Inspiring shop windows (1974–1983)

INHORGENTA—a new European-wide forum for jewelry and timepieces—was held for the first time in 1974. Affordable luxury was and remains a key aspect of the concept employed by INHORGENTA MUNICH: The international platform for jewelry, timepieces, gemstones, lifestyle and bijou has evolved into one of Europe’s leading jewelry exhibitions in recent decades.

Münchner Messe- und Ausstellungsgesellschaft has written a success story: The management team presented some spectacular record numbers in a report called “An Analysis of the Position of the Munich Trade Fair Business” that was presented 10 years after the establishment of MMG: 10,000 exhibitors, 1 million visitors from 50 countries, 20 events in the reporting year of 1974 alone.

productronica emerged from electronica in 1975—an exhibition that was designed to serve as a counterpart to the largest trade fair for the electronics industry. The world’s leading trade fair for electronics production showcases the entire process chain of electronics production—from technologies and components to software and services.

In 1978, Dr. Werner Marzin, one of the founding fathers and pioneering visionaries, takes the helm of the company, a man who will have a major influence on Messe München in the 1980s. His time in office was particularly marked by the relocation of the exhibition grounds from the Theresienhöhe in the city center to the new exhibition grounds in Riem.

The first Heim+Handwerk was held in 1978. The event is now the largest consumer exhibition in Germany for construction, furnishing and living. It has become the most popular trade fair for the general public on the Munich exhibition calendar. Up to 120,000 visitors pour into the fairgrounds just before Christmas each year to hear tips from experts. Since 2004, as a twin pack with Food & Life.

The ranks of Munich trade fairs were complemented in 1979 by CERAMITEC: Over the decades, this exhibition for the machinery, equipment, systems, processes and raw materials used for ceramics and powder metallurgy has positioned itself as the world’s leading trade fair for the ceramics industry. The motto goes out every three years: “ceramitec technologies—innovations—materials.”

At the beginning of the 1980s, Messe München set the company’s sights on its next strategy goal: the internationalization of the trade fair business. This new direction was reflected in particular by the acquisition of the trade fair company IMAG (Internationaler Messe- und Ausstellungsdienst) in 1980. The transaction led to the creation of a company group called Messe München International.

The final expansion work completed at the Theresienhöhe site involved the erection of three new halls and the south entrance in 1983. The old exhibition grounds had reached their limits. There was no where else to turn at the site located in the middle of Munich, where apartment construction and the limited opportunities to use the open Theresienwiese area, the home of the annual Oktoberfest, for parking and exhibition purposes hemmed in the company’s operation.