Messe Duesseldorf GmbH continues to grow: Subsidiary OOO (Obshchestvo s ogranichennoi otvetstvennost'yu = the Russian equivalent of GmbH) Messe Duesseldorf Moscow was officially founded on 16 May 2002. The objective of the new company is to expand Messe Duesseldorf GmbH's Russian business. "We want to make this our second focal area of Messe Duesseldorf GmbH's foreign business after Veletrhy Brno", says Bernd Jablonowski, managing director of Messe Duesseldorf Moscow. He anticipates turnover from Russian operations to double for the year 2002, for a total of EUR 15 million. To this end, the company plans to establish new international fairs like "Shop Design Russia". The programme of Messe Duesseldorf GmbH's Russian branch currently includes leading fairs SHK (sanitary fittings, heating and air conditioning) INTERPLASTICA (plastics technology) and UPAKOWKA (packaging technology), among others.

The founding of OOO Messe Duesseldorf Moscow is also a crucial economic factor for the city as business location. "We're setting the course for the trade fair industry in Russia, which is developing at a rapid pace. The demand for our fairs is on the rise", explains Bernd Jablonowski. Turning the representative office into a trade fair company allows it to shape developments professionally and extensively.

The expansion of Messe Moscow will also create new jobs. Currently, it employs a staff of 18. 

30,000 square metres of trade fair space including a congress center and offices are currently being built in cooperation with Expocentr Moscow. Completion is scheduled for September 2002. Hall 7 is considered a milestone in the cooperation between Expocentr and Messe Duesseldorf GmbH. Further, Messe Duesseldorf GmbH obtains exclusive rights for the staging of its fairs plus preemptive rights to lease the new hall.

The managing director of the newest subsidiary, Bernd Jablonowski, was project manager for the textile and construction machinery segment as well as SHK for Messe Duesseldorf GmbH from 1995 to 2000. He has been in charge of the Moscow office for two and a half years.

For more information:
Ingo Lentz
PR Department
Tel.: +49 (0)211 4560-995 / -548
Fax: +49 (0)211 4560-8548
Lentzi@messe-duesseldorf.de

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