Interview with Claus-Peter Regiani: 40 Years of Security Essen

2014 is Security Year – To Get Into the Mood, GIT SECURITY Spoke with Claus-Peter Regiani, Senior Vice President Trade Fairs and Exhibitions, of Messe Essen

GIT SECRITY: Mr Regiani, there will be a remarkable anniversary for the industry this year: the Security Essen exhibition will be 40 years old. Reservations for space are coming in thick and fast - could you give us a prognosis on the development and the numbers?

Claus-Peter Regiani: Just a few months before the start of this world-renowned event, the demand for exhibition space is excellent. Some areas, such as that for security services, are already fully booked. We still expect some news from Asia in the next few days so there will again be more than 1,000 exhibitors at the Messe Essen from 23 - 26. September.

These good results in our anniversary year are the best compliment for Security Essen: they show the trust that is shown by the industry in our specialist event. The Security Essen event brings the whole world of security and fire protection technology together under one roof like no other. And that makes it the worldwide number one in this sector.

There will be 40 market segments - from fire protection to video. What new subjects can the visitor expect?

Claus-Peter Regiani: Global Travel Security is an important subject that challenges medium-sized companies and global players alike - in this globalized world, business trips or even longer postings abroad are no longer a rarity. But how can we protect our employees there? How secure is our company know-how that is on the laptop, iPad or smartphone that travels with them? Our world-leading trade fair also pays great attention to the area of IT security: ISMS, forensic evidence security and new solutions for encrypted data exchange are just some of the keywords. New developments in danger prevention in public spaces will also be seen. One example of this is the early recognition of threats through Behavioral Recognition systems. In short: the Security Essen event will provide the visitor with an absolutely comprehensive overview of the market.

There is growth on the exhibitor side - for example, in security service providers?

Claus-Peter Regiani: Security service providers are even more strongly represented this year: The „Protection, Security and Service" special focus section has therefore moved to the larger Hall 6 and is now located adjacent to the security vehicles. This promises to provide good synergies both for exhibitors and visitors. Three joint stands will enrich the choice on offer. As well as members of the Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Geld- und Wertdienste (BDGW - Engl.: National Association of German Money and Valuables Services) there will also be companies from the Bundesverband der Sicherheitswirtschaft present together for the first time. And both organizations will present their work on a third stand.

Do you have enough space? The modernization of the exhibition halls is currently delayed ...

Essen naturally has a very strong international character. In 2012 around 39,000 trade visitors from 115 countries traveled here to the Messe Essen to find out about innovations, to make new contacts and to place orders; a superb number that we also expect in 2014. The same goes for the exhibitors: all the major manufacturers of civil security technology from around 40 nations will again be represented at Security Essen. We can already report growth in the number of international joint stands: as well as Great Britain, Italy, China, Taiwan, Korea and the USA, there will also be a Hungarian stand for the first time in 2014 using this world leading event as a window to its innovations and as a business platform.