By Lynda Myer
Following seven days long of converting the grounds of Messe München to the center of construction machinery industry, bauma is finally taking place again. Being held from 24 to 30 October 2022, this event included a total of almost 3,200 exhibitors from 60 countries (2019: 3,684 exhibitors from 63 countries) and more than 495,000 visitors from over 200 countries (2019: 627,603 visitors from more than 200 countries) came to Munich for the world’s leading trade fair for construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines, construction vehicles and construction equipment, while approximately 50% of the visitors was international.
- Around 3,200 exhibitors from 60 countries
- More than 495,000 visitors from over 200 countries
- Industry expectations greatly surpassed
The Germany, Italy, Turkey, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, France, the U.S., Austria, Spain and China, were top 10 exhibitor countries respectively. The share of international exhibitors was nearly 65 percent.
According to Stefan Rummel, the CEO of Messe München responsible for the event: “This bauma has again stoked enthusiasm and fascination! After the world fundamentally changed following the last bauma, we’re really thrilled that bauma 2022 demonstrates the trade fair remains a powerhouse of the construction-equipment industry thanks to our customer’s great variety of innovations, good business deals and many visitors from all over the world.”
Due to that the bauma displayed its usual strength even in these unsettled times, industry expectations greatly surpassed.
“The WIRTGEN GROUP’s joint trade show appearance with John Deere was a resounding success. The interest in our company and our innovative and sustainable products was simply overwhelming. Our participation in the industry leading trade fair bauma was the most successful in the history of the WIRTGEN GROUP”, says Domenic Ruccolo, CSO of Wirtgen Group and Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Product Support for Global Construction Equipment at John Deere.
Steffen Günther, a member of the Board of Directors of Liebherr, also expresses his satisfaction: “bauma proved to be a very successful trade fair for us. We generated a lot of enthusiasm among the large audience. The conversations were outstanding. We’re already looking forward to the next bauma trade fair now”, while Fred Cordes, Chairman of the Management Board at Zeppelin (CAT), adds: “bauma was long overdue — as demonstrated by the overwhelming rush of visitors to our booth and the extraordinary interest in Cat construction machinery and Zeppelin services.”
Additionally, in terms of business deals as well, bauma proved once again it is THE platform for the industry.
In accordance with Alexander Greschner, Chief Sales Officer at Wacker Neuson Group’s satetment: “Visitors flocked to our stand, and we had a lot of very good discussions. From the very first day we were able to achieve sales success on the same level as 2019 and beyond.” Alexander Schwörer, owner of PERI, had a similar experience, saying: “The entire team was very keen to see how the trade fair would develop in these difficult times. But even after the first day it was clear to see that this bauma would be a complete success. What’s particularly noteworthy to mention is the quality of the conversations we had during the week of the trade fair: They were exceptional in all respects. And something I certainly want to mention: We signed a number of very attractive contracts right at the trade fair. In short, bauma 2022 more than exceeded our expectations.”
These are assessments the co-CEOs of Messe München, Stefan Rummel and Dr. Reinhard Pfeiffer, like to hear: “In these challenging times, bauma has sent a strong signal to the trade-fair sector: Industries need precisely such in-person events like bauma where everyone can directly experience products and hold personal conversations.”
A focus on topics of the future
But bauma did not just showcase its strength as a business platform; the trade fair also lived up to its leadership claim in setting topics for the event.
“We’re very satisfied with how bauma went. The trade fair was enormously popular among our customers and guests. Digitalization and automation are topics that dominate the trade fair, and this trend is irreversible.” Joachim Schmid, Managing Director of the Construction Machinery and Building Material Association of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) echoes this, saying: “The exhibitors are offering solutions to address current challenges related to CO2 neutrality as well as tackling the issue of skilled worker shortages with automation and digitalization. This is the future. You see this with the traditional companies and with the nearly 50 startups at the trade fair for the first time.” Andreas Klauser, CEO at PALFINGER, aptly brings things to a close by stating: “As the world’s leading trade fair, bauma gives exhibitors and visitors an opportunity to already experience the future today,” says Franz-Josef Paus, Managing Director of Paus Maschinenfabrik GmbH and Chairman of the bauma Advisory Board.
From April 7–13, 2025, Munich is due to host the next bauma.
