Every two years the Nuremberg exhibition centre turns into a landscape of paving surfaces, plant quarters, construction machinery and irrigation technology. Across the halls and the large open-air grounds, GaLaBau shows how cities, parks and gardens are being made climate resilient. It also puts a question to its exhibitors that few other fairs raise so directly: how circular is the stand you use to talk about circularity?

An audience that reads materials

Nuremberg attracts landscape gardeners, planning and engineering offices, municipal parks departments and works yards, tree nurseries, sports ground and golf course builders, cemetery administrations and operators of large properties. These professionals handle substrates, timber, natural stone, concrete and steel every working day.

They read surfaces accordingly. Touch a wall panel and within seconds you can tell whether it was made from lacquered chipboard for three fair days or whether it belongs to a system on its tenth outing. Under the guiding theme of a climate fit future, this audience discusses infiltration, tree substrates, stormwater management and long-lasting surfaces. A stand that carries the same attitude in its construction strengthens every sales conversation.

There is a very practical reason as well. A substantial share of visitors awards public contracts. Anyone familiar with municipal tenders knows how routinely environmental and sustainability criteria are requested there. Credibility on the stand therefore feeds straight into your order book.

Reuse begins at the drawing board

Whether a stand gets a second life is decided at the drawing board. Modular aluminium frame systems, connected without tools and dressed with fabric graphics, come apart cleanly by material and go back up in a new arrangement. Bolted and clamped connections keep that option alive, while glued and filled constructions usually end up in the skip.

Three design decisions raise the reuse rate noticeably:

  • Favour standard dimensions. Frames on the system grid fit into any future floor plan. Bespoke sizes stay one-off pieces.
  • Separate time-sensitive graphics. Year, fair name and campaign motif belong on small, individually replaceable panels, so the large fabric print stays in service across several editions.
  • Include flooring and greenery. Modular floor panels or timber decking from stock replace the classic ribbed carpet that becomes waste after four fair days. Plants arrive as rented greenery from regional nurseries and return to production afterwards.

At GaLaBau in particular this logic becomes visible: a stand built from reused frames, paving units from your own stock and rented greenery tells the industry story before a single word is spoken.

Dismantling decides the balance sheet

The part that shapes your later figures starts on Friday evening. Well prepared dismantling follows a plan: sequence of trades, labelling of every component, separated collection of residual material and a clear allocation of what returns to the warehouse and what leaves the hall as recyclable material.

Four habits have proved their worth. First, a component register with an ID for every frame, item of furniture and light fitting, so the return into a digital warehouse stays complete. Second, a visual inspection during storage, so damaged parts go straight to the workshop instead of surfacing at the next build-up. Third, bundled return freight, so the same vehicles that delivered the stand travel back loaded. Fourth, storing fabric graphics rolled or boxed, because a well treated textile print survives many appearances.

Dismantling organised this way asks for a little more planning across four fair days and saves considerable material and rebuilding cost over the years.

Evidence that counts in tenders

Sustainability convinces as soon as it comes with numbers. For an appearance in Nuremberg these records travel along with the project without much effort:

  • A material list per component with origin, service life and destination
  • The reuse rate of the specific project, calculated from stock components against new ones
  • Transport kilometres and number of journeys, including return freight
  • Recovery and disposal records for the remaining residual material

These figures feed sustainability reports, they answer questions from procurement and they earn points in tenders. Industry certification schemes for sustainable projects and companies exist as well, for example through the FAMAB communication association, and their criteria offer a useful benchmark for your own standards.

Trendsetzerei has built consistently modular since 2020, with an in-house workshop, its own fleet and a digitally managed warehouse. According to our own analysis, up to 85 per cent of components go back into circulation. The approach is described in detail on our page about sustainable exhibition stands, and completed work from industry, horticulture and retail is shown in our project gallery.

Hall and open-air ground: one balance, two sites

Many GaLaBau exhibitors spread their presence across both worlds. Inside the halls, build heights, fire safety requirements and service lists of NürnbergMesse apply. Outdoors, ground conditions, weather and surface protection join the list.

For machinery presentations in the open air, protective ground plates under bearing surfaces, ballasted structures instead of anchoring and weatherproof, reusable platforms have proved reliable. Lawns recover well when driving lanes are protected and areas are handed back in order after dismantling. The requirements valid for each edition are set out in the technical guidelines and the open-air information sheet issued by the organiser.

From claim to evidence

A stand that is dismantled, stored and rebuilt is the most convincing product sample a supplier of green infrastructure can offer. So start early: review your component stock, keep graphics timeless, and commission dismantling and documentation together with the build.

Dates for the coming editions are listed in our trade fair calendar. Once your space in Nuremberg is confirmed and you would like to know how much of it can come from existing stock, we are happy to calculate it with you.