Messe Frankfurt

Messe Frankfurt GmbH is one of the most successful global players in its sector and, with sales of around €647 million, is the largest trade fair company with its own exhibition grounds. Headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, the Group has a powerful network of 28 subsidiaries and more than 50 international sales partners. In financial year 2016, a total of 134 trade fairs and exhibitions were held under the Messe Frankfurt umbrella, 84 of these taking place outside Germany. Messe Frankfurt is present in 178 countries and around 50 locations with its brands and brand families. A specialist in international flagship events, the company’s broad sector expertise includes Technology, Mobility & Logistics, Textiles & Textile Technology, Consumer Goods and Entertainment, Media & Creative Industries. Messe Frankfurt’s events and communication platforms lead their respective sectors.The company is in the public sector, the shareholders are the City of Frankfurt, with 60 percent and the State of Hesse with 40 percent. The Board of Management of Messe Frankfurt consists of Wolfgang Marzin, Detlef Braun, and Uwe Behm.Frankfurt has been well known for its trade fairs for over 800 years. In the Middle Ages, merchants and businessmen met at the “Römer”, a medieval building in the heart of the city that served as a market place; from 1909 onwards, they met on the grounds of the Festhalle Frankfurt, to the north of Frankfurt Central Station. The first Frankfurt trade fair to be documented in writing dates back to 11 July 1240, when the Frankfurt Autumn Trade Fair was called into being by Emperor Frederick II, who decreed that merchants travelling to the fair were under his protection. Some ninety years later, on 25 April 1330, the Frankfurt Spring Fair also received its privilege from Emperor Louis IV. And from this time onwards, trade fairs were held in Frankfurt twice a year, in spring and autumn, forming the basic structure for Messe Frankfurt’s modern consumer goods fairs.