NRW-USA Year 2023/24:
Messe Düsseldorf as the engine of transatlantic economic relations

The important role of Messe Düsseldorf for the economic relationship between Europe and North America can be experienced at this year’s MEDICA and COMPAMED from November 13 to 16, 2023. Among the world-leading trade shows taking place in Düsseldorf, Germany, these two events always have the highest number of exhibiting U.S. companies. As early as 1948, Messe Düsseldorf laid the foundation for the transatlantic economic relations that are still successful today when it hosted the first foreign event organized by a German trade show company in New York. This year, the subsidiary Messe Düsseldorf North America (MDNA) also co-organized XPONENTIAL, the leading trade fair for uncrewed systems and robotics in the U.S., for the first time, which will have a satellite event in Düsseldorf in 2025. The state of NRW has a close history with the U.S.: Some 340 years ago, settlers from this region founded the first German settlement in the New World in Pennsylvania. The state government of NRW and the U.S. Consulate General in Düsseldorf are celebrating this friendship during the NRW-USA Year 2023/24. Messe Düsseldorf plays an active role in the festivities.

Düsseldorf, November 15, 2023. A total of 422 U.S. companies are currently exhibiting at MEDICA and COMPAMED in Düsseldorf. The number one international trade shows for the healthcare and medical technology sectors have accounted for more than half (51.4%) of all U.S. participations at Düsseldorf trade shows over the past 30 years. From 1993 to 2022, a total of 20,986 companies exhibited in Düsseldorf directly from the U.S. In the same period, 405,216 visitors from the U.S. travelled to the NRW state capital, making them the largest non-European visitor nation at Messe Düsseldorf. In terms of exhibitors, the U.S. ranked second after China.

Hendrik Wüst, Minister President of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, states: “Düsseldorf’s world-leading trade shows let you experience global economic activity live. Market leaders and decision-makers from all over the world come together in North Rhine-Westphalia to shape the future of their industry. With the U.S. being the most important non-European visitor nation as well as the second-largest exhibitor nation for 30 years now, Messe Düsseldorf is actively promoting the transatlantic economic relationship, in particular. This underlines the significance of our state as an internationally oriented destination for business and industry.” The state government of NRW and the U.S. Consulate General in Düsseldorf are currently celebrating the long friendship between the state of NRW and the USA with the NRW-USA Year 2023/24.

Wolfram N. Diener, President and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, points out the latest milestone in strengthening the economic exchange between Europe and North America: “By cohosting XPONENTIAL, we’re now even more strongly represented as a show organizer in the U.S. At the same time, we’re launching a European spinoff of the leading international trade show for uncrewed systems and robotics in Düsseldorf in 2025. XPONENTIAL Europe will carry this topic of the future across the Atlantic to the NRW state capital and turn Düsseldorf and NRW into a hub for autonomous mobility in Europe.”

The participation in XPONENTIAL represents the largest event acquisition in the history of the Messe Düsseldorf Group. In May, the show was jointly organized for the first time by the industry trade group Association for Uncrewed Vehicles Systems International (AUVSI) and the U.S. subsidiary Messe Düsseldorf North America (MDNA) in Denver, Colorado. Brian Wynne, President and CEO of AUVSI, highlights the success of the premiere event: “The first XPONENTIAL with Messe Düsseldorf's participation saw a 65% increase in international attendees compared to the previous year, and all eyes are looking ahead toward the show's expansion into Europe. XPONENTIAL will benefit from Messe Düsseldorf’s extensive international networks in the industries represented at its shows, which offers numerous opportunities for uncrewed systems and robotics." The first XPONENTIAL Europe will take place from February 18 to 20, 2025, at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre.

First Mover Messe Düsseldorf
Messe Düsseldorf has been committed to transatlantic relations since its founding as a trade show organizer. After the Second World War, the Bizone economic administration commissioned the company, which at that time still operated as Nordwestdeutsche Ausstellungsgesellschaft mbH (NOWEA), to organize an industrial exhibit for the U.S. military government in New York. In 1948, it was not only the first foreign event organized by a German trade show company in the post-war period, but also the first foreign presentation of German industry. It laid the foundation for successful economic relations between the U.S. and Germany and NRW even before the Federal Republic of Germany was founded.

The next pioneering achievement followed in 1982: Messe Düsseldorf was the first German trade show organizer to open a permanent office in the U.S.: Düsseldorf Trade Shows in New York. In 1990, the company moved to its current headquarters in Chicago, and, in 1997, it organized its first trade show in Miami (Avenida Moda). The subsidiary has been operating under the name Messe Düsseldorf North America since 1998. MDNA not only organizes “USA Pavilions” and helps individual U.S. exhibitors at trade shows in Düsseldorf, but also assists U.S. companies to exhibit or attend Messe Düsseldorf events worldwide. Since 2011, it regularly organizes VALVE WORLD AMERICAS in Houston, Texas, and starting this year, it’s hosting XPONENTIAL at various U.S. locations. The next XPONENTIAL will take place from April 22 to 25, 2024, in San Diego, California.

Media Contact:
Dr. Andrea Gränzdörffer
Director Corporate Communications / Press Spokesperson
Phone: 0211/4560-555
Email: graenzdoerffera@messe-duesseldorf.de

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