Messe Frankfurt is known as one of the world's largest trade fair organisers. Its portfolio includes leading trade fairs for the building technology trades such as ISH, Light + Building, Intersec and International Elevator & Escalator Expo as well as the E2 Forum for the dialogue between the elevator and escalator industry and the decision-makers in the real estate sector, building services and construction planning. Many of these major international events for the innovation industries are held at the exhibition centre in Frankfurt am Main, whose buildings, grounds and infrastructure cover the area of a little more than 80 soccer fields.
More than a mere organiser: Messe Frankfurt operates its real estate by corporate specialists for construction and facility management
A team of 44 experts at Messe Frankfurt continuously operates and develops the company‘s real estate. The Messe Frankfurt built infrastructure also encompasses a wealth of 184 elevators and 317 escalators and moving walkways connecting a multitude of office and conference buildings, eleven multi-storey exhibition halls, the Operation & Security Center and another 90 multi-purpose halls.
The teams directed by Olaf Kühl, Vice President Facility Management in the venue unit of Messe Frankfurt, have successfully completed two major renovations this year: The new construction of Hall 5, originally one of the oldest exhibition halls at the venue, and the redesign of the foyers in the Congress Centrum Messe Frankfurt (CMF). There, ultraviolet C modules were installed on the new escalators. They disinfect the surface of the handrails and, with this hygiene proposal to the passengers, also serve to ensure their safety.
On the test: Handrail hygiene for enhanced passenger safety
Safety and comfort for roughly two million visitors to the exhibition grounds each year are the top priorities. "We are constantly optimising our conveyor systems with our partners from the industry. Safe use of the escalator, which requires passengers to hold on to the handrail, is often met with reservations," reports Olaf Kühl. For many passengers, and this is understandable after the pan-demic experience, the hygiene of the surfaces and their own sense of hygiene are in the foreground. "But 'touchless' is not an option when using escalators. That's why we rely on an innovation at the Congress Center – the automatic surface disinfection of the handrails of our escalators with UV-C light."
The UV-C light-based handrail hygiene system Escalite by UVIS UV-Innovative Solutions: Three light sources per module disinfect the surface in the reverse run – still visible during the test run, then in operation covered in the step area to protect passengers. Source: E2 Forum I Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH
Passengers can expect 99.99 percent safety against pathogens and germs on the handrails from the UV-C modules installed in the staircase area of the escalators. The technology behind it: Covered in a passenger-safe manner, three UV-C light sources per module irradiate the rubber surface in the rear run of the mobile railing with ultraviolet light that kills any germs. Each time the escalator is started up, the exposure is also continued. If the staircase is in rest mode, the irradiation also stops.
"Our preference was the high-quality solution of a still young company from Germany that specialises in hygiene solutions in public spaces and has already implemented successful projects at home and abroad: UVIS UV-Innovative Solutions offers a physical method that consumes a limited amount of energy but, in contrast to mechanical-chemical concepts, does not require any further resources," explains Olaf Kühl.
The installation at the exhibition centre is a novelty for both sides. "After the worldwide proven operation of our Escalite modules in escalators of shopping centres, hospitals, airports and transport companies, the installation in the Congress Center of Messe Frankfurt is the first use at a major event venue. We are looking forward to the response," adds Tanja Zirnstein, co-founder and managing director of Cologne-based company UVIS UV-Innovative Solutions. "At trade shows and conferences, many people from different countries gather. It is important to counteract potential infections effectively and sustainably at the same time," Zirnstein continues. The company has already been able to become established as a start-up with its business idea. "An important step towards business success for us was to have participated in the relevant conference forums and trade shows at an early stage in order to show presence and achieve visibility, to be able to experience the industry live, to establish contacts and to expand them," says Tanja Zirnstein's interim assessment.
Events for the ecosystem of building-based mobility
The next live meeting for business contacts in the dialogue on the future between the E2 industry and system operators in building services technology and real estate management will take place at the E2 Forum Frankfurt in September 2022: the cooperation partner is the VDMA Trade Association for Elevators and Escalators.
The vertical-horizontal mobility of people and goods in urban infrastructures requires intelligent and connected building systems technology. Messe Frankfurt brings together all relevant players who are looking for or offering market-ready solutions to these challenges and has, thus, created a network of experts that is unrivalled anywhere in the world: Building Technologies. In this sector, Messe Frankfurt organises a total of 24 trade fairs on three continents, including the two leading trade fair brands in the sector worldwide: Light + Building and ISH. Accordingly, the trade fair organiser is expanding its marketing platforms and conferences around the globe. Today, Messe Frankfurt is represented with five events for lifts and escalators in America, Asia and Europe: With the International Elevator and Escalator (IEE) Expo in the metropolis of Mumbai, Messe Frankfurt provides the platform for the growing Indian market. The E2 Forums in Buenos Aires (Argentina), Frankfurt am Main (Germany), Milan (Italy) and in India's capital New Delhi round off the portfolio as innovation forums for cross-sector dialogue between the industry and operators in the real estate sector, planning and building technologies.
The E2 Forum Frankfurt, conference and innovation forum for elevator and escalator technology, will take place on 21 and 22 September 2022 (Wednesday and Thursday) at the Congress Center of Messe Frankfurt (CMF).
Press information and photographic material:
Please also see our background interview with Olaf Kühl "Hands on rails" along with additional picture material at www.e2forum.com/press
Links to websites and further reading:
- Stay tuned to E2 topics and subscribe to the E2 Forum Newsletter!
- Follow E2 Forum and its exhibitors in the social media: www.e2forum.com/followe2forum | www.e2forum.com I www.building-technologies.messefrankfurt.com | www.vdma.org
Background information on the Trade Association Elevators and Escalators within VDMA:
The VDMA represents more than 3,400 German and European companies in the mechanical and plant engineering sector. The industry stands for innovation, export orientation and medium-sized companies. The companies employ around four million people in Europe, more than one million of them in Germany alone. Mechanical and plant engineering represents a European sales volume of around 800 billion euros. In the manufacturing sector as a whole, it contributes the highest share of European gross domestic product with value added of around 270 billion euros. Further information at www.vdma.org
Background information on Messe Frankfurt
The Messe Frankfurt Group is one of the world’s leading trade fair, congress and event organisers with their own exhibition grounds. With a workforce of 2,200 people at its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main and in 28 subsidiaries, it organises events around the world. As in the previous year, annual sales for 2021 were significantly lower owing to the COVID-19 pandemic: approximately €154 million compared with Group sales as high as €736 million in pre-pandemic 2019. We serve our customers’ business interests efficiently within the framework of our Fairs & Events, Locations and Services business fields. Sustainable business practices are a central pillar in our corporate strategy and strike a healthy balance between ecological and economic interests, social responsibility and diversity. Another of Messe Frankfurt’s strengths is its powerful and closely knit global sales network, which covers around 180 countries in all regions of the world. Our comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. We are using our digital expertise to develop new business models. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services.
With its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent).
For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com
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