Roberta Busnelli, Editor and Managing Director of IQD architecture and design magazine, interviewed Wolfgang Marzin, President and CEO of Messe Frankfurt GmbH

Roberta Busnelli, Editor and Managing Director of IQD architecture and design magazine, interviewed Wolfgang Marzin, President and CEO of Messe Frankfurt GmbH. Messe Frankfurt and its head office are based in Frankfurt am Main. The Group has 28 subsidiaries, employs approximately 2,500 people worldwide, and organizes some 150 trade fairs and exhibitions in over 50 locations around the globe.

1. Looking back at the long history of Messe Frankfurt, what were the main key success factors that made it today the largest trade fair in Europe and among the top three in the world?

Frankfurt’s importance has a lot to do with the history of Italy. We have to go back to the 13th century, when Frederick II, King of Sicily, was elected in Frankfurt first King and then Emperor of Germany and later Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. It was he who authorized here the first official trade fair event. Until the beginning of the 17th century, Frankfurt was the main city of the Holy Roman Empire, also due to its geographical location. A connection, that between Germany and Italy that has endured. The number one foreign exhibitors at our fairs are Italian. Its geographical location, as the heart of Europe, still makes it a primary hub for trade and transportation, as well as an important financial center, hosting the European Central Bank. Its long history and its present make the city reliable for all our partners, with whom we form a great international team.

2. In your opinion, what has changed in this first two decades of the 21st century in the organization of trade fairs and events? And how do these evolutions reflect changes in society?

Over the past two decades, we have had a significant evolution in the organization of events and fairs, which have always mirrored the society, especially its economic development. Years ago, market openings and globalization, that has marked a turning point since the 1980s, allowed for an increasing internationalization of the events. But then, however, and particularly in the last fifteen years, we have had to adapt to new scenarios: the emergence of trade tensions, in some cases a return to closed-border policies, and a greater focus on local markets have prompted us to diversify our global presence. At the same time, the rapid evolution of the Internet in recent years, which is increasingly present in people’s daily lives, has led to a path toward a skilled and professional digitization. Trade shows are now no longer just physical events, but have been enriched with digital components, creating hybrid events and online platforms that allow us to maintain dialogue with exhibitors and visitors throughout the year. Internally we have also undergone a profound transformation, digitizing all processes, improving communication both internally and with clients and the press. This now allows us to be faster, more responsive and closer to the needs of our stakeholders. Moreover, digitization is becoming increasingly conscious and sustainable. That of sustainability has become the most addressed topic in recent decades. The portfolio of our fairs is increasingly full of efficient, sustainable and future-oriented solutions. We have introduced trade shows dedicated to energy efficiency, smart industrial production, and the new sustainable mobility, as evidenced also by the organization of the world’s largest Bicycle Show (Eurobike).  We must always be on the top of wave to provide information, through products and conferences, on solutions that can drive the transition to smart and sustainable mobility.

3. Can you give us your vision of the future of trade shows in the next decade? How do you see the contribution of digital and AI?

In the past, many have feared that digital encounters could replace personal encounters, but we must never forget that we are human and social beings and that the need for direct and personal interaction remains paramount. That said, as I said earlier, digitization has given us new communication tools, including AI, that we need to know and use. As organizers of trade shows and events, it allows us, for example, to better respond to the needs of our exhibitors, to make sure that they have, as fast and far as possible, the best return from their participation. The digital world isn’t a competitor to face-to-face meetings, but rather a synergy that makes trade shows increasingly dynamic and effective. The real challenge has been and continues to be to integrate the physical and digital worlds. Today they are no longer two separate worlds, but a single reality. AI, in particular, is increasingly becoming an active and integral part of this process.

4. What have you learned from the pandemic years, to which Messe Frankfurt has responded with great timeliness and professionalism?

The pandemic has taught us that we are all vulnerable. And that we must learn to be more humble, less selfish, and to face changes with great flexibility. And to also be more courageous. Messe Frankfurt for example during the pandemic period initiated a major investment plan to improve its IT systems and information technologies and to strengthen its services and digital infrastructure. It also took advantage of economic support from international banks, all of which came about as a result of virtual meetings, in China as well as in Dubai.

5. What do you think are the two trade shows to date that most embody Messe Frankfurt’s present and future values?

Just as it happens with children, whom we love all equally, I must say that all our fairs are equally important to me. However, if we are talking about the ones that best embody our goals, then it would be the fairs related to living, home, technical building and energy production technologies. We know that around 40% of global energy consumption is attributed to buildings and housing. So if we want to reduce CO₂ emissions and energy costs, that is where we must start. In this sense, I would say that the two fairs that stand out the most are Light + Building, a landmark event in the lighting and smart building sectors, which celebrated its 25th anniversary, and ISH, a major international trade fair for bathroom, energy-saving technologies, air conditioning, and modern building automation which has existed for 60 years. Of course, there is also a significant share of energy consumption linked to traffic emissions, and we are also committed in this area with dedicated fairs, for example in the fields of mechanical engineering and sustainable mobility. Furthermore, we organize major fairs in the textile sector, which is crucial for a sustainable production and the textile recycling. All of these are important meeting moments where solutions designed to improve our future are presented and explored.

6. What policies do you envision to draw more and more of the visitor’s attention to the sustainable aspects of the exhibited products?

We try to implement our program of seminars and content, in two major areas, one related to water and sanitary and the other to housing and building technologies. We are proud to say that we have life-improving events in every part of the world. Such as FESI, the event dedicated to the Sustainable and Integrated Building: Messe Frankfurt Italia’s unprecedented project, which will bring together in Bologna this year all those realities committed to achieving the Agenda 2030 goals on sustainable systems. Each event organized by us offers multi-stage content, ranging from expert-led seminars to themed guided tours, workshops and innovation forums, increasing the values of the events and attracting thousands of exhibitors and tens of thousands of visitors. The fairs promote collaboration among suppliers, designers and installers. It is a continuous attraction on many levels for key players, such as architects, but also for the industry professionals, which are our exhibitors. The latter in turn do a lot of promotion to bring as many of their clients and architects to the fairs. What they do with us is ultimately a teamwork: every exhibitor is ready to share his clients with the competition and vice versa to bring as many visitors as possible to the fair and to create an unbeatable exhibition experience.

7. Is there a message you would like to address in particular to the many Italian companies and architects that are our readers?

Yes, I would simply say: stay as good as you are! Stay creative! As for architects, over my 35 years of work experience, I have seen how profound an influence they have on the world, not just through the creation of beauty, but also through concrete and lasting impact. Designing beautiful and functional buildings has always been important. However, today it is even more evident how architects and engineers have a responsibility to help shape the world in truly significant ways. So my message is to continue to nurture your creativity, which I know is already a great quality of you Italians. I would also like to encourage everyone to work together to solve the challenges that lie ahead in the coming years. I believe that, in fact, success is more about collaboration than competition. And this message applies especially to Europe, which needs to stay united, because together we can be very powerful.