YOUR FORUM FOR PLAY, SPORTS UND LEISURE AREAS
The 21st GaLaBau in Nuremberg drew to a close on 20 September with three records being broken: around 66,500
professional visitors (2012: 61,860) came along to find out about products and trends in "green" landscaping, construction
and maintenance. An increase in attendance of over 7 percent. 2,000 more guests from abroad alone visited the fair.
The two segments of the trade fair, Deutsche Golfplatztage (German Golf Course Days) and PLAYGROUND attracted
lively interest. In 13 fair halls, more than ever previously, 1,321 exhibitors (2012: 1,155), 23 percent of them from
outside Germany, promoted their goods and services.
"The atmosphere in the halls could not have been better: the fair stands were constantly full, the conversations were intensive
and numerous deals were done on the spot. Additionally, the
companies expect good follow-up business," is how a satisfied Stefan Dittrich, Head of Events for NürnbergMesse, summed
things up. As the ideal provider of professional consulting and support to GaLaBau, the Bundesverband Garten-, Landschafts- und
Sportplatzbau (BGL - Federal Landscape Contractors Association), Bad Honnef, welcomes the enthusiastic mood of the exhibitors and the thoroughly positive response of trade visitors to Europe's leading green fair. "GaLaBau is and remains the most important meeting point for the 'green family'. For landscapers from all over Europe and throughout the world, no greater market transparency is to be found than here in Nuremberg at GaLaBau.
Particularly in demand were trendsetting ideas for entrepreneurial activities. Our leading green fair reflected the excellent economic condition of the sector, whose pace of development can now only be slowed down by exceptional influences, such as an extremely early onset of winter," said Dr. Hermann J. Kurth, Principal Managing Director of the Federal Landscape Contractors
Association. "I am looking forward to the assessments by exhibitors and visitors to the fair with great excitement. I believe we have experienced a GaLaBau showcasing many of the top brands," added Dr. Kurth.
"The members of the BSFH, who exhibited at GaLaBau 2014, are also very satisfied. Very many contacts made at both the national and international levels give reason to hope for good business leading on from the fair. It could clearly be felt that the share of international visitors had risen in comparison to previous editions of the fair. The specialist forum in Hall 1 – the playground segment Erwas pleasingly well attended. The talks given at the fair and organised by the BSFH drew the attention and interest of the trade audience.Another crowd puller was the special BSFH show "Bewegungsareale U3 – Krabbler ganz GROß" on the subject of playgrounds for younger children below 3 years of age. Companies including eibe, Berliner Seilfabrik, HAGS, Brandenburger Spielbau, Hesse Spielgeräte, Emsland Kinderland and SIK-Holz presented the trade public with playground equipment specifically tailored to the U3-target group.
Moreover, the special show was supported by two companies,
Berleburger Schaumstoffwerk and öcocolor, with the appropriate impact- absorbing surfaces," said Gerold Gubitz, Managing Director of the Federal Association of Playground Equipment and Leisure Facilities Manufacturers (BSFH), expressing his satisfaction with the way the fair had gone.
Nearly 60 percent of visitors have a leading position within their
company, according to the provisional findings of the visitor survey
conducted by an independent market research institute. The proportion of decision-makers rose to over 80 percent. The trade fair visitors predominantly came from specialist companies in the green and open space landscaping sector.
There was also an increase in visitors from the relevant authorities
and public institutions, from cemetery culture and cemetery departments as well as from the specialist trade in power tools. The 1,321 exhibitors travelled to Nuremberg from 35 countries, with the largest number coming from Italy (52), followed by the Netherlands (50), Austria (32), the Czech Republic (26), Belgium (16), France (14), the Russian Federation (13), Switzerland (13), Great Britain (12) an China (10).
