We use ESG toughened safety glass from 4 mm. Glass is a durable material, versatile and easy to clean. It is also 100% recyclable and can be reused infinitely many times without any loss of quality.
OPTIMAL MESSEBAU
Since 1986, our 15-person team has been delivering optimal trade show appearances for our international customers across Europe.
Each team member contributes their strengths, and every project is driven to success with real passion. Our in-house workshop also brings custom requests to life. Everything else we implement reliably together with our long-standing, trusted partners.
For us, saving resources is not just a buzzword — it’s the potential to leave a world worth living in for future generations. We create high-quality, durable and reusable exhibition stands that highlight our customers’ corporate design. optimal stands for sustainability! From well-planned digital design and a modular construction system, to setup and dismantling, all the way to the responsible use of remaining materials.
We strive to keep our footprint as small as possible. We are committed to an optimal future.
Every customer comes with their own corporate design, and the exhibition stand has to fit each individual brand. It’s the business card — the flagship – of every company. But how does that work sustainably?
Every stand space differs in size, shape and floor conditions. Doesn’t everything have to be adapted? Tailor-made for every customer at every show. Surely that means cutting everything to size, buying new materials, wrapping everything in plastic so nothing gets damaged? And how do all these elements get from A to B – from Hamburg to Munich, or even abroad? And most importantly: what happens to the stand when the trade show is over? It might not fit the next show – too small, too large, and different products need to be presented. So what then?
These are exactly the questions we’ve been asking ourselves. And we never tire of improving every single step. Innovation, creativity and passion enable us to keep getting better – not only economically, but above all in terms of sustainability.
Exhibition Stand Components
We are a sales partner of Aluvision and a developer and manufacturer of aluminium system frames. Using these aluminium system frames, we can flexibly realise any stand size for any customer — with no trouble at all. Completely tool-free! After the event, everything is packed away and stored, ready for many more projects.
“We choose a 100% reusable end product and sustainable materials. Did you know that aluminium is the most abundant metal on our planet? It is strong yet lightweight. It has a long life cycle and is fully recyclable. This leads to greener and smarter solutions for everyone. The recycling process requires only about 5% of the energy compared to producing primary aluminium. We can say that at least 75% of our frames are made from recycled aluminium.”
Wood-based material
Wood is a renewable raw material and has a particularly long life cycle. Its environmental footprint is especially favourable. We use only wood products certified with the PEFC label, for example blockboard, raw chipboard and melamine-faced decorative panels.
Glass
We use ESG toughened safety glass from 4 mm. Glass is a durable material, versatile and easy to clean. It is also 100% recyclable and can be reused infinitely many times without any loss of quality.
Flooring (plastic)
Cradle-to-cradle
is the key here!
We use designer flooring made from recycled and recyclable raw materials as well as recycled plastics for sustainable use at trade shows. Any offcuts produced during installation or tiles that can no longer be used are collected and recycled by our supplier through its take-back and recycling programme, “Restart.”
“In our many in-house recycling centres, we recycle both offcuts and used flooring. Tarkett is the first flooring manufacturer to implement closed-loop recycling for vinyl, carpet tiles and linoleum.”
In addition, we use the loose-lay technique when installing our floors. It ensures quick installation and removal without adhesives. This means the subfloor stays clean and tidy and can be reused straight away next time.
Fabrics
For our stand cladding, we use fabrics from trusted partners who actively focus on sustainability and continually contribute new innovations in recycling.
In addition to sustainability, fabrics have the major advantage of being lighter than wooden panels and requiring less space during transport. The high print quality makes it possible to reuse graphics more often. The fabric panels are inserted using keder (piping) and therefore do not require screws or nails either.
Surface Coating:
Paints and Stains
For wooden panels with a surface finish, we use PEFC-certified decorative panels. When using paints and stains, we deliberately work with water-based products.
Packagings
We completely avoid shrink wrap, bubble wrap and other single-use packaging materials. optimal Messebau uses stackable OSB/3 crates, Euro pallets, packing blankets made from recycled textile fibres, Euro mesh boxes and plastic crates. These solutions also give us far more order and save time — and in the end, they save money as well. Setup and dismantling are well structured, and there’s no pile of plastic waste that has to be sorted and disposed of afterwards.
Energy supply
We source our electricity from solar panels on our company building. Our forklifts are equipped with electric motors. The lighting on our exhibition stands — as well as in our offices and warehouse — is exclusively LED. In addition, some of our employees already use the “e-bike leasing” programme.
Transport
We use semi-trailers with Euro 6-class tractor units. We also avoid partially loaded or empty trips by creating a loading plan before each truck is loaded and making full use of the available cargo space.
All exhibition stand materials are reused and, if desired, can also be stored at our facility. This eliminates the need for disposal. We aim to minimise waste in our day-to-day work, and any remaining materials such as cardboard or paper are disposed of properly.
Dokumentation
We document 95% of our workflows and planning digitