More space, more exhibitors, more visitors, new formats: From 8 to 14 April 2019 the construction machinery sector came together in Munich in full force at the largest ever bauma trade fair. At this major trade show for construction machinery, vehicles and equipment, as well as building material machines and mining equipment, which is held every three years in Munich, not only the exhibits are gigantic.
The exhibition space at Messe München grew by 9,000 square metres to a total of 614,000 square metres to provide ample space for the 3,700 exhibitors from approx. 60 countries. They occupied all of the halls of Messe München as well as the entire open-air ground extended specially for this event. More than 620,000 trade and general public visitors came to see the latest innovations. The bauma app provided them with all the information they needed to get the most out of their visit, e.g. the list of exhibitors, interactive hall and site maps, and event details.
The trade fair grounds in Riem were well equipped for the run after the opening of two new halls in December 2018. The city of Munich itself is also a perfect host for this type of large-scale event, with its ever-growing hotel capacity, optimum accessibility and infrastructure, its top position as a city of research and business, as well as “soft” location factors such as the vicinity of alpine lakes and mountains, its famous sights, and its cosmopolitan, hospitable flair.
Since its foundation over 50 years ago, bauma has evolved rapidly – from 8,000 visitors at the very first event to 3,700 exhibitors and more than 620,000 visitors in 2019. New formats have been developed to offer a platform to as many interested parties as possible from the booming construction machinery sector. Hall B0, for instance, featured VR and AR-enhanced building site experiences, including images, sounds, and sensory effects such as wind. Apart from the entertainment value, VR and AR open up myriad options for companies in their daily business, for example in planning and development, education, professional training, and sales.
“Our digital building site enables exhibitors to let visitors interact with their products beyond the real-life trade fair stand. For this purpose we provide the virtual exhibition space for VR experiences. At bauma 2019, for the first time enterprises could present themselves completely digitally,” explains Mareile Kästner, bauma Exhibition Director.
Another response to the vast demand were the new bauma PLUS models – innovative participation concepts which created further presentation spaces in addition to the classic stands. bauma PLUS onsite was a new joint stand that met all prequisites for a successful trade fair presence, including individual configuration options and digital tools. bauma PLUS MOVE was designed as a flexible co-working area that could be used as a business platform, workplace, presentation area or meeting point, either on demand or for the entire duration of the trade fair, for exhibitors without an actual stand.
79% of the trade visitors to bauma are directly involved in their companies’ investment decisions, which makes the trade fair even more attractive and important for the exhibitors. Furthermore, the willingness to invest is currently very high in the construction machinery sector and continues to be so regarded with cautious optimism in the coming years, according to the bauma Industry Barometer, a representative study which polled industry experts.
For all those in any way active in the building industry bauma is a must. It is the only trade fair worldwide that covers the entire spectrum of the construction machinery sector and showcases the latest innovations and cutting-edge trends in the industry. Key topics included electromobility, sustainability and – the omnipresent global trend – digitisation. Smart construction machines equipped with sensors and communication interfaces, for example, can use captured data to monitor and control performance, consumption, and location.
With its enormous ecological footprint, the construction industry has to confront the core topic of sustainability. Innovative and efficient solutions that help reduce emissions during construction and conserve resources could be submitted for the bauma Innovation Award 2019 that was presented in five categories. Of the 138 submitted innovations, 15 with high future relevance for the construction machinery sector made it to the final round. The 5 winners were honoured in Munich on the eve of bauma on 7 April.
The rush of general public visitors showed that you do not have to be in the trade to enjoy bauma. Many “big kids” wondered with big bright eyes at the gigantic machines and were reminded of their childhood dreams of becoming an excavator driver or crane operator.
