IPM ESSEN celebrates 40 years

IPM Essen is arguably the world’s premier horticultural trade exhibition. Next week, it will be 40 years since trade show organiser Messe Essen opened its first IPM Essen show in Essen. To commemorate the anniversary year, FCI sat down with Messe Essen boss Oliver P. Kuhrt, who takes ‘great pride in hosting the most beautiful, most blooming, and greenest trade exhibition on his fairgrounds’ to talk about the trade expo’s success.

Forty years ago, IPM Essen’s inaugural event welcomed 100 German and Dutch plant exhibitors in just one hall of the Essen fairgrounds.

The trade exhibition has gone from strength to strength and, in nearly 40 years, has become an important fixture in the calendar of those active in ornamental horticulture, with IPM satellite shows taking place in China, Mexico and Vietnam as of next year.

FloraCulture International: Please recount the origins of IPM, how it came to be and why Messen Essen decided to spotlight ornamental horticulture.

Oliver P. Kuhrt: “The Rhineland and Westphalia were strong horticultural regions at the time. There was a great desire to open up foreign markets and promote exporting German-grown horticultural products. A separate, professional presentation platform for production and trade was therefore needed. IPM ESSEN was born. It was held for the first time in February 1983 – with 150 exhibitors from six nations and over 8,600 trade visitors. Only exhibitors from the ornamental plant sector were initially present; technology and floristry joined later.”

Forty years of IPM is perhaps a good opportunity to highlight the show’s spectacular beauty, am I right?

“Very much so. IPM Essen is a sensorium of beauty and well-being. It is truly impressive how trade show stands have evolved over the years. Today, the stands are so alluring and well-designed that you can hardly decide where to look first. Every year, we capture the beauty of this trade fair in pictures and videos. Visitors will be able to see their first impressions in the official IPM newspaper, which will be published on the Wednesday of the trade fair. Interested parties can also find the highlights on the show’s social media channels.

IPM Essen’s beauty, however, resides above all in the warm and friendly interaction between exhibitors and attendees. We are grateful for the incredible loyalty of our exhibitors and visitors, our partners and supporters, the incredible popularity and the positive feedback we receive year after year.”

Messe Essen boss Oliver P. Kuhrt.

To what extent do you think this cross-industry collaboration contributed to IPM Essen’s success?

“IPM ESSEN has become the world’s leading trade fair because it represents the entire horticultural industry. From gardeners and florists to garden and landscape designers, garden centre entrepreneurs to municipal climate managers and floral. From plant breeders to soil producers and plant pot manufacturers, software providers, shop fitters, and irrigation specialists. IPM ESSEN showcases the entire value chain and acts as a link.

The show’s success is primarily due to the proximity of the IPM team to the industry. From the beginning, we have strengthened and expanded our network – mainly, we maintain a lively dialogue with the leading associations at all levels. Partners from the very beginning include the North Rhine-Westphalia Regional Horticultural Association (formerly divided into the Rhineland and Westphalia-Lippe Regional Horticultural Associations), the Central Horticultural Association of Germany at the national level and the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) at the global level. Other organisations belong to the large IPM family, such as the Federal Association of German Florists, the Association of German Nurseries, the Association of German Flower Wholesalers and Importers, the Garden Industry Association, the Association of German Garden Centres, the European DIY Retail Association, the European Nurserystock Association, the Garden, Landscape and Sports Grounds Association of North Rhine-Westphalia and the leading associations of the respective exhibiting nations. At no other trade fair in the sector will you find as many country pavilions as at IPM ESSEN.

Thanks to our trade fair advisory board with representatives from business, associations and politics, we learn first-hand which topics are currently relevant, where the challenges lie and which trends are emerging. This enables us to align IPM ESSEN with the wishes of the green sector, adjust the supporting programme and make the trade fair a new experience time and again.”

Apart from dedicated teamwork aesthetic beauty, what do you think are the other reasons why IPM became the world’s premier horticultural trade that it is today?

“In general, the appreciation of green products has increased. They fit in with our times, in which climate and environmental protection are among the mammoth tasks. Plants play a social role, and the population’s sustainability awareness has increased enormously. In addition, IPM is a strong brand and stands for quality and business success. Many companies have become well-known and grown through it because they were able to make important contacts here. Word gets around. We have IPM ambassadors all over the world. IPM ESSEN is a kind of industry kick-off for the coming horticultural year. It has achieved a special position within the industry simply because of its favourable timing at the end of January.”

In 1993, IPM Essen celebrated its 10th anniversary. On stage are floral arranger Koos Zuidgeest (left) from the Netherlands and master florist Gregor Lersch.

IPM’s anniversary e-book highlights how, in 40 years, IPM hosted 44,000 exhibitors, among which a significant group of exhibitors have been there since the very beginning in 1983. What are most of the surprising facts you have learned from these exhibitors?

“One thing in particular is often surprising: the onset of winter. I’m thinking in particular of the Italian exhibitors who have made the long journey across the Alps year after year with palm trees and Mediterranean plants since the first IPM in 1983. Ice and snow at the end of January in Essen is unusual for many of our exhibitors from southern countries. In the early years, there was a legendary exhibitor evening. While the party mood prevailed in the exhibition halls, a snowstorm raged outside. When the party was officially over, nobody could leave the fair. The exhibitors quickly collected all the food and drinks from their stands and continued the party. Moments like these bring people together, and you learn a lot of background information about plant cultivation, passions, company histories, successes and failures. The IPM team has maintained close and personal contact with the exhibitors over the years.”

The e-book references 1.7 million visitors in 40 years. What VIP visits of dignitaries, royals, and politicians stood out the most?

“IPM ESSEN has already been a platform for many celebrities from politics and society. I am thinking of the former Federal Ministers of Agriculture of Germany Jochen Borchert, Karl-Heinz Funke, Renate Künast, Horst Seehofer, Ilse Aigner, Hans-Peter Friedrich and Julia Klöckner or the former Vice-President of the European Union Frans Timmermans. The list of well-known names goes on: Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Loki Schmidt, Roland Kaiser, Johannes B. Kerner, Johann Lafer, Dolly Buster, Michel Michalski, Udo Walz, Hans Klok and Axel Schulz. They have all visited at least one IPM ESSEN.”

What’s in store for the 2024 IPM Essen show?

“Unlike previous years, the opening ceremony will take place in the glass foyer of Messe Essen in an open and modern ambience near the hustle and bustle of the trade fair. The exhibitor evening will also be celebrated in the glass foyer. We have planned a special surprise for this.

The motto of the 40th IPM ESSEN is “Our Heart Beats Green”, symbolised by a logo depicting a heart overgrown with plants. It will be recreated on-site and serve as a backdrop for selfies and social media posts. Because we also want to celebrate the 40th IPM Essen away from the exhibition halls, we have set up a social wall at www.ipm-essen.de, where all congratulations posted under the hashtag #congratsipmessen will be displayed in an overview. Anyone who would like to congratulate us and tell us why his or her heart beats green can already do so.

We look forward to every post: the more posts, the more colourful the collage.

The 40th IPM ESSEN is also the kick-off date for the new IPM podcast “From the Greenhouse”. And in the truest sense of the word. A glass podcast studio in the form of a greenhouse will be set up in the Discovery Centre in Hall 1 A. Other industry podcasts will have the opportunity to interview experts and personalities there. Visitors can follow the recordings live from outside via headphones.”

Trade shows are back after three years of massive disruption to the global exhibition industry. The question is, to what degree?

“The trade fair format is alive and well. More than ever, real-life meeting points are indispensable for the industry. The call for face-to-face interactions has never been greater. So there can be no talk of ‘massive disruption’, at least not when we look at Messe Essen—quite the opposite. As far as our portfolio is concerned, our trade fairs have regained their former strength or even become stronger. We can look back on the most successful year in the history of Messe Essen.”

Picture from IPM Essen 1995, showcasing the Italian Pavilion. In 1983, the Lombardy Growers Association, in association with ICE, has always had a prominent presence at the show.

What’s the tendency to reduce booth space, plan further reduction or main or grow spaces?

“This cannot be said across the board, as there are individual shifts in each trade fair year. Some exhibitors expand their participation; others present on fewer square metres – this depends entirely on the exhibitor’s marketing strategy and can look completely different the following year.”

In speaking with trade show exhibitors, some worry show organisers are not doing as much as they can to combat increasing show service costs. If show services are two or three times more expensive, that cuts into what the companies spend on booth space. Do you agree?

“Name me an industry that is not affected by rising costs. Inflation is no exception regarding trade fairs and the players involved, such as service partners and the hotel industry. On an international average, stand costs alone only account for around 40 per cent of the total costs arising from trade fair participation.

This makes it all the more important to see trade fair participation as a unique opportunity to centralise sales activities. The entire international industry in the same place at the same time – there is no more efficient way for an exhibitor to market its products.”

What is the next step for IPM Essen?

“The internationalisation process of IPM ESSEN is progressing more and more. In November, we signed the contracts for cooperation with HortEx Vietnam. The Southeast Asian market is very attractive and has a lot of potential. We want to expand our activities here further.”

Finally, the 2024 IPM show revolves around the theme of ‘Our Heart Beats Green’. What is the one thing that makes YOUR heartbeat green?

“My heart beats green because IPM ESSEN Messe Essen is home to the world’s most beautiful, blooming and greenest trade fair.”

This article was first published in the December 2023 Issue of FloraCulture International.