08-Mar-2018
… Stefan Dittrich, Director Exhibition GaLaBau
From 12 to 15 September 2018, the European landscaping industry will be meeting again in Nuremberg at the GaLaBau trade fair. The preparations for the leading trade fair, being held for the 23rd time, are well under way. We talked to Exhibition Director Stefan Dittrich about the development of GaLaBau and the highlights that industry professionals can look forward to this year.
1. GaLaBau 2016 was very successful. With 1,320 exhibitors, over 64,100 visitors and the addition of Hall 2, it set new records. How are the preparations for the upcoming GaLaBau going?
Stefan Dittrich: “I’m pleased to say that preparations for GaLaBau 2018 are running extremely well. We will be covering more space this year. Because of the enormous demand, especially from the maintenance machinery sector, we will be opening up an additional hall in 2018 again, which will be hall 11. This means that the 23rd GaLaBau will be taking place in 14 halls for the first time. In this context, we are particularly pleased with developments on the international front. Dutch exhibitors, for example, have already booked almost 50 percent more floor space than in 2016. We can also report an increase in exhibition space for Denmark and the Czech Republic of over 70 percent at the moment. Naturally, the precise key figures for the exhibition will only be available in mid-September. In total, we are expecting around 1,400 international companies and some 70,000 exhibition visitors.”
2. What are your objectives?
Stefan Dittrich: “We would like to extend our international appeal for both exhibitors and visitors and continue to live up to our reputation of being Europe’s leading trade fair for the landscaping industry. At the same time, we are very pleased that GaLaBau has been the most significant meeting point for the landscaping industry in German-speaking countries for some time now. We feel that it is important to offer all industry professionals at GaLaBau 2018 an even wider range of products and an exciting supporting programme with all sorts of highlights and a couple of innovations.”
3. Has the exhibition concept changed in any way?
Stefan Dittrich: “The fantastic exhibitor and visitor numbers last time and the positive ratings in our exhibitor and visitor survey show us that our exhibition concept is generally on the right track. 96 percent of the visitors surveyed stated that they were satisfied with what the trade fair had to offer and 91 percent of exhibitors rated the overall experience of taking part in the trade fair as successful. However, we are constantly adapting and refining the exhibition concept and will also be adding attractive formats to Europe’s platform for the landscape industry in 2018.”
4. What precisely is planned here?
Stefan Dittrich: “As an example, we will be offering the format ‘Conversations with Motorists’ in association with the trade journal ‘Motorist’ in order to provide even greater added value for garden equipment and power tool dealers. On the day before GaLaBau, for example, this important target group will be able to enjoy a communication forum with participants from commerce and industry plus an evening event. Landscape designers should not miss GaLaBau 2018 either. Alongside the half-day site meeting, there is also planned a ‘Day of Knowledge’ for career newcomers, a communicative get-together once the trade fair has closed and a film presentation on nursery school planning on the stand of the Federation of German Landscape Designers. The practical forum that we organise with the Callwey publishing house is being renamed. In 2018, it will be called ‘GaLaBau Landscape Talks’ for the first time and will offer a wide range of short lectures for specialist planners and landscape designers. Naturally, the Federal Association for Playground and Leisure Equipment Manufacturers will also be presenting some exciting projects. It will also be appearing in hall 1 with the special show ‘Open spaces of the future – the playground experience from the school yard to the park’.”
5. At the last GaLaBau, the special show entitled Garden of Dreams (Garten[T]Räume) was very well received. Will this be making another appearance?
Stefan Dittrich: “Of course! The green boom is continuing, and is part of everyone’s quality of life. We would like to use the special show Garden of Dreams in hall 3A, as the point of contact for decision-makers in the industry, to show all the different trends in gardening and landscape design. Visitors can look forward to striking and inspiring presentations of services and products on an area covering around 1,600 square metres. They will be able to experience an urban space with a backdrop of apartment blocks, interior courtyards and facade and roof gardens. There is a private area with a piazza to encourage visitors to spend a while enjoying the latest trends in private gardens. The central points of the rural area will be the themes of nature conservation, renaturing, rainwater management and the kitchen garden. An additional benefit for the visitors is provided by the integration of the experts’ forum with specialist presentations into the special show.
Mr Dittrich, thank you for speaking with us!
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Helen Kreisel, Saskia Viedts
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