“The transformation of the working world.” Such is the wide-ranging theme of this year’s Orgatec, the leading international trade fair for the modern working world, held every two years, at the end of October, at the sprawling Koelnmesse in Cologne.
Using data from Orgatec 2012, exhibitor count is expected to surpass 600, hailing from 40 countries. Spread out over a million square feet of space, they will cover all the major product segments, from furnishings and flooring to acoustics and lighting to conference technology. Taking it all in will be 50,000 visitors (about 48 per cent of the total from outside Germany, from 120 countries). A half-dozen of the Koelnmesse’s expansive halls will be devoted to Orgatec 2014.
Halls 6 to 9 encompass the Orgatec Trend Forum, with innovative solutions for office furnishings from the likes of Dauphin, Giroflex, Haworth, Interface, Interstul, König + Neurath, Sedus, Tobias Grau, Unifor, Vitra and Wilkhahn.
Hall 10 is home to Orgatec Contract, with comprehensive furnishings for public spaces, including transit lounges, hotel lobbies and restaurants; exhibiting are such high-profile companies as Andreu World, Arper, Carpet Concept, De Sede, Fritz Hansen, Hay, Poltrana Frau and Walter Knoll.
Hall 11 houses two Competence Centres: Orgatec Space, which covers lighting, flooring walls, climate and acoustics solutions; and Orgatec Mobile, showcasing software modules, mobile terminals and others means facilitating today’s dynamic work on the go. It also houses a Speakers’ Corner, a brand-new attraction.
Two crown-pleasing supporting programs – Ogatec Boulevard and Insight Cologne – make a return engagement. Orgatec Boulevard offers an ideal place to network, with its four different communication zones and lounge areas with a feel-good vibe in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the fair; this year’s theme, fleshed out by Dutch designer Dick Spierenburg, is “Out of Office.” Insight Cologne (Oct. 24) takes the visitor even further afield, offering evening tours of 15 offices and buildings in the city centre of Cologne.
Part of the pleasure mixed with the business of Orgatec it to be had exploring all parts of charming, historical, low-key Cologne in the mild month of October.
Orgatec runs at Cologne’s Koelnmesse from Oct. 21-25.