Stand types
Maxima system stands: strengths and limits
Lokman Türkoğlu · Founder & Head of Design · 2 min read · Last updated:
Short answer
What is a Maxima system stand for?
Maxima is a stand system built on profile sections that carry heavy panels and span wide openings. It resolves tall walls, fascias and suspended ceilings without extra structure, and lighting and cabling run inside the profile channel. That is why it is one of the first options considered when a modular frame is needed on a medium or large stand. Its limit follows from the same thing: every dimension sits on the profile grid, and curved or asymmetric forms are only possible with bespoke parts.
Where the system is strong
The Maxima profile section is heavier than that of lightweight systems. In practice that means you can build a four-metre wall with no intermediate post, put a fascia on top of it and hang lighting from the fascia. A lightweight system needs a back leg for the same wall, and that leg usually lands inside the storeroom.
The second strength is integration. Cabling, spotlight track and fabric tension frames clip into the profile’s own channel. Nothing on the surface reads as a trunking, a screwed clamp or an afterthought. That detail is what brings the stand closer to a timber build when seen from a distance.
The third is carrying. Cases, screens and shelves fix straight to the profile. Our stand types page lists the panel and screen load limit for each system separately.
The line the grid draws
The system rounds dimensions to its own multiples. If you want a wall at two metres thirty-two, you either drop to the nearest module or add a filler. The filler leaves a visible line; designing it in as a deliberate joint beats trying to hide it later.
Curves and shaped surfaces are not the system’s natural work. They need bent bespoke profile or timber infill, and both erode the speed and cost advantage. If the stand’s identity rests on a curved form, the choice of system should be revisited.
Height is another limit. Above four metres the profile wants extra bracing, and hall height and the organiser’s permitted level constrain it further. On a design with a tall fascia, read the technical manual first and pick the profile second.
Who it suits and who it does not
It suits companies doing more than one fair a year on fifty square metres or more, whose display works with shelves and cases, and who want a meeting area and a storeroom. On that profile the system both shortens the build and cuts the second show’s invoice.
It does not suit companies exhibiting once every two years, those whose stand rests on a genuinely original architectural idea, or those taking under twenty square metres. In the first case the investment never divides; in the second the grid spoils the idea; in the third the profile section looks heavy on a small footprint.
Work the budget over two or three fairs rather than one before deciding. Our pricing page covers how reuse moves the unit cost.
Can Maxima be combined with timber?
Yes, and it is a common solution. Structure and walls come from the system, while counters and display cases that face the visitor are built in timber.
Do the graphics change at every fair?
They can. Tensioned fabric graphics come out of the frame and a new set goes in; profile and panels stay. Graphic renewal is budgeted per show.
Sources
- Venue information — Messe Düsseldorf
- German trade fair industry association — AUMA
- Fair and Congress Center — Tüyap