Following a four year break, BAU, the world’s leading trade fair for architecture, materials and systems, had a successful comeback – with around 190,000 visitors attending the show from 17th – 22nd April at the Messe München exhibition centre in Germany.
Over 2,260 exhibitors, from 49 countries, showcased the latest trends and innovations during the seven days of the show. Reinhard Pfeiffer and Stefan Rummel, co-CEOs of the organiser, reported: “BAU has once again proven that it is and will remain the most important platform for innovations and premiers in the construction segment. Despite the four year enforced interlude, more companies than ever presented themselves in Munich. This underpins the very positive reception to trade fairs, in particular leading international trade fairs, as also seen in 2022.”
Dieter Schäfer, chairman of BAU’s exhibitor advisory board, agreed that this year’s BAU was extremely successful: “By shifting BAU 2023 to April we did everything right. Fully occupied halls and a high number of international visitors underscore BAU’s relevance. And of course, it was all the more important because the fair was back again after more than four years. In future BAU will take place again as usual in January.”
BAU’s successful comeback is also reflected in the survey run by the Gelszus opinion research institute, in which 93% of the exhibitors rated the fair as good to excellent. 91% also believe it has the right trade fair character. To add to this, 90% of exhibitors gave top marks for quality, and 89% for the internationality of the visitors. Visitors once again gave best marks for BAU 2023, as 98% of the respondents rated the fair as good to excellent.
Visitors’ internationality hits record level
At the top of BAU’s international visitor ranking are Austria, Italy and Switzerland. Poland and Turkey now rank fourth and fifth thanks to strong growth. International visitors on the whole amounted to almost 80,000, which represents 40% of the total number of visitors and therefore a record result.
The number of Chinese visitors in particular must be emphasised. With 1,600 people, China ranks among BAU 2023’s ‘Top 10’ visitor countries. A positive surprise after the Covid-19 restrictions for traveling outside of China were only recently relaxed.
The next edition of BAU will be held from 13th – 18th January 2025, once again at the Munich exhibition grounds in Germany.
Will joined Fastener + Fixing Magazine in 2007 and over the last 15 years has experienced every facet of the fastener sector - interviewing key figures within the industry and visiting leading companies and exhibitions around the globe.
Will manages the content strategy across all platforms and is the guardian for the high editorial standards that the Magazine is renowned.
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