The 23rd GaLaBau in Nuremberg welcomed 72,005 trade visitors – 12.3% more than in 2016 – keen to learn about the latest products and trends for designing, building and maintaining green spaces. Stefan Dittrich, Director Exhibition GaLaBau, is more than satisfied: “We have four inspiring days behind us, with consistently packed halls, valuable business discussions and numerous highlights from the supporting programme. The mood was absolutely fantastic. As far as I’m concerned, GaLaBau 2018 was a resounding success!”
At GaLaBau 2018, the 1,253 companies from 37 countries were spread over 14 exhibition halls for the first time.
The honorary sponsor of GaLaBau, the Bundesverband Garten, Landschafts- und Sportplatzbau e. V. (BGL), Bad Honnef, also had words of praise for the event. “Once again, GaLaBau exceeded our expectations in 2018. The more than 72,000 visitors represent a sensational result that is also reflected in the positive feedback from exhibitors. Once again, Nuremberg has shown itself to be the No. 1 meeting place for the landscape gardening sector. Only at GaLaBau does the industry have the opportunity over the four-day event to get a comprehensive and focused overview of the latest developments and innovations in gardening, landscaping and sports ground construction and to find out about the capabilities of the sector,” says Lutze von Wurmb, President of the Bundesverbandes Garten-, Landschafts- und Sportplatzbau e. V. (BGL). “For exhibitors, visitors and NürnbergMesse, but for us too as the industry association, GaLaBau 2018 was a resounding success,” he adds.
The growth in visitor numbers was a result of both domestic (+ 13.3%) and international visitors (+ 3.4%). The findings of the visitor poll, which is carried out by an independent market research institute, once again confirmed the high calibre of visitors, most of whom came from specialist companies in the gardening and landscaping segment. There was also an increase n visitors from specialist bodies and public institutions. In 2018, GaLaBau also attracted more visitors involved in the construction, maintenance and management of golf courses. Many landscape architects and suppliers of motorised equipment were also drawn to Nuremberg for the event. More than half of visitors hold a leading position at their companies, with as many as 81% in decision-making roles.
The 1,253 exhibitors travelled from 37 countries to Nuremberg. The German contingent (945) was followed by exhibitors from the Netherlands (66), Italy (50), Austria (31), Belgium (18), Poland (15), France (14), Denmark (14) and the Czech Republic (13). Overall, every fourth company came from outside Germany. The exhibition area booked by German companies increased by 3%, while international exhibitors ordered as much as 12% more space.
Once again, the core area at GaLaBau was the machinery segment, with half of all exhibitors presenting maintenance and construction machines. Around 35% of exhibitors came from the segments building materials, natural stone, pavers, patio coverings, plants, seeds and similar. And about 15% of exhibitors covered special areas like playground equipment, street furniture or golf course construction and maintenance.
The exhibitors couldn’t have given their industry event better marks: 93% rated the overall success of their trade fair participation positively and reached their most important target groups. Almost all forged new business contacts, while 90% expect substantial follow-on business from the event. Of the companies polled, 92% have already decided that they will be exhibiting again at GaLaBau 2020.
Highlights 2018
Greenery & Landscaping China exhibition presents itself in Hall 3A for the first time
How is GaLaBau doing in China and where is the market potential? The exhibition team for Greenery & Landscaping China (GLC) answered these and other questions for the first time at its own stand in Hall 3A. The GLC has been taking place annually in Shanghai since 2017 and is organised by NürnbergMesse China and the Chinese association SLAGTA (Shanghai Landscape Architecture and Gardening Trade Association). During GaLaBau 2018, the compact information session “Focus China” at the stand provided a lot of background information on the opportunities and challenges in the gardening and landscaping sector in China. It offered opportunities for direct contact with experts from China, facts and figures on the market and case studies that provided insights into the economic dynamics and resulting opportunities. This specialist content proved very popular.
Genuine crowd-pullers: special shows and forums
As well as a huge range of products, GaLaBau 2018 once again offered visitors a massive knowledge pool. For example, the special show “The future of outdoor play” in Hall 1, and the Landscape Talks Forum in Hall 2, were real crowd-pullers. At times it was a case of standing room only. The first GaLaBau jobs board located in Mitte entrance was also very popular.
Landscape architects, on the other hand, were drawn to Hall 3A, where they could look forward to a high-quality programme at the stand of the Association of German Landscape Architects (bdla, Bund Deutscher Landschaftsarchitekten). Motorised equipment dealers reaped the benefits the day before GaLaBau. A total of 70 industry specialists took part in the presentation and networking format “Conversations with Motorists” and provided consistently positive feedback about the event.
No less than two ELCA Trend Awards for the Netherlands
In 2018 as in previous years, the prestigious ELCA Trend Award was presented at the GaLaBau Expert Forum. This time, the European Landscape Contractors Association (ELCA) presented two awards to pioneering projects from the Netherlands. First of all, ELCA President Emmanuel Mony acknowledged the “Circl” project by ABN AMRO Bank, a public (roof) garden that has a 100 % recyclable score. “This is an extremely successful landscaping project that is completely recyclable and renewable and was developed with nature in mind. The objective of offering bank staff a garden with workplaces was incorporated into the overall concept in an excellent way,” said the jury.
The second ELCA Trend Award went to the ecological company garden “Green Dream” in Haelen (Limburg Province). The jury was very pleased that the office of Geelen Counterflow has been deemed the most sustainable in the world. In the garden of the office building, the experience of nature and biodiversity takes centre-stage. “A fantastic example of a natural, well-conceived design for a company garden,” said the jury. “The blend of modern construction elements and green surroundings to create a harmonious whole has been particularly successful. At the same time it has resulted in a very aesthetically pleasing garden.”
Innovations recognised with “GaLaBau Innovation Medal” 2018
For a total of 16 product innovations (from among 106 products submitted), the BGL awarded the “GaLaBau Innovation Medal” 2018. The award acknowledges the successful development of new and progressive solutions for products or processes for the construction and maintenance of landscaped facilities. “Significant progress has been made in the field of electrical engineering and digitalisation in particular,” said a delighted Lutze von Wurmb, President of BGL, at the presentation of the innovation medal at GaLaBau Expert Forum.
Landscape Gardener Cup: Bavaria to represent young landscape gardeners in Kazan, Russia.
The Landscape Gardener Cup in the exhibition centre park was a crowd-puller yet again. Twelve teams of two from throughout Germany had qualified for the contest. Over two challenging and strenuous days, they had to design a 4×4 m display garden according to very specific criteria. And what a great incentive they had: the winning team will represent Germany at the “WorldSkills 2019” competition in Kazan, Russia. This time, the winners hail from Bavaria. Julian Maier and Niklas Stadlmayr from Donauwörth are the German landscape gardener champions and have won their ticket to Russia in August 2019.
Mark the date:
The next GaLaBau will take place at Exhibition Centre Nuremberg from 16 to 19 September 2020.
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