Building booths and partnerships: Kuehne+Nagel's Expo business exhibiting growth

The recovery of the exhibition industry has been strong in a post-pandemic world, and our experienced Expo and Events teams are expanding to meet the revived appetite for face-to-face interactions at exhibition and congress centres around the world. Read on to learn about their work.

Top three exhibition logistics service provider in Europe

Last April, over 93,000 wine enthusiasts from all corners of the world travelled to Verona for the 55^th edition of VinItaly. Behind the event is Veronafiere, a leading organiser of exhibitions in Italy. They have contracted Kuehne+Nagel for the eight consecutive year to handle all logistics behind their exhibitions in 2023. 

This September,  IAA MOBILITY is expected to draw 400,000 visitors to Munich. While the congress centre Messe München will serve as the heart of the exhibition, around 60% of activities will take place in public areas of the city. Once again, Kuehne+Nagel has been selected as the logistics partner. 

These are just two exhibitions entrusted to Kuehne+Nagel's Expo and Events team, who plan and execute the logistics behind such events 365 days a year.  Their expertise continues to be acknowledged with major exhibition organisers across Europe appointing them as the official logistics provider.

“What truly speaks of our service level is the fact that all of these contracts have been renewed and with some of these expo organisers we have been delivering logistics for over 20 years.”

“We have contracts with multiple venue owners and exhibition organisers across Europe,” says Dirk Urra, Global Expo Logistics Account Manager in Kuehne+Nagel. “Generally, we have multi-year contract agreements. But what truly speaks of our service level is the fact that all of these contracts have been renewed and with some of these expo organisers we have been delivering logistics for over 20 years." 

This contractual business with exhibition companies, also referred to as ‘ground handling’ or ‘domestic expo logistics’, places Kuehne+Nagel among the top three exhibition logistics service providers in Europe.  

And the business keeps growing. Along with it, so does our fantastic team. But what is it like to work in exhibition logistics?

When months of planning materialises on-site

The task list goes beyond multi-modal transport planning and customs clearance. In fact, the job gets really hands-on.

The team gets involved with everything; from ordering special lifting equipment, to supplying crew to lend a hand with the physical movement of booth parts. 

The on-site handling is what Alex Walton always found most exciting: that moment when months of planning materialises on-site.

Since 2016, Alex has been working for the Expo and Events team in the United Kingdom. He has seen the team grow significantly. “With our logistics expertise, worldwide network and experienced teams, we're increasingly known in the UK and beyond as a trusted exhibition logistics partner. We're of course happy that this results in new partnerships." 

Recent examples are the new cooperations with Mash Media and Fortem International.

An ambassador for French culture

As well as serving as ground handler, Kuehne+Nagel's expo team also supports individual exhibitors getting their equipment to trade fairs around the globe. Until an official ground handler takes over, exhibitors are namely free to choose their freight forwarder.  This service is referred to in Kuehne+Nagel as ‘international expo logistics’, and in France, for example, it accounts for the majority of the team's work.

For over 16 years, Yann Corniquel has managed expo requests for French customers. He has likely transported  everything you could think of. Alongside booth structures, this includes aircraft parts, boats and medical devices, in addition to traditional French gastronomic products like champagne, and even apparel of luxury fashion brands. 

“It is true that through my job, I am in some ways an ambassador of French culture,” he says. “And I love  that on the one hand I can connect French organisations with international audiences at exhibitions. On the other hand, I personally get to connect with Kuehne+Nagel colleagues across the world to make that happen. No day is boring!”

Growing beyond Europe 

While the bulk of Kuehne+Nagel's Expo and Events activities is in Europe, overseas teams are recruiting as well. At the moment, Kuehne+Nagel has teams Expo and Events teams  in 21 countries, also covering the Middle East and Asia Pacific. Pavel Chernyak leads the Expo and Events team in the Middle East and sees the appetite for exhibitions and events grow in the area.  He comments:

“Following the end of lockdowns, we’ve seen the long-term trend of growth in the exhibitions and events business return, with companies across industries taking the opportunity to partner with us to get their products and services physically in front of customers as opposed to via a screen. The level of interaction and engagement they can achieve in a face-to-face situation far exceeds that of the digital experience and we stand ready to help them achieve it with our comprehensive logistics service offering.”

Want to learn more about our Expo and Events team? Visit their web page here. 

Want to join the Expo and Events Team? Check out the open vanancies on our career website.