‘That goosebump moment’: Bauma CEO on what this year’s show can offer rental companies

Bauma is the world’s largest trade show. Photo: Messe Munchen

Stefan Rummel, joint CEO of Messe München reels off a list of VIPs due to come to next month’s Bauma show.

“There will be our prime minister from Bavaria, the Lord Mayor of Munich, the minister of construction in Germany,” he says, ticking them off on his fingers. “ We are trying to get the attention of German politics, increase media attention and to make them aware of what’s happening here in Europe with Bauma.”

As the world’s largest trade fair, covering a total exhibition area of 614,000 square meters – roughly the size of 86 football pitches – Bauma is already used to taking its placed on the stage of world events.

The scale of the show is mind-boggling. Traffic volumes from the sheer number of visitors descending on the Neue Messe Mũnchen for the show requires the assistance of both local police and fire brigades while the event even has its own dedicated Lufthansa baggage drop centre.

Mind-boggling scale

As well as politicians flocking to the event, it draws a huge number of manufacturers, contractors, rental firms and latterly construction tech firms.

Rental firms exhibiting this year include German-based Zeppelin Rentals, US-based United Rentals and Netherlands-based Infra Rentals. Still more will be attending as potential customers, keen to kick the tyres of the latest machines displayed by OEMs.

The last Bauma exhibition, held in October 2022 drew approximately 495,000 visitors, the show’s organisers say. And this year that number is expected to grow to 550,000.

Rummel says that as well as focussing heavily on battery powered equipment this year, exhibitors are also thinking more about how rental firms and their customers can recharge these machines.

“I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen any Tesla charging stations so far for any excavator. So, the question is: what does the infrastructure look like? If you have electric excavators, how does the infrastructure look like to charge? I think there are interesting points on that,” he says.

Stefan Rummel, joint CEO of Messe München (Image courtesy of Messe München)

Rummel says that despite the disruption of the pandemic which saw the previous Bauma show postponed from April 2022 to October, and some people questioning the relevance of in-person trade shows when so many other events had moved online, in-person trade shows remain relevant to rental – and other construction buyers.

“You wouldn’t buy a €1 million excavator online, at least not for the next few years,” he says.

“I believe the more digitally you work, the more important it is to meet face to face. Especially if it’s products like capital goods, which are very complex, expensive products.

“It’s also this feeling of trust; is that product really good? Is it worth the price? I think creating meaningful handshakes with people is very important and it only works face to face.”

Moreover, Rummel points out that Bauma 2025 is a very different world from that of three years ago when covid restrictions in China prevented many from attending and the memory of the pandemic was still fresh in the mind.

“Overall, we’re talking about 3,500 exhibitors this year from 57 countries. If you compare it to 2019, we have almost around 20% less from Germany. It’s a very international show. We have strong growth from Asia, especially exhibitors from India, Japan, China, and Korea. And we even have some first-time exhibitors from Argentina and the Philippines,” he says.

Rummel says that the show itself is a “living organism”, and one which the organisers try to ensure reflects current market conditions in the construction industry.

A “living organism”

“For the strategic layout of the show we take a look at the market shares of the companies and look at who are the key players of the market and who are the most important suppliers,” he says. “Based on that, you try to acquire them for the show. And usually all of them are coming. So, it’s not, ‘we need more exhibitors from China’, but we take a look at the market shares of the big brands, and these are the first ones that need to be there. Then we look at the mid-size companies and the small companies that are especially innovative. In this way we create the show floor.”

With this year’s show fully booked, Rummel, says anticipation for the opening on Monday 7 April is mounting.

“When you see the big crowd waiting to come in: that’s the goosebump moment,” he says. “When it starts and everybody’s waiting and the turnstiles are starting to turn, and then they turn, and everyone streams in.”