Shipping your Exhibit to a European Show, versus local renting.
Part 2.
In the last issue of Exhibit City News we asked you to imagine that it is Show-Time in Europe, and you find yourself thinking, “should I ship my exhibit to Europe, or rent or build one over there”? And then we encouraged you to ask yourself the question: “Is the import of my own Exhibit economical”?
Let’s assume for now your upcoming show is in Germany and you have decided to have your booth built abroad. (Although, the following is true for most part in Europe, with few local exceptions. See hereto the paragraph about “Are geographic’s and distances in Europe important for my decision”?).
Now that you made this decision, you are faced with these challenges:
- How do I locate the right Stand-Builder?
- Do I rent or purchase?
- What is the best “fit” for me:
- custom
- modular-system
- hybrid
- what flooring is best?
- Are geographics and distances in Europe important for my decision?
Several options are available to you when it comes to finding the right partner to realize your project in Europe.
- Your local Exhibit-House has existing ties to an Exhibit-Builder abroad.
- You contact US-based European Exhibit -Consultants or –Builders, like Coral Enterprises, check with EDPA for the membership-directory, or the classified ads in Exhibit City News or any other industry publication.
- Contact the IFES-office in Brussels, or the FAMAB in Germany.
- Google for Exhibitbuilders, for the sake of our example search for the German word “Messebau”, which cannot be translated, but actually is the root-word for the trade of the Exhibit-Building-Industry.
Keep in mind, when contacting any of the exhibit-builders in Germany, that there is a time-difference of 6 hours from the US East-Coast. Germany is 6 hours ahead and you can reach most of the businesses over there between 8.00 AM and 4.00 PM from Monday through Friday. You can expect that most of them understand basic English and communications should not be too difficult.
The next question has a very simple answer to it. “Do you rent or purchase”? It is absolutely common practice in Europe to rent, rather than to purchase. In fact, most of the exhibit-builders do not sell their equipment. You only want to purchase when you are visiting “a lot” of shows per year, and have an identical space everywhere.
That being said, you have automatically decided to use one of Europe’s Modular Exhibition Systems. Now, there are a lot of them and every one fulfills a certain purpose. There will be a difference for you in budget and looks. To help you to distinguish between the variety of what’s available in the European Trades how-Market, we will explain the main features and advantages and go into details and recommendations in the following issues of Exhibit City. For now, let’s just know, that when you contact any of the European Exhibit-builders, they will operate with at least one of the modular systems and you will find out soon if that one fits to your needs. If not, and they have no alternative, speak to a different provider.
Assuming that you have a corporate identity that requires a certain design, which sets you apart from other exhibitors in the show, it is your best choice to have your German / European Exhibit house to provide you with a hybrid-solution, which combines the advantages of the rental and the custom-world: flexible, re-usable rental structure, and individualized design. You can even include already existing custom-parts of your own exhibit. European Exhibit-builders understand to establish a sturdy and functional infrastructure with a modular-system, and cover all visible parts with customized (but also rental) cladding, to give your exhibit the impression of an exclusive custom-construction.
You should also know, that you can expect state of the art European lighting with every rental, as well as high quality and latest design in trade show furniture. Ask for photographs and material samples.
Choosing the “right” flooring for your booth, has been explained in detail in the last issue of Exhibit City News.
The final question in regard to choosing an exhibit-builder in Europe remains “Are geographics and distances in Europe important for my decision”? The answer again, is short and easy: “Not really”.
A look at a map of Europe, in comparison to the United States, supports this quick answer. Especially, focusing in on the center of all Trade show activity in Europe, exposes that the travel-radius for any Germany-based Exhibit house is rather small. That is why most of the local exhibit-builders own their fleet of trucks and vans and deliver their goods literally next to your booth-space. That being said, you will understand that your focus on available exhibit-builders for a show in Frankfurt is not necessarily Frankfurt alone. You might as well inquire with providers in Berlin, Hamburg or Munich. And for a show in Milano, Italy, you might as well inquire with an exhibit-house in Dusseldorf, Germany. As a matter of fact, most European exhibit-houses operate Europe-wide.
Due to the practice to ship with own trucks, no expensive crates have to be build.
I hope you've found this article interesting and useful for planning your next exhibition. If you have any questions about this or other related topics, please don't hesitate to contact me by phone at
Copyright Horst Tondasch, 2007 - 2010