exhibition stand builders. The idea behind the concept was to present the 17m x 9m x 5m corner stand as an open Shell.

BrauBeviale in Nuremberg: “Welcome home” – the industry event with a cool head and a warm heart. A creative beer culture meets premium spirits. Approximately 1,100 exhibitors and more than 37,000 visitors from 47 nations came together, many of the companies were from Germany (600), Italy, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium and Switzerland. SMEs and global players, world market leaders and newcomers – they all used the three trade fair days to present their solutions in perfect settings. The entire process chain in the beverage industry was covered, from raw materials, technology and logistics right up to marketing concepts.

When it comes to exhibition stand construction, we are known for our extensive know-how, specialist teams and our in-house, state-of-the-art workshops, and this request was put to us exactly 2.5 weeks before the exhibition dispatch date. Other stand builders might give up, while we kicked into gear. Where others feel uneasy, we act straight away and do not waste precious time. Efficient, flexible and sustainable stand building is the basis for a reliable implementation on schedule.

The stand concept – this corner stand was to look like an open shell with the actual exhibit (a beer brewing system) as the pearl in the centre of the Shell.

The exhibitor (our client) Kaspar-Schulz is globally known for most innovative beer brewing systems of the highest quality. They set the benchmark as the “Porsche” amongst brewing equipment producers. And our client wanted the same qualities represented in their trade fair stand, because we all know that quality pays off. And thanks to the experts in the Messe-Pro design team and countless other highly qualified professionals in the different sections of our company this project succeeded.

Being able to dispatch a trade fair project of such scale within a mere 2.5 weeks requires the smooth interaction between the individual departments, from the hugely complex 90-hour planning phase and the resulting CNC data right up to the simultaneously initiated material procurement process carried out by our logistics department. Let’s not forget that all this happened in addition to our “regular” exhibition building activities. As always, production management sorted this challenge confidently and opted for a multiple-shift system in the joinery master workshops. In the end, after nearly 400 hours of production, this masterpiece in trade fair construction was handed over to the next section – the paint shop. Our competent production team of qualified electricians, carpenters and metalwork experts produced the high-quality stand fittings that put across the Kaspar-Schulz brand message and turned the exhibition stand into brand experience.

A highly complex exhibition stand with an additional requirement – a conventional modular design that can be used for other trade fairs and different stand sizes.

Last but not least, the client selected a construction material that made this exhibition project stand out. Our professional in-house manufacturing capability allows us to implement individually customised exhibition furniture that matches your brand story. Based on samples, Kaspar-Schulz chose solid plywood panels made of pine – 8, 12 and 15mm thick. Our in-house paint shop used a total of 150 litres of paint to achieve the brilliant finish. The individual wooden parts were first primed and then received two coats of matte paint.

Market-oriented planning, design, handling and control of the entire flow of material and information are the basis of our logistical power. We were able to dispatch this stand project right on schedule from our headquarters in Lahnau close to Frankfurt and send it on its way to the BrauBeviale trade fair in Nuremberg. This was made possible thanks to our well-organized logistics department with its own fleet of vehicles.

The on-site construction effort in Nuremberg alone shows how complex the stand was: 815 man-hours, 5 days (plus one transfer day), involving our project manager Lukas Heinrich and 10 fitters.

There were no standardized elements to this particular exhibition stand project. Quite the contrary, all production and finishing jobs were customized. This required enormous planning expertise in order to fulfil all the demands that state-of-the-art exhibition building places on us. We just want to mention the flooring, as it was designed and constructed from 5 (five!!!) individual layers which included: 1) 38 x 60 x 2000mm floor strips to accommodate the routed cables; 2) typical 19 x 915 x 2025mm floor panels; 3) a white MDF base for the exhibits weighing several tons plus compensation strips – all precisely positioned and aligned to accommodate the weight and location of subsequently installed customer exhibits (i.e. brewing system); 4) 4mm levelling floor; and last but not least 5) visible 15mm real wooden panels, including aluminium inset. The surrounding skirting boards with black edging put the finishing touches on the Kaspar-Schulz stand at the BrauBeviale in Nuremberg.

This 6 metre high trade fair stand was anything but a classic double-decker or multi-storey design, which is why it presents a special challenge with regards to the wall constructions, particularly since we were dealing with a corner stand – open at two sides. To account for the static requirements for this height, the supporting structure included 8 steel supports, an additional six 160 x 80mm beams plus eight 120 x 120mm beams (each 6m in length). The supporting structure was a wood frame construction with white plastic-coated boards in the exhibit section and solid wooden wall boards in all other areas of the stand. This statically complex design was finished off with 1,500mm overhanging wall slats. These 66 slats were a real eye-catcher at the Kaspar-Schulz stand in Nuremberg and accurately reflected the shell design as planned by architect Luis Etchegorry. A perfect trade fair stand design!

Facts and figures for this trade fair stand in Nuremberg:

• Idea and concept:
• NE-AR GmbH Frankfurt am Main / architect: Luis Etchegorry
• Studio HEYHEY Visual Communication Frankfurt am Main / John Russo
• Design: NE-AR GmbH Frankfurt am Main / architect: Luis Etchegorry
• Construction planning, production and implementation: Messe-Pro / Lahnau
• Dimensions: 17m x 9m x 5m corner stand with a wall height of 4.8m
• Joinery effort: 392 production hours in shifts
• Paint shop effort: 150 litres of paint processed
• Construction effort at the exhibition site: 815 man-hours, 5 days + 1 transfer day, 1 project manger, 10 fitters
• Exhibits installation: 7 ton brew kettle, 6 people/3 days invested by the exhibitor
• Dismantling effort: 230 man-hours, 3 days

Like everything else with this exhibition project, the ceiling construction (including beam) was unique. A customized design and construction process was required to be able to accommodate the 325 maple slats for the ceiling and the 279 black contrasting slats. The goal was to have the slats appear floating from the ceiling, with the beam hidden – which is where the contrasting slats came in. 39 suspension points and an aluminium frame with a total length of 360 metres, tailor-made by our in-house locksmith department, supported the 2.7 ton suspended construction. 300 wire ropes with individual holders for the suspended ceiling slats were extending from this frame that was invisible to visitors. The pre-configured LED light system perfectly illuminated every element at this extraordinary exhibition stand at the BrauBeviale in Nuremberg.

Exhibition stand design starts with the right flooring and finishes with a suitable ceiling that reflects the overall stand concept which in this case was the shell design. 420 metres of surrounding glued laths were used in total. Optimized lighting was integrated into the supporting structure, using perspex which offered the added benefit of ensuring the statics for this section. The lighting arrangements included a beam of light as requested by the customer. The only thing visible to visitors and customers at the Kaspar-Schulz stand in Nuremberg was a white, fabric-covered shell with continuous lighting.

And our client’s response to our technical masterpiece? While the trade fair was still on-going, Kaspar-Schulz CEO Johannes Schulz-Hess sent us these lines: “I would like to sincerely thank you for what you’ve achieved. I’m very happy with our trade fair stand and everything functioned very well, which obviously is an important consideration. Nearly every visitor had something nice to say about the stand design, and the design ultimately helps us to communicate our vision – which is to be perceived as one of the top innovative suppliers.” What could be better than receive such praise as reward for all our hard work?