UK subsidiary for Messe Frankfurt
March 1, 2018
The trade fair, congress and event organiser has acquired its first British division.
Messe Frankfurt has set up its first subsidiary in the United Kingdom with the acquisition of Forest Exhibitions Ltd. The worldwide group currently runs both January’s Paperworld show, including the Remanexpo product group, in Frankfurt, and February’s Paperworld Middle East in Dubai.
“It is important for our company to promote commercial exchanges at European and global level at our 30 trade fair locations around the world,” said Wolfgang Marzin, Messe Frankfurt’s President and CEO, who called the UK “an attractive trade fair and export market for our international customers.”
Messe Frankfurt already has a close link to the UK through its clients, with more than 560 exhibitors and over 15,000 visitors attending trade fairs in Frankfurt from British shores last financial year. Ray Bloom, the organiser and CEO of IMEX, a global trade fair for incentive travel, meetings and events that regularly holds events at the Frankfurt exhibition centre, called Messe Frankfurt’s acquisition “a smart move”, adding: “We see this decision as an excellent opportunity to intensify the ties between our two nations.”
Forest Exhibitions’ former Event Director, Simon Albert, will stay on as Managing Director of the new subsidiary, and described himself as “proud to be part of one of the largest trade fair companies in the world and to contribute to its success from the UK.”
Marzin chose to reference a particularly iconic British figure when explaining his pleasure at the acquisition.
“Even Shakespeare, one of the most important figures in world literature, was aware of the importance of trade links between the United Kingdom and Germany in his day,” he elucidated. “He made mention of the ‘Frankfurt mart’ and the trading activities with his homeland there in his play ‘The Merchant of Venice’. Another important strategic factor for us today is the proximity to our British partners and organisers who are regular visitors to Frankfurt.”
Categories : Around the Industry
Tags : Forest Exhibitions Ltd Germany Messe Frankfurt United Kingdom