Trade fair statements:
Tilo Eichinger, eibe Produktion + Vertrieb GmbH & Co. KG
and Principal Chairman BSFH (Federal Association of Playground
Equipment and Leisure Facilities Manufacturers):
"The fair has done its homework. The number of visitors, its international nature and its quality were just right. Cooperation with the Federal Association of Playground Equipment and Leisure Facilities Manufacturers (BSFH) has yet again improved. The special show, which elaborated on the subject of playgrounds for younger children, was very well received. We were positively surprised by specialist contributions at the forum,
which was good to very well attended. A new stone in the Hall 1 mosaic and one that can be developed. After the trade fair is before the trade fair, and GaLaBau will also continue to have to work on the quality of its visitors, in particular as far as decision-makers from municipalities, architects and commercial operators from the leisure sector are concerned.
The BSFH will, in any case, also be involved in future and provide its expert and content-related input, which will be made easier by our seat on the GaLaBau committee. As a complete equipper, eibe presented an allround concept for the environment and sustainability at this year's GaLaBau in Nuremberg. A subject that is very close to the heart of our company. With two fair stands, we raised the "green flag" and thus set a clear trend with our stand concept."
Klaus-Peter Gust, SIK-Holzgestaltungs GmbH:
"With our Explorer, we wanted to move outwards from Nuremberg to the polar caps. We were accompanied on our expedition by the
charming seals, Mads and Oskar. The mood on board with our "research team" was very relaxed. Alongside many interesting German visitors, there were also some from South Korea, Japan, Canada and Russia. …The word is quickly getting around that we have changed the world forever and sustainably with our children's playgrounds made from creative ideas and locust-tree wood. There was everything in Hall 1, from Disney through to serious business."
Julian Richter jun., Richter Spielgeräte GmbH:
"We were very satisfied with our performance at this year's GaLaBau. Our stand was very positively received by numerous visitors from Germany and abroad and business was very lively. Moreover, most of the important target groups and decision-makers were present and we were able to begin some very promising dialogues. For us, fair trade attendance does not only mean contact with our customers and partners, nbut also adopting a friendly tone, and I believe we succeeded in this. I hope that in future the fair company will continue to invest in the renovation
and replacement of the halls as we have seen with e.g. Hall 3A."
Mag. Michael Philipp, Obra Design, Ing. Philipp GmbH & Co.KG:
"Obra Design is more than satisfied with GaLaBau 2014. We recorded far nmore contacts than in 2012, and from all the relevant target groups (municipalities, architects and landscape planners, other companies attending
GaLaBau). In some cases, there were even visitors from the tourism and leisure sectors. The German contacts were more dispersed this time, and there were also some from North and Eastern Germany. The foreign contacts came from numerous European countries as well as Japan. One negative aspect was that the exhibitors in the Hall 1 / Playground segment were fewer in number again so some spaces were occupied by firms from outside the sector. Hall 1 no longer seems to be contemporary. The fair management should consider rebuilding or a completely new hall for
future GaLaBau fairs. At our stand there was a mobile water platform,
which was operated "live" with water, as well as a tree house. And it was the water platform that proved to be a real eye catcher!"
Eric Kunegel, Husson International:
"We have been participating in the GaLaBau fair since 1998.Although we can see that there is a decreasing number of trade visitors and exhibitors from our sector, the contacts remain interesting.
On the one hand, we get to meet more and more customers from abroad, and on the other, it is increasingly difficult to welcome the German municipalities: nonetheless, in Nuremberg we take great pleasure in meeting our regular German customers in person. I would like to make one suggestion: reducing the PLAYGROUND segment to 3 days during GaLaBau 2016. The Saturday is not acceptable."
Albrecht Rieger, BSW GmbH:
"We were again extremely successful with our Regupol and Playfix
surfaces at this year's GaLaBau too. Our imaginative floor installations at the fair stand and our invitation mail shots ensured even more visitors than two years ago. It was also pleasing to see that many visitors from abroad, including beyond Europe, found their
way to us, some with promising prospects and immediate follow-up
visits to our headquarters in Bad BerleBurg. If the trade fair management can attract even more foreign visitors in future, GaLaBau will be a top event for us, high on the list for our communication mix."
