The INTERSCHUTZ fair is a five-yearly international feast of innovative equipment and solutions for fire departments, disaster relief and rescue organizations and the safety and civil defense sectors. Organized by Deutsche Messe, it will next be held just under two years from now – from 8 to 13 June 2015 – in Hannover, Germany. Deutsche Messe anticipates that the 2015 showcase will bring together businesses, non-commercial exhibitors and emergency services from more than 50 nations.
Strong exhibitor interest from outside Germany
Dr. Jochen Köckler, the responsible member of Deutsche Messe’s Managing Board, says that even at this very early stage, the company is noticing strong exhibitor interest across all of four of the fair’s main display categories (fire protection, disaster relief, rescue, safety/security). “The show is still nearly two years away, but many companies have already committed to an exhibition presence. The high level of exhibitor interest from outside Germany is particularly pleasing to see. A good 50 percent of the projected 1,200 exhibitor turnout will come from beyond Germany. And we know from past experience that the fair’s trade audience will be similarly international in composition.” Not that INTERSCHUTZ is valued by exhibitors purely for its international reach; its high percentage of qualified trade visitors is also a major drawcard.
Köckler: “Exhibitors value INTERSCHUTZ for the high percentage of senior decision makers among the visitors it attracts. More than two thirds of the fair’s visitors have key input into their organizations’ capital investment decision making. To put this into perspective: we’re expecting about 125,000 visitors from all around the world.”
Progress sparked by mutually fruitful dialogue among technology users, developers and manufacturers
The German Fire Protection Association (GFPA) is an official co-promoter of INTERSCHUTZ. Its president, Dirk Aschenbrenner, is very pleased with the 2015 showcase’s broad thematic coverage: “In 2015, INTERSCHUTZ will once again show the way forward for the fire protection, disaster relief, rescue, safety and civil defense sectors with presentations of the very latest technical and tactical standards and quality dialogue among technology users, developers and manufacturers. The various conferences and congresses organized by the GFPA will form an important part of this dialogue, and INTERSCHUTZ 2015 will provide the perfect setting.”
GFPA, DFV and VDMA: first-rate partners for INTERSCHUTZ
Other official co-promoters of INTERSCHUTZ, alongside the GFPA, include the German Fire Service Association (DFV) and the Firefighting Technology Association within the German Engineering Federation (VDMA). The President of the German Fire Service Association, Hans-Peter Kröger, is very much aware of the fair’s international importance: “For fire services around the world, INTERSCHUTZ is the number one tradeshow for discovering the latest innovations, sharing knowledge and gearing up for future challenges. It showcases the innovative power of the fire prevention industry – an industry that engages with its users and finds solutions to their problems. The German Fire Service Association is very happy to be associated with INTERSCHUTZ. It is the leading exhibition for fire prevention, disaster relief, rescue, safety and security solutions and it brings together fire service representatives from around the globe.”
Dr. Bernd Scherer, the Managing Director of the Firefighting Technology Association within the VDMA, sees INTERSCHUTZ 2015 as offering major opportunities for German providers of firefighting vehicles and equipment: “INTERSCHUTZ is an outstanding platform for getting innovative, premium-quality, German-made firefighting hardware in front of an international audience. It is no accident that INTERSCHUTZ is based in Germany. The country is the single biggest market in Europe and, most importantly, its fire services demand very high standards of the equipment they buy and use. Germany’s fire services value innovative technology. They specify products that perform to the highest standards of quality and reliability and which are closely tailored to their requirements as end users. The German firefighting technology industry’s ability to meet these demanding standards is also the reason why it has been able to steadily grow its export business over the years and now ranks as a major player in many markets around the world. In short, INTERSCHUTZ is an absolute must for fire-service procurement managers from Germany, the rest of Europe and around the globe. Every five years, it brings together qualified trade visitors, key fire-prevention-industry leaders and organizations and leading technology companies from around the world.”
Everything relevant for emergency services, security & safety at one convenient time and place
INTERSCHUTZ 2015 will fill more than 90,000 square meters (968,750 sq. ft) of net exhibition space spread across four halls, a large open-air site and a demonstration site at the Hannover Exhibition Center. Professional bodies and organizations, service providers and training academies will use the fair to profile their services and skills to an international audience, and technology and equipment providers will showcase their latest innovations. The fair will comprise four main topic clusters, namely Safety and Security (Hall 12), featuring personal protective equipment, measuring and detection apparatus, security systems, control-center and signaling technology, and monitoring and surveillance equipment; Fire Prevention (Halls 13 and 27) featuring fire extinguishing technology and agents, equipment for fire stations and workshops, and technical fire and building protection systems; and Disaster Relief and Rescue (both in Hall 26), featuring vehicles and vehicle equipment, technical support equipment, emergency, first-aid and medical equipment. The displays of vehicles and vehicle equipment will be located in Hall 27 and on the open-air site.
At INTERSCHUTZ 2015, the Rescue, Proactive Fire Prevention and Flood Protection theme areas will have keynote status and feature an expanded exhibition lineup. “In 2015, the INTERSCHUTZ format will amply reflect the rapid evolution of the world’s fire services into universal risk-management and public-safety organizations,” said GFPA President Dirk Aschenbrenner. “The show will pick up on all the key themes and issues in our sector and communicate them to visitors via a comprehensive offering of product and concept presentations.” Other highlights at INTERSCHUTZ 2015 include an emergency services symposium, the presentation of the St. John Ambulance Hans-Dietrich-Genscher Award and, last but not least, the Toughest Firefighter Alive (TFA) contest.
Civil defense experts to compare notes at supporting “CRI!SE” conference and exhibition on critical infrastructure
Another highlight during INTERSCHUTZ 2015 will be the supporting CRI!SE conference and exhibition, which will focus on the protection of critical civilian infrastructure, such as electricity, water-supply and data networks, in the event of disasters. CRI!SE is intended as a communication platform for government and private-sector civil defense experts and will provide excellent opportunities for the initiation of interdisciplinary collaboration in areas such as integrated disaster-response planning and effective prevention through ongoing education and awareness-raising. And being a combined conference and exhibition, the event will feature an array of fascinating exhibits, ranging from integrated solutions to rescue robots.
“The CRI!SE event during INTERSCHUTZ 2015 targets infrastructure operators, senior managers and decision makers from fire-prevention, disaster-relief, rescue, military and government backgrounds as well as private civil-security service providers, representatives of cities and municipalities, and business leaders. We are confident that our focus on this increasingly important theme cluster will yield additional visitors and exhibitors for INTERSCHUTZ,” said Dr. Jochen Köckler of Deutsche Messe’s Managing Board.
