Working with a Turkish stand builder

Istanbul and Germany

the two offices behind our European work

About us

Where the cost difference comes from

The advantage of producing in Turkey lies in labour and workshop cost. On joinery, paint, metalwork and assembly the gap is clear. Against that, freight, customs, crew travel and accommodation all rise compared with building in Europe.

Comparing on a single show can mislead as well. If the stand will be reused, production cost divides across the fairs while freight reappears at every one. The right answer for a two-fair plan is not the right answer for a five-fair plan.

So the decision never rests on one line. On a small stand, the freight and hotel difference can eat the labour advantage. On a large stand with bespoke joinery the advantage plainly survives.

The way to compare properly is to reduce both quotes to the same scope list. Without a written statement of what the square metre rate covers, there is nothing to compare; we keep that boundary visible on our pricing page.

Who actually turns up

This is the sharpest question. The answer is not in the story a supplier tells you but in the site clause of the contract: who is accountable for the build, whether that person is named, and who you call when something is missing. A crew that has seen the stand before the hall — in the drawings, in the trial build — gets the first morning back.

There is a fifth thing worth asking: how many days the crew stays. Some firms finish the build and fly home the same day, leaving nobody on hand through the show. A stand needs attention after it opens, and whether that is in the quote becomes obvious on the third day.

Ask for specifics: the site manager’s name, the crew size, whether they have worked that hall before, and the language they will work in. The answers belong in an annex to the quote.

Our method is to name the person accountable on site in the contract, and to assemble the stand once before it ships. That is what the German office is for: journey times across Europe shorten, local suppliers are dealt with in their own language, and a second crew can set off the same day when needed.

Documents and the contact chain

At European fairs the paperwork is the invisible half of the job: organiser approvals, fire certificates, contractor notification, site passes, customs documents and the insurance policy. Each one needs a named owner in the contract.

Time zones and working days are part of the chain too. The gap between Turkey and much of Europe is small, but the public holidays do not line up, and one side can be shut on a day the other is working. Build the schedule against both calendars so that critical approvals do not land on a closed day.

Set the contact chain out just as clearly: one named person at the exhibitor, one site manager on the contractor side. When a decision is needed on site, those two speak. Add a third and the answer arrives late, which shows up in the build schedule.

Settle the language question early too. Correspondence with the organiser usually runs in English, but local suppliers and hall staff move faster in their own language. Having someone on the crew who speaks it is a detail that buys days.

How do you check references?

Ask for a job in the same country and ideally the same hall. Request the fair name, year, floor area and photographs; a general portfolio is not enough.

Which currency should the contract use?

One currency in the contract, with the exchange risk assigned in writing. Fair timelines are long, and this clause causes arguments later if left open.