Bauma 2025 promises to defy tough times and bounce back to full size

That’s the message from trade fair organiser Messe München, which is in charge of the show.

Event director Nicole Schmitt told Construction Briefing that she expects Bauma to be on a par with the size of the 2019 event. That year was a record for Bauma, with a total of 620,000 visitors from over 200 countries.

When you consider everything that has come since – the Covid-19 pandemic that put several other shows on hold and impacted the size of Bauma’s 2022 offering, plus the first land war in Europe since WW2 that has sent a chill through Germany’s economy – returning to such a scale would be no mean feat.

Nicole Schmitt (Image courtesy of Messe München)

“Many of the customers who skipped 2022 due to the pandemic will be coming back,” says Schmitt.

While certain European economies – Germany’s in particular – may be grappling with headwinds at the moment, Schmitt says that underlying demand for new construction machinery means that both exhibitors and attendees will be out in force.

“Recently, I took part in a VDMA session (Germany’s Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers Association), and I also talked to the visitor side - the big construction companies -  and they are all really eager to see Bauma,” she says.

The challenge of interpreting and meeting new regulations governing the construction industry, particularly when it comes to limiting carbon emissions, is one of the drivers behind that eagerness, Schmitt asserts.

“There is still the need there to meet each other and Bauma is the only chance to get the entire family gathered together in one place,” she says.

Some of the major exhibitors have already started groundworks for their outdoor demonstration areas this month and Schmitt expects all of the areas that Messe München has to offer, both inside the halls and outside, to be fully occupied.

Familiar format

Meanwhile, adhering to the ‘if it ain’t broke…’ philosophy, Schmitt expects the formula for the show to remain similar to previous years.

“We are really happy to have an Innovation Hall like we did in 2022,” she says. That will include the return of the Machines In Construction (MiC) 4.0 working group’s stand, which aims to develop a uniform, cross-manufacturer and machinery-independent communications form for the entire construction process.

Preparations for the Bauma 2022 construction equipment show (Image courtesy of Messe München)

Also returning will be the Science Hub in the International Congress Centre (ICM), where universities and scientific institutions can showcase their very latest research, as well as the Start-Up area, where promising young companies can present themselves to a specialist audience.

And as far as the key themes that exhibitors and attendees alike will be most interested in, Schmitt expects sustainability and digitalisation to be at the forefront. “We have five key topics for Bauma 2025, which are: climate neutrality, alternative drive concepts, networked construction, sustainable construction, and mining challenges,” she says.

And with the carbon footprint of the show itself in mind, Bauma 2025 will once again offer public transportation within the cost of a ticket price.

With six months to run until the show, however, Schmitt expects more announcements on the format to come.

Preparations for the Bauma 2022 construction equipment show (Image courtesy of Messe München)

“In order to master challenges such as climate protection and sustainability, you have to get the entire industry to talk to each other and form new solutions,” she concludes.

“We are also working on getting politicians on board too so that they can talk to our exhibitors and visitors and really get to know their needs so that we can ensure our bridges do not collapse, for example. Or, if you think about setting up a construction site on a highway and you want to operate electric machines, you need electricity to recharge them. So all these challenges can be discussed in a constructive way at Bauma.”

Major exhibitors gear up for Bauma

With another six months to run until the show on 7-13 April, several major construction equipment manufacturers are still playing their cards close to their chests in terms of what their plans are for their Bauma stands.

But others shared some details of what visitors can expect. And all of those who responded to Construction Briefing’s sister publications Construction Europe and International Construction emphasised how important they still consider face-to-face interactions with their customers to be.

Wirtgen’s exhibition area at Bauma 2022 (Image courtesy of Wirtgen)

Wirtgen Group, appearing alongside John Deere, will once again be taking a huge, 13,000 sq m exhibition space at the show. The company expects to showcase more than 90 exhibits for a range of different applications, including several world premiers and innovations. Machines under the Wirtgen, Vögele, Hamm, Kleemann, Benninghoven and John Deere banners will all make an appearance.

“We are already excited to hear feedback from our customers and we are looking forward to engaging discussions,” says a spokesperson for Wirtgen. “The direct contact with our partners, the face-to-face communication and exchange of ideas is still essential to our business.”

“Bauma is the ideal platform for Wirtgen Group to not only present our newly developed machines and technologies but also put them directly on the market,” they add.

Carl Slotte, head of region, Europe, for Volvo CE also considers Bauma an important platform to meet with customers, partners and other stakeholders from all over the world and particularly the German market.

Volvo wants to use the show as an opportunity to drive the company’s reputation for innovation and sustainability. “Our total solutions approach will show customers how we can help them to decarbonise their businesses while maintaining high productivity,” says Slotte.

The manufacturer has taken a 2,000 sq m stand and Slotte will only go as far as saying that it will demonstrate its latest services, solutions and technologies there. “But the rest will remain a surprise,” he says.

Liugong’s demonstration area at Bauma 2019 (Image courtesy of Messe München)

Europe is an important – and growing – market for China-based OEM Liugong. And a tough economic backdrop in the region hasn’t dented the company’s enthusiasm for exhibiting at Bauma.

“It’s not just about manufacturing and selling opportunistically – we are also demonstrating our long-term intentions,” says Hakan Ilhan, vice president of LiuGong Europe. “This exhibition, especially on a global stage, is very important for us to continue supporting our brand. Being a relatively new and unknown brand in Europe, it’s an opportunity for us to introduce ourselves and our products firsthand to people.”

The show also falls towards to end of the peak selling season for construction equipment, says Ilhan. “The high season accounts for 60% of the goods purchased in the first half of the year. Typically, this rental season runs from February to the end of May. The timing is ideal for showcasing future products to the marketplace and meeting potential dealers. It also allows us to gauge market behaviour and get an early indication of 2025 trends.”

That’s important when you consider that currently, according to Ilhan, the market is quite volatile. He reports a 30-32% drop in sales for Liugong across Europe this year but that decline is expected to level off in 2025, when the company is forecasting to return to modest growth of 2%-3%. “The timing of the show will give us a better sense of how the rest of the year will unfold.”

And formwork and scaffolding company Doka will also have a strong presence at Bauma, taking up a 5,300 sq m stand where it will showcase over 40 exhibits and host more than 100 live demonstrations throughout the week.

A key highlight of Doka’s stand will be its 30m-high scaffolding tower with an observation platform offering visitors a view over the entire trade show.

The company said it plans to place a strong focus on digitalisation and sustainability, presenting innovations offering higher productivity and lower emissions at construction sites. “Bauma gives us the perfect stage to connect with our customers and partners,” says Robert Hauser, CEO at Doka. “It’s not just about presenting products – it’s about bringing our motto, We make it work, to life by demonstrating how our solutions are shaping the future of construction.”