The "accelerated" exhibition stand: Audi's presence at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show
Frankfurt/Ingolstadt (ots)
* New home for 4,500-square-metre Audi stand in Hall 3.0
* 130 trucks transport 800 tonnes of materials to Frankfurt
* 32 cars, a technology circuit, 35 kilometres of wiring and 1,300
spotlightsKlaus Kubossek describes it as "like building a house on fast-forward". As AUDI AG Project Manager, he is responsible for erecting the Audi exhibition stand at the 60th Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in 2003. After preparations lasting one year, he and the entire exhibition team currently have the task of pulling off an organisational and logistical masterstroke by erecting the whole stand in just nine days. 130 trucks are transporting a total of 800 tonnes of materials to Frankfurt "just in time", for installation by 300 fitters. The result will be a 4,500-square-metre stand of a sophisticated design and featuring 32 perfectly presented vehicles, a technology circuit, a "lights roof " and a new showcar that will "spearhead" the exhibition presence at Frankfurt in the truest sense of the word.
The concept study will be positioned at the tip of an arrow-shaped exhibition area that passes diagonally across the stand. A "lights roof" will be installed above this arrow, lending the stand's architecture additional dynamism. "This arrangement will appear to visually accelerate our exhibition stand. After all, our products are all about sports-style motion and mobility," explains Bernhard Neumann, Head of International Exhibitions at Audi.
The dimensions that pave the way for this accelerated effect are vast. The Audi stand measures 115 metres in length, and is 43 metres wide. The power supply involves around 35 kilometres of wiring in total. Kubossek adds: "The wiring harness for the roof lighting alone measures 1.50 metres in diameter." The roof lighting is a complex structure in its own right: there are 1,300 spotlights suspended from the 60-tonne lighting structure, or "rig", which hovers over the stand at a height of 8.45 metres. The lighting elements have a combined power consumption of over 1,300 kilowatts.
Each of the 32 exhibition vehicles is illuminated by eight spotlights. So that no undesirable reflections occur and the vehicles are positioned in such a way that their colours and contours are displayed to optimum effect, Audi's exhibition experts plan their precise arrangement right down to the millimetre months in advance.
The same is true of the stand's steel superstructures, weighing in at several tonnes, which are positioned precisely in just 36 hours by technical surveyors with the aid of laser measurement. Kubossek explains: "Everything has to be absolutely spot-on." Not just for reasons of time, but in the interests of safety, too: with the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show expected to attract around 850,000 visitors, the stand structures will have to withstand quite some wear and tear.
The Audi exhibition stand is being erected from scratch within the space of nine days by 300 fitters working in three shifts, in other words around the clock, in order to keep to the tight timetable. The logistics are a particular challenge for Klaus Kubossek and his team. "We are transporting around 800 tonnes of materials to Frankfurt on 130 trucks. And because countless other manufacturers are erecting their stands simultaneously in the hall, deliveries have to be planned with scrupulous accuracy. It is precisely laid down who can deliver what, when, and where," explains the stand construction expert.
Most of the materials, ranging from the Audi pylon to paper baskets, are sourced from Audi's own 17,000-square-metre exhibition warehouse in Ingolstadt. All the materials arriving at Hall 3.0 in Frankfurt have to be installed immediately. There is no scope for storing materials temporarily. Just one delayed truckload would throw the entire timetable into confusion. "It's certainly a stiff challenge to erect the exhibition stand punctually and to a high standard of quality," remarks Kubossek.
The exploit of constructing the stand for the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show will nevertheless work out. The Audi stand will be ready for approval by the Board of Management 12 hours before the Frankfurt Motor Show opens its doors. "Because the Board gave its approval to our exhibition concept for Frankfurt quite early on, we don't expect that any major last-minute changes will be necessary. Their formal approval of the stand serves to endorse how it looks for real," adds Neumann.
In addition to the vehicles being exhibited, the Audi stand at Frankfurt has a technology circuit as its centrepiece: 17 exhibits and the "Audi Pikes Peak quattro" and "Audi Nuvolari quattro" showcars will provide tangibly close-up evidence of "Vorsprung durch Technik". Features ranging from quattro four-wheel drive and the TDI engine, through the DSG sports transmission and Audi Space Frame ASF, to water and dirt-repellent windows based on nano technology, are displayed attractively, accompanied by clear explanatory notes.
So that visitors can obtain comprehensive advice, there will be 150 Audi employees and 100 hostesses staffing the stand. The fully air conditioned, 560-square-metre lounge resting on three-metre columns, with its white lighting frame, has already become an eyecatching landmark feature of the Audi exhibition stand. In the catering area alone, the lounge offers seating for 300. Spectator terracing in addition provides visitors with a suitable venue for a quick break, from which to survey the vehicles in peace.
This is the first time that Audi is based at Hall 3.0 at the largest motor show in the world at Frankfurt's Exhibition Centre (its previous base was Hall 5.0). The 18,600-square-metre hall is home to all Volkswagen Group brands, under a single roof. Audi has consciously chosen an overtly purist stand concept. "We have deliberately avoided ornamental or purely architectural elements and have concentrated rather on clear structures that support rapid orientation. Our communication colour orange moreover provides a warm, human note. We are thus very consciously providing an alternative to the sensory overload that the bustle of the exhibition can induce," explains Richard Pütz, Head of Event Marketing at Audi. He adds: "It is our ambition to stage every exhibition as a perfect way of experiencing the brand."
The brand with the four rings has achieved this with an exhibition concept that is both effective and award-winning. This year, the Audi concept for international exhibitions at Frankfurt and Tokyo in 2001 and Geneva in 2002 was granted the "red dot design award 'best of the best': product design" by the North Rhine-Westphalia Design Centre - one of the world's top design awards.
Audi has simultaneously realised an exhibition concept requiring a significantly lower investment volume than those of its strategic competitors. For example, a large proportion of the materials used at an exhibition will be retained for use at further motor shows, and not simply disposed of once the exhibition has closed. In other words, Audi is using a modular stand structure - a type of toolkit principle. The arguments in favour of such a strategy are compelling when one considers the number of exhibitions Audi participates in. The Ingolstadt-based car manufacturer will be taking part in 35 exhibitions around the world this year - from Athens to Zagreb - not to mention the "big five" events (Frankfurt, Geneva, Detroit, Tokyo and Paris).
Pütz concludes: "With its stand at the 2001 Frankfurt Motor Show, Audi was one of the first manufacturers to put an end to the incessantly spiralling costs. Compared with what our Frankfurt stand cost in 1999, two years on we succeeded in cutting the cost by 25 percent. We managed to cut the cost of the stand for the latest Frankfurt Motor Show by a further ten percent. Despite this Audi has still managed to create an innovative, sophisticated exhibition presence."
Note: a photo of the construction of the exhibition stand is available via dpa/obs. A long text version and further photos can be called up on http://www.audi-press.com under "Company"" and "Topics, Features, Stories" or requested by calling +49 (0)841-89-34900. Up until September 7, please enter the user ID "aupr0336" and the password "cow265".
ots Original Text Service: Audi AG Internet: http://www.presseportal.de
Communication Corporate and Finance Jürgen De Graeve, telephone: +49 (0)841-89-34084 e-mail: juergen.degraeve@audi.de Eric Felber, telephone: +49(0)841-89-90703 e-mail: eric.felber@audi.de
Original content of: Audi AG, transmitted by news aktuell