Uli Paulig, Ulrich Paulig & Co. merry go round™ OHG:
"The GaLaBau trade fair in Nuremberg remains one of the most important fairs in our sector. We are pleased with the crowds of visitors, especially from abroad, and the lively interest from the German trade.
It has proven possible to intensify existing contacts and make new
ones in Denmark and Sweden. As the leading German manufacturers are represented at the fair, this resulted in interesting cooperation. For us, the trade fair was a success."
David Köhler, Berliner Seilfabrik GmbH & Co:
"Without exception, all our target groups were there. We had plenty of contact in particular with municipalities, city authorities and offices for green spaces, and are glad to say that here too deals were concluded on the spot. Moreover, landscape architects were also represented, although not in such great numbers.
Very many international contacts! In total, we had 20 of different international partners at our stand and thus, as always, we have been using the fair to meet our partners personally in the second half of the year too and present our new products. Additionally, we used the fair to hold a national sales meeting and brought together our whole sales team, both sales office employees and sales representatives, in Nuremberg.
We found almost everything to be positive. The only issue was that there were too many imitators from the Asian market, and we feel the trade fair management should adopt a harsher attitude to this.
Among the features at our fair stand was a raffle for some rope play
equipment, the opportunity for visitors to create their own space net, our premiere presentation of the first piece of equipment from the Joe
Brown Collection, the first space net with a wooden frame and communal "currywurst" sausage eating with the whole team from the
Berliner Seilfabrik. This was a very positive and intensive fair for us."
Matthias Biek, Hags M.B. Spielidee GmbH:
"On balance, we can say that this year's GaLaBau was a positive
event, since the representatives of the target groups that are most important for us visited our fair stand in sufficiently large numbers. Unfortunately, from our perspective it also has to be said the most of our trade fair stand visitors came from Southern Germany. Nevertheless, we were able to get a broad enough view of how this region, which is of such great importance for us, regards the exhibited new products. This means that we achieved the main goal of our participation in this year's fair. Taking a broader perspective, however, it seems to us that the sector's interest in participating in the Nuremberg trade fair is declining in comparison to previous years. This will in my opinioninevitably lead to a decreasing number of decision-makers and multipliers finding their way to Hall 1 in the years ahead. As far as Nürnbergmesse is concerned, we believe that a more diplomaticapproach should perhaps be taken towards long-standing exhibitors as regards stand approval and storage space, unless the company is no longer interested in our sector continuing to participate in GaLaBau."
Holger Aukam, espas GmbH:
"GaLaBau will remain the leading trade fair in our sector. Of this we
are sure, following the 2014 fair. Nürnbergmesse has done its homework: many international contacts were made at the espas
fair stand. The Netherlands, Greece, Israel and Norway were just
some of the countries. Municipal decision-makers, who the sector and fair organisers would like to attract to the trade fair halls, of course came chiefly from Southern Germany, but there were also some from Berlin and its surrounding region, as well as from the Ruhr Valley. For espas it was a marvellous fair. A success. It is, however, sad to see that more and more German play equipment
manufacturers are giving way to non-European firms. This weakens the nfair location that we have built up over recent years! Given that, I would like to see more ideas and concepts coming from Nürnbergmesse and the sector, in dialogue, so that in future Hall 1 can become a trade fair hall devoted exclusively to playground equipment."
Katrin Pogan, Öcocolor GmbH & Co KG:
"One striking aspect was the many fair contacts from abroad. From
Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland through to Israel, Egypt and New Zealand. Öcocolor's municipal contacts came mainly from Southern Germany. It would appear that municipal trade visitors were only granted one day to visit the fair. Doubtlessly, this makes travelling from Northern Germany rather difficult. But landscape architects from the north of Germany and from Berlin did make their way to Nuremberg and to our stand. The quality of visitors was good!
The overall impression given by the hall was surely also a factor in the main players Eibe and Richter again exhibiting."
Mario Hampel, ESF Emsland Spiel- und
Freizeitgeräte GmbH & Co. KG: "Our target groups were municipalities, architects and leisure parks. All of them were represented and some were other companies
attending the fair. Of greatest importance to us are our foreign contacts. A large number were at the fair and there have been more and more in recent years. For example, we were able to make a new contact from Norway thisyear. We also use this fair to meet our partners: from Switzerland, France, the US, Sweden, Austria, the Benelux countries and the UK. As regards the fair itself, I can state that we are very satisfied. Many regular customers visited us and we enjoyed constructive dialogue with them. We were able to demonstrate play equipment from Kinderland
Emsland, for instance our new electronics programme dedicated
to renewables, and to make new contacts.
In my opinion, the quality of the manufacturer's fair stands rose a little
again, but I did not see anything really new.
One thing that disturbed me greatly was that on the final day of the
trade fair a number of manufacturers began to take down their stands an hour before it ended, which disrupted our conversations a lot. This should definitely be prohibited so that the customers can be met in peace until the fair closes."
Robin Wagner, KuKuk GmbH:
"GaLaBau significantly exceeded our expectations. The high level of
interest at our stand in individual planning and the construction of
play and movement facilities on that basis reflects the great emphasis placed on individuality. The massive interest overall contributed to the Nuremberg trade fair proving itself to be the top address in Germany for the playground sector."
Daniel Mall, Eurotramp Trampoline – Kurt Hack GmbH:
"In our view, GaLaBau 2014 was a total success and for us remains the most important leading fair in the playground sector. This year too we
were able to welcome numerous new interested visitors, municipal specialist planners and garden & landscape architects to our stand. This year we were especially pleased by the fact that visitors came from many different countries, with 30 different nationalities visiting our fair stand.
In addition to acquiring new sales partners, GaLaBau always provides us with a great opportunity for dialogue with our existing retailer network regarding concepts and strategy. From our perspective, Saturday saw the fewest visitors. A shortening of the fair or of the PLAYGROUND segment to three days would be worth considering. The many positive contacts and feedback from our visitors has strengthened our intention to attend GaLaBau
again in 2016."
Patrick Dubert, S.O.R. Schulz e.K.
"On day one we gained the impression that the fair was moving
sluggishly. But on the subsequent days GaLaBau, as always, showed its strengths as regards its national and international orientation.
After the trade fair evaluation, it indeed proved true that this year's
GaLaBau was increasingly characterised by international contacts. For us, GaLaBau continues to be an important trade fair."
Peter Kappes, Eurogreen GmbH:
"Overall, this was a good trade fair for Eurogreen, the "lawnmakers" from Betzdorf. We were able to address visitors at an open, communicative stand and receive them on true natural artificial lawns. All target groups were represented: architects, planners, municipal services, those garden, landscape and sports ground construction sectors, delegates from associations
and clubs, and private garden owners. The number of interested
visitors from elsewhere in Europe was striking, with our stand being attended by guests from Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Some of them with concrete intentions to purchase. Our CombiGrass® hybrid lawns and the Cut- Cat mowing robot attracted a great deal of attention."
Renate Zeumer, playfit GmbH:
"GaLaBau 2014 was very successful for playfit. In comparison to 2012, the number of municipal representatives at the playfit stand rose significantly (33% of our visitors), a welcome development. Many planners and guests from the garden/landscape sector were already familiar with playfit equipment thanks to already implemented projects. We were very pleased with the positive feedback we received regarding equipment quality, documentation and service. GaLaBau 2014 showed that the movement trail is now a well-established concept among visitors. Many
were already planning their second movement trail."
Please note the following dates:
After the après-fair enjoyment of a variety of regional foods such
as "Schäufele", "Haxn" and "Nürnberger Würstchen" and
fun-packed visits to the Nuremberg Old Town Festival, it's time
to note the dates for the next GaLaBau:
14 to 17 September 2016 in Nuremberg.
Photos: Playground@Landscape, Nürnbergmesse
