The joint meeting of the Advisory Boards of NORD ELEKTRO and shk Hamburg, held in Hamburg at the beginning of April, concluded with a historic decision – a Facility Management Trade Fair will be held at Hamburg Messe, with the first event scheduled for November 2008. It will be the successor of the NORD ELEKTRO and shk Hamburg. This decision has the full backing of representatives of industry, the craft trades and the wholesalers of both trade fairs, and of HMC (Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH), as the organisers. The new trade fair will cover the whole bandwidth of modern facility management, and address the trades in both areas, and also planners and architects.

This decision by the Advisory Boards is their response to the structural changes in the relevant sectors. It has long since become common practice for joint ventures to be established between the various trades for coordination in major projects such as new buildings or major renovation projects. “This trailblazing decision is our response to the market requirements,” says Dietmar Aulich, Managing Director of HMC, “and we are pleased to take up a front position in competition in this area.”

The trend has been moving towards combination of different trades and crafts in facility management, with sanitary and heating engineers and with electrics and IT. This development is further strengthened by the legislative situation, for example with new energy-efficiency regulations. And industry has adapted to the new situation with a large number of products that can no longer be assigned simply to one sector.

Wilfried Sander, Chairman of the Advisory Board of shk Hamburg, notes that “The job profiles in the sanitary and electric trades have changed radically in recent years. In addition, clients are increasingly demanding complete solutions, which are practically impossible for one craft trade to deliver.” This view is shared by Klaus Pick, Chairman of the Advisory Board of NORD ELEKTRO – “The trades are getting closer and closer together in their practical work, and also at the institutional level. So it is only logical that we should take account of that with a new event combining these two sectors.”

Industry representatives also take a positive view on the establishment of a Facility Management Trade Fair. “This is a step in the right direction,” says Hans-Georg Krabbe, of the Association of Installation Appliances and Systems in the German Association of the Electrical and Electronic Industries (ZVEI). “The new event shows perspectives for growth in Germany, and has a positive impact for Hamburg as an exhibition location.”

Andreas Lücke, Managing Director of the German Industry Association for Facility, Energy and Environmental Engineering (BDH), describes this as a logical decision – “The interfaces in facility energy engineering, between heating and electrical engineering, are becoming increasingly important. Closer cooperation between the trades and industries is needed, especially with the advance of renewable energies. And the decisive point is that what is needed now is not individual components, but complete system solutions.”

The new Facility Management Trade Fair brings together areas such as power, air-conditioning, sanitary, security and communication. That makes it an attractive, inter¬disciplinary platform for exhibitors and visitors alike.

NORD ELEKTRO, Trade Fair for Electric, Lighting and IT, is the largest event of its kind in Northern Germany. Concept support is given by NFE (North German Association of Electrical and IT Engineering) and the Electrical Trade Guilds of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, Lower Saxony/Bremen and Schleswig-Holstein. NORD ELEKTRO is supported by the German Association of the Electrical Wholesalers (VEG), Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein/Mecklenburg-West Pomerania section, and the Trade Association for Installation Appliances and Systems within the ZVEI.

The shk Hamburg, Trade Fair for Sanitary / Heating / Plumbing / Air-conditioning, is the most important industry meeting for Northern and Eastern Europe. It has concept support from the five North German Trade Associations of the Sanitary / Heating / Plumbing / Air-conditioning trades in Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen, Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. The cooperation partner is the German Industry Association for Facility, Energy and Environmental Engineering (BDH).