THE three days of INTERGEO, which was held at the Leipzig Exhibition Centre this year, have confirmed that the world’s largest congress trade fair for geodesy, geo information and land management has a special place in the industry.

Many of the 16,500 visitors travelled a long way to attend the fair; some 50 percent of visitors travelled more than 300 kilometres to be a part of the event. Just under 35 percent of those questioned said that they had travelled between 100 and 300 kilometres. The international importance of INTERGEO was underlined by the fact that it attracted guests from more than 50 countries.

The exhibitors were delighted with the high profile of the visitors, many of whom come to INTERGEO as decision makers. In fact, many companies wait until they have attended the trade fair each year before making decisions on investments. More than 85 percent of exhibitors said that they had achieved their aims in showcasing themselves at INTERGEO 2007. Some 90 percent of exhibitors said that they intend to visit the fair in 2008 too. 13 percent of those questioned plan to increase the size of their stands in Bremen. 70.7 percent of companies rated their present situation as “favourable to very favourable”.

The congress maintained its high attendance rate, attracting 1,500
participants. It also managed to cover all key topics, with 89.5 percent of participants saying that they could not think of a specific topic that had been missing from the congress. The congress is used primarily for keeping up-to-date with developments (68.5 percent). 50 percent said that they used the event to exchange information with other specialists, and two-thirds said that the show provided them with general information.

“The congress and trade fair dovetail with each other and show common future trends. The Earth as a scientific object and limited habitat for the human race is the focus of the congress held under the theme of ‘Knowledge and action for planet Earth’. We are thus making our contribution to overcoming the challenges faced by our society”, said Hagen Graeff. The INTERGEO Forum, which is part of the congress programme, is organized by the exhibiting companies and thus creates the central bridge between the trade fair and the congress. Almost forty presentations were held, giving participants the opportunity to get practical information first-hand on topics that are driving the industry.

The Focus Forum – where exhibiting companies at the trade fair make use of a platform by focusing on current requirements and solutions in related industrial sectors, thus creating an environment for knowledge transfer – was very well received. The premiere of the international subject areas, which were held in English, also drew substantial interest. More than 90 percent of those who attended the Focus Forum had good things to say about the event. INTERGEO underlines that it also has something to offer related areas of interest, and that it is looking to establish links with them, by holding special events such as the Day for Architects and Building Planners and Property Day. Olaf Freier, Project Manager of INTERGEO and CEO of HINTE GmbH (the company responsible for organizing the trade fair) confirmed the event’s new direction: “The modified forum concept, which focuses more on specialist target groups and is used as an international dialog platform, was an unqualified success and helps unlock new potential”.
He emphasized that the organisers will continue to drive the internationalisation of the trade fair year by year.

After the successful premiere of the Open Source Park in Munich in 2006, the event was also a resounding success in Leipzig, a fact that was underpinned by visitors and exhibitors alike.

Additionally, the profile and acceptance of the online community, which went online at the start of September at www.ask-intergeo.com, has grown significantly. Approximately one-third of visitors are now familiar with the community, which currently lists 525 exhibitors from 31 countries with a total of 990 products. More than 50 percent of visitors who are familiar with the community make considerable use of it to systematically prepare for their visit to INTERGEO.