The Automatic Messe fair takes place every second year in a large sports hall close to Copenhagen, Denmark, where booths are set up on two floors. The fair usually hosts about 3,600 guests, all of whom are qualified professionals, and 150 exhibitors in booths and technical sessions.
Despite many restrictions caused by the COVID 19 pandemic, the organizers got permission to conduct this year’s automatic fair with some limitations. This year’s event took place in a shopping center, where the area provided more than 4 square meters per person. All the exhibitor booths at the event were 12 square meters and could hold a maximum of three persons – e.g., two staff and one guest. PI Denmark exhibited at the event. They arranged the booth in such a way that everything was placed near the front so that both staff and guests were mainly standing in the wide corridor area.
A large café area was closed down, and the floor space was used to expand the corridors. Sanitation stations were available in the halls every 8 – 10 meters. And sanitation staff disinfected door handles, handrails, and toilets continuously throughout the day.
According to the calculations, 830 people were allowed into the hall simultaneously – including staff, guests, and service personnel. Guests reserved specific time slots for accessing the fair to prevent excessive foot traffic in the fairgrounds. All of these precautions worked successfully. However, on Monday, the day before the opening day, authorities imposed additional Covid-19 restrictions on the Copenhagen area. The sudden changes caused some hiccups, and a handful guests lost their reserved time-slot.
This year, the fair only hosted 1,250 guests and 90 exhibitors. The initial forecast was for 1,500 – 2,000 guests, but under the current circumstances, the final results were satisfactory. PI Denmark was pleased to exhibit and network with attendees. They hope to continue attending more events like this that allow them to interact with customers face-to-face. However, fairs might be taking a different shape in the future.