lEidENSCHaFt - Storck Bicycle GmbH

Where an experience turns into an event, things will stick in people’s minds –a statement that could be attributed equally well to a museum curator or a salesprofessional. The product itself has long ceased to be the only protagonist expectedto deliver compelling performance, as the way it is presented plays an important partas well. Anyone who visits a trade show such as Eurobike can see why that’s the case.Far more than 1,200 exhibitors from 50 nations are jam-packed in 100,000 squaremeters of exhibition area, with an assortment of merchandise in their luggage thatseems hard to grasp. An exhibitor who doesn’t want to risk his presentation goingunnoticed in the crowd has to stand out – and the best way to attract attention is acarefully planned exhibition stand with all the trimmings. When Heinz Soschinski, whocompleted an apprenticeship in carpentry and earned a degree in interior architecturaldesign, starts his company, Expotechnik, in 1968 trade fairs still look entirelydifferent from today’s trade shows. Stands are purchased as complete units, rarelyfeaturing a high-grade design. Many exhibitors tend to favor a certain austerity to beginwith and attach little value to an accomplished presentation – bike fairs continueto provide ample opportunity to ‘marvel’ at this mindset far into the nineties.Soschinski, the start-up entrepreneur, has entirely different ideas. He develops a modularconcept that makes it possible for exhibitors to modify their booths to suit theexisting space conditions and their specific needs. Plus, by renting entire trade fairstands, his customers can make an upscale presentation reality at affordable costs.Soschinski’s wall and super-structural systems -- retained as a unique selling propositionto this day by the company that is now run by the sons, Alexander D. Soschinskiand Patrick O. Soschinski, and which has earned acclaim for its design furnitureseries as well – ultimately cause the trade fair stand to evolve into a homogenousmerchandise world: inviting and open, yet a cohesive unit that shields the visitoragainst the hustle and bustle of the trade fair activities.This merchandise world can be as small as a room in a college dorm or as large asa football field, depending on the taste and standards of the exhibitor – thanks to themodular system used for the booths. Totally different products, from luxury watchesto construction machines, can be accommodated this way. And if it fits the exhibitor’spresentation concept, even a bottling line for beverages may be set up at the booth.Finding the right balance between product and architecture is one of the challengesthat make trade show booth building the exciting business it is. In the final analysis,the stand has to be subordinated to the clear-cut purpose of showcasing the productsin the most effective manner and must follow certain guidelines – visitor orientation,presentation, room for communication. At the same time, a trade show stand is a pieceof architecture in its own right which, in the case of Expotechnik, shines with highdesign quality – an aspect which the service provider for communication has in commonwith Storck Bicycle. Anyone stopping at the Storck trade fair booth or brand storecan tell that the product and the room in which it is presented are perfectly matched.As unobtrusively as the Storck bike exhibits its pioneering technical features, the multipleaward winning architecture of the company based in Taunusstein sets the stagefor the new models of the bicycle constructor from nearby Idstein. A good example,by the way, of how the product keeps confronting the trade show booth builder withever new challenges was the need to secure the bikes in the ‘showcases’ of the Storckbooth. No doubt a tricky project, as the bikes that were suspended as if they werefloating in the air had to be kept safely out of both the well- and ill-intentioned reachof trade fair visitors. Experiencing nature, perceiving one’s body in action, freedom ontwo wheels: bikes are emotionally charged products. This makes their presentationa little easier in that respect, as the emotionalization of the product is an essentialaspect of setting the stage for it. Even products that tend to be a bit more on the plainside, such as construction cranes or ship diesel engines, should not just address therational level but fascinate the visitor as well. And aside from that there are virtualproducts like IT services which, initially, don’t lend themselves to a spectacular visualdisplay. This is where modern forms of presentation enter the picture; animated imagesand videos on projection screens and monitors are manifestations of a trade showworld that makes new forms of presentation and information possible.Not to be ignored though is the fact that every industry follows its own rules. Therefore,so does every trade show, which naturally affects the conceptual design of thestands. In booths where investment goods are featured, deals are negotiated andagreements drafted in the privacy of dedicated areas, which means that these typeof booths have to offer ample space. In the case of a wide range of consumer goodssuch as consumer electronics visitors expect to experience the touch and feel as wellas the functionality of the products on display, which have to be easily accessible yetsecured against theft. And car manufacturers look to an all-encompassing concept toset the stage for their products, which has to convince a huge public audience and notjust trade visitors. All of this calls for ingenuity, creativity and a certain play instinct –manifested, for instance, in the booth of an airline that includes an area featuring firstclass and business class seats like the cabin of a passenger plane. Developing creativeideas like these combined with the ability to effectively and substantially executethem is another important aspect of trade show booth building which Expotechnik isable to deliver in concert with its strategic and planning expertise.The company is not just specialized in trade show booth building. Its portfolio includesevents such as press conferences and product launches as well, plus planning andbuilding permanent interiors like the foyer of TV channel ZDF’s building in Mainz –another project that sticks in people’s minds and that showcases the elusive productof a TV program with equal aplomb as the architecture of the Storck trade show boothdisplays the road and mountain bikes of the manufacturer from Idstein.