In describing the pleasing situation surrounding the finished area30 trade fair in conjunction with the year-round "cube30" show, Volker Irle, Managing Director of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Die Moderne Küche e.V. (AMK), Mannheim, as the top representative of the industry, aptly states: "I was really pleased Mr Rambach and his team were able to open the area30 again this year and I must say I wasn’t disappointed. Even if – for Corona's sake – one or two visitors to the fair decided not to come, I found the area30 well attended. I’d especially like to highlight the exhibitor presentations (some of which were very elaborate), which – with all the factual information for the many visitors – also contributed visually to one of the most beautiful area30 with cube30.”

At its “restart” after the Corona crisis, area30 was able to present an astonishing wealth of new products in a great atmosphere and with intensive ordering activity. It demonstrated its position as the central event in East Westphalia's kitchen autumn and the most important date for business relating to the kitchen with aplomb and clarity. Around 10,000 square metres of exhibition space with over 126 exhibitors and brands offered all trade fair guests both the latest new developments and a great forum for equally concentrated and relaxed business discussions.

Already during the event, the exhibitors unanimously underlined the high quality of the visitors and referred to respectable order results – which of course also resulted from the enormous pent-up demand since autumn 2019. The statement “quality before quantity” is supported by the fact that – compared to 2019 – the number of companies visiting the fair differs significantly less than the absolute number of trade visitors. It is clear that – immediately after long months of working and communicating virtually – many companies are planning trade fair visits in a much more structured way and concentrating their on-site presence on the real decision-makers.

The evaluation of the visitor statistics makes interesting reading: Contrary to the not infrequently circulated image in the daily media of a gender ratio in the economy that is skewed in favour of male specialists and managers, the players in the kitchen industry proved the opposite at area30 and set the right standards with around a third of specialist visitors female. In terms of dates, the bulk of the total of around 9,500 visits to the fair took place on Sundays to Tuesdays – the 19 September holding the top spot with over 2,700 visits to area30 and cube30.

On the six days of the fair, kitchen furniture manufacturers as well as suppliers of sinks, fittings, extraction systems and electrical appliances, software and accessories met with industry experts, buyers and media representatives in the usual way. “Usual” also means that the percentage composition by sector or field of activity was almost the same as in previous years. This shows that area30 and cube30 primarily attract the German domestic market with a 79 % share of visitors and the specialist trade with a 73 % share of visitors.

However, visitors from the neighbouring Benelux countries (13 %) and another 30 countries were also attracted by this trade fair. However, compared to previous years, it is noticeable that foreign companies and trade visitors are (still) more reserved than German ones. The planning uncertainties outside Germany seem significant and it is therefore particularly valuable for the attractiveness of the fair that area30 was also able to catch up quantitatively to 2017 – to only two exhibitions before the previous top event in 2019. The qualitative value of this unique business event has been undisputedly at the top level for many years.

The visitor composition according to branches of trade is already showing a return to normality: 48 % of visitors to the fair came from kitchen studios and represent the largest share of the industry. Together with representatives of the specialist kitchen markets, even 58 % were reached and thus the clear majority of trade visitors. While cooperatives and associations (3 %), joiners and carpenters (3 %), interior designers, architects, project planners, contractors and contract partners (5 %) as well as networkers (1 %) tended to stay in the background this year, representatives from the furniture, kitchen furniture and electrical appliance industries, with eleven percent, and from the furniture trade, with ten percent, formed considerably strong visitor groups. The importance of area30 as an order platform, new products show and communication network is underlined not least by the accreditation of over 100 media representatives.

Despite understandable uncertainties with regard to coming pandemic waves that may once again influence social life, the economy and the trade fair industry, the track record of this year's area30 is great and gives great confidence for coming events. The successful concept of the order trade fair combined with a pleasant, feel-good atmosphere and a consistent focus on service has lost none of its original appeal. Moreover, all the arrangements for holding this business event in Corona times worked very well. The 3G Check and area30's own Corona Test Centre were very well received. The attractive offer to trade visitors to choose individual visiting times with expected lower frequency was used just as intensively as the already well-established online check-in.

The next area30 – set to be held next year from 17 September to 22 September – will ensure even greater desirability and offer first-class structured services. Organiser Trendfairs can also count on numerous returning and new exhibitors. The small dip in growth compared to other sectors of the economy and trade fairs will certainly be forgotten by then and the eleven-year success story of area30 will be reliably continued in 2022. It was not only at the end of the fair that all exhibitor representatives drew this impressive conclusion in extraordinary unity!