Messe Frankfurt buys stake in local trade-fair outfit
GLOBAL trade fair company Messe Frankfurt will establish a new subsidiary in SA, it said yesterday.
The company, which has had an office in SA since 1954, has bought a 56% stake in SA Show Services to create the SA Shows Messe Frankfurt company, with the remaining 44% staying in the hands of the previous shareholders.
Messe Frankfurt Group declined to confirm the actual value of the investment.
“This transaction allows us to further expand our global presence,” said Uwe Behm, member of the executive board of Messe Frankfurt.
“Our activities in Southern Africa demonstrate our firm belief that the future offers a wealth of opportunities for the African continent.”
The German-based company has made significant investment in SA and the rest of Southern Africa.
The new SA subsidiary adds to 28 around the world, which contributed to global revenue of €545m last year, marking its second most successful year on record.
It employs more than 2,000 people worldwide, operates in 150 countries and has more than 50 sales partners. Last year it operated 113 trade fairs around the globe, 70 of which took place outside Germany. The 43 trade fairs that took place in its home country attracted more than 40,000 exhibitors and about 2.3-million visitors.
Messe Frankfurt also owns the 578,000m Frankfurt exhibition grounds in Germany, home to wellknown international events such as the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The company owns the Automechanika automotive components trade fair brand, which has been run under licence from Messe Frankfurt by SA Show Services since 2009.
Since its inception, Automechanika has been rolled out to countries around the globe as part of the com- pany’s globalisation strategy that began with Hong Kong in 1987.
“SA has the greatest potential for developing into a trade fair centre for Africa in the same way as Germany has for Europe,” said Ute Schuchart, Messe Frankfurt board member and MD of the new SA operation.
“I am proud to be responsible for developing business in Africa as part of the German trade fair company with the strongest international presence, thereby also helping to expand Messe Frankfurt’s international network,” she said.
The company is already looking at SA as a springboard into Africa and is planning to expand events on the continent into neighbouring countries. The subsidiary would continue to manage the trade fairs previously run by SA Show Services in SA such as Automechanika SA, the AMID Motorcycle Expo, the Johannesburg Boat Show, the SA Outdoor Lifestyle Show and the Johannesburg International Motor Show, which is run jointly with the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers SA. It will manage the Rand Show. The new company will retain its management team.
Ms Schuchart said her first job would be to integrate the new subsidiary within the group, before getting on with the job of expanding the opportunities for the business in SA and the rest of Africa.