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 Orgatec
Oct 24-28, 2006, Cologne, Germany |
Orgatec 2006: Global marketpace and theme-based trade fair
• Very international character: 700 suppliers from 43 countries, including more than 60 per cent from abroad
• Extensive communication programme presents trends and key issues
Ultima Office - fair highlight that offers a vision of the future
 Furnishings, lighting, flooring and acoustics are the focuses of Orgatec Cologne 2006 (24th to 28th October), the leading international trade fair for office furnishers and facilities designers, which offers the global market a forum for all topics related to offices. In terms of its exhibitors and visitors, the fair has a very international character and scope: In Halls 2, 3, 10 and 11 it will present nearly the entire spectrum of exportable products manufactured by the sector worldwide. Approximately 700 companies from 43 countries are exhibiting, and all of the market leaders will be represented. With more than 60 per cent of the suppliers coming from abroad, exhibitors and visitors alike will have a unique opportunity to enjoy the benefits of globalisation. Orgatec is the sector's theme-based trade fair, and its organizers place great emphasis on the event's role as a trendsetter. It is also an event whose impact extends far beyond the limited circle of office furnishers and facility designers. A highlight of the fair is the Ultima Office, which presents a vision of how people will be living and working in offices in the year 2030.
Practically the entire global market will be represented in Cologne
Orgatec presents products and services for the entire office workflow - from planning and designing all the way to management. Planning includes the services needed before an office is opened for business and its property is in use - in other words, site selection, consulting, financing and architects' services. Designing involves creating solutions in the areas of furnishings and lighting, floors, walls, ceilings and acoustics. Management includes all of the services needed to operate business properties, in particular facility management.
In line with their important role on the market, Italian companies will be presenting the second-most extensive array of products and services after the German group of exhibitors. Other large contingents at the fair will be companies from Spain, Taiwan, Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland and China/Hong Kong. There will be a number of joint participations by primarily small and medium-sized companies from China/Hong Kong, Italy, Singapore and Taiwan. Spanish companies will have two group stands.
High percentage of buyers from abroad
Orgatec's most important target groups are specialist retailers, architects, workplace researchers and ergonomics experts, real estate management companies, decision-makers and buyers from industrial companies, representatives of public institutions and facilities, and commercial users. Approximately 55,000 trade visitors from 95 countries attended the last Orgatec in 2004, with almost half of them coming from abroad. Orgatec 2006 is expected to have a visitor structure similar to that of 2004, when about one-third of all visitors were from the specialist retail sector and the other two-thirds were professional users. More than 70 per cent of the foreign visitors in 2004 were from EU countries; 11 per cent were from other parts of Europe; eight per cent came from Asia; and four per cent were from the U.S. Orgatec 2004 also lived up to its reputation as a "fair for bosses" - 86 per cent of all visitors played either key, shared or consulting roles in procurement decision-making at their companies.
Communication programme focuses on sector themes
By 2004, Orgatec had already established itself as the fair that addresses the sector's most important themes. It is now building on this positive development by presenting a communication programme that uses an attractive combination of special shows, workshops, expert presentations, competitions and worlds of experience to address all the relevant aspects of offices and office facilities. The programme presents clearly defined content focusing on specific themes, for example the "Dialogue" programme in the Ultima Office, which will be devoted to a different theme on each day of the fair: "productivity at work," "health at work," "light at work," "sound at work," and "space at work." Koelnmesse's partners in the organization of the conferences, presentations and workshops are the Association of Office, Seating and Office Facility Furniture (BSO), which is also Orgatec's conceptual sponsor, the Federal Association of the Office Industry (BBW), the Association of German Architects (BDA) and the Union of German Interior Architects/Designers (BDIA).
The communication programme will particularly emphasise the office of tomorrow and beyond, which is the foundation of future development activities in the industry and of services in the specialist trade. The visions presented in Cologne will not be limited to the office environment alone but will also address the private world of the future, which will increasingly converge with the world of work. Other general areas covered will include architecture and design, facility management, human resources, motivation, health and lifestyle.
 Orgatec as a comprehensive event: from "Ultima Office" to "Adventure Meeting"
Orgatec presents the trends and new products to a public with a heightened interest in the sector: In Germany alone, approximately 17 million people work in offices. It gives glimpses of the developments of tomorrow and inspires the sector's creative thinkers. At Orgatec 2006, the office of the future will be depicted by the Ultima Office, which takes the hypothetical visions of living and working in the year 2030 that have been developed by a team of renowned experts - including architects, interior designers, futurologists, theorists and specialists in practical implementation - and turns them into a tangible environment that visitors can experience and try out for themselves. Ultima Office will show how technology will become ubiquitous - but also concealed from sight. In addition to presenting intelligent furniture, Ultima Office will show how every imaginable surface will become a medium of interactive communication. Presenting innovations that are feasible today and very desirable for office workers will be special shows focusing on acoustics and lighting, and "mPeople - Adventure Meeting", which depicts the successful interaction of furnishings and modern conference technology. And these events aren't only interesting for insiders: Thanks to their strong appeal to the general public, they also strengthen the sector's image - together with an array of other highlights, including the Best Office Award, which is jointly sponsored and presented by Orgatec and the business publication WirtschaftsWoche.
Halls 2, 3, 10 and 11 at the "new" Koelnmesse
Orgatec 2006 will occupy a gross exhibition space of 130,000 square metres in Halls 2, 3, 10 and 11 in the southern part of the Cologne exhibition centre, thus remaining in its usual setting, which has been greatly improved since the last time the fair was held. The "new" Koelnmesse is more compact, the halls are more adaptable, and the overall trade fair experience throughout the grounds has been considerably enhanced. The centre's new Boulevard serves as a central axis connecting the Orgatec halls and making them more quickly accessible, while bringing together a range of services. The Entrance South gives Orgatec a new, impressive gateway that provides fast, convenient access to the Köln Messe/Deutz railway station for InterCity Express trains, which run directly to the international airports of Cologne-Bonn and Düsseldorf as well as connecting the exhibition centre to Frankfurt Airport and its overseas flights in less than an hour. In 2008, Orgatec will be held for the first time in the new Northern Halls, whose adaptable design will provide even more flexibility for presenting theme areas and product groups.
Orgatec
www.orgatec.com |
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