Building a stand at Messe Frankfurt

1–10 days

on-site build time, with freight added when abroad

Stand types

Paperwork before design

At the large German venues, building a stand is a documentation process before it is a drawing. The approval file carries the plan and elevations, the class of the materials used, the electrical load and, where relevant, structural calculations. Second storeys and anything hung from the roof require a separate application and further documents.

The deadline for that file appears in the technical manual the venue publishes for that show. Late submission is chargeable at most venues and shortens the review; at worst the revision request arrives after production has started.

So for fairs abroad the calendar moves at least a fortnight earlier than a domestic one. Building the design to the manual at the design stage costs less than any correction made later. The required file format and drawing scale are stated as well, and a drawing in the wrong format comes back even when its content is right. Running the approval correspondence through one person helps too, since two different answers to the same question from the venue only lengthens the process.

The approved supplier rule

At most European venues certain trades may only be ordered from the venue’s approved supplier. The scope varies: power connection, water and waste, rigging and sometimes forklift services usually fall inside it. The line between what your team may do and what must be ordered is stated plainly in the manual.

For the budget this means the items sitting outside the stand price are more numerous abroad than at home. When taking quotes, ask in writing which of them are included.

We keep that boundary visible in our own quotations; our pricing page states what the square metre rate covers and which items are budgeted separately. Approved supplier orders carry their own cut-off dates, and those run independently of the stand production schedule. An order placed after the cut-off is usually chargeable and sometimes not accepted at all. Putting those dates on one sheet is the most productive half hour of the preparation.

Working in Germany with a Turkish crew

Producing the stand in Turkey and building it in Germany is a common model that works, but it asks for three things. First, complete paperwork: contractor notification, personnel list, insurance and health and safety documents, all submitted in advance. Second, travel documents completed in time; that step can take longer than the freight.

Third, language on site. Someone on the crew has to speak the language used in correspondence with venue staff and on the floor, and that person is usually the site foreman.

Customs is a separate file. Material that will return travels under temporary importation; material to be left behind is treated differently. Make the distinction before planning the freight, because it changes the vehicle order too. Work out how long the crew stays as well: build days, show days and tear-down night. Booking accommodation for the build days alone leaves tear-down night uncovered, and the hasty decisions taken that night are expensive. Travel and accommodation abroad can add up to a line close to the stand price itself.

What language should approval drawings be in?

In a language the venue accepts. Most European venues take German or English; the manual states which applies.

Is the build window different from home?

It is more structured: hours, vehicle slots and waste handover are each regulated. The time may not be shorter, but there is less flexibility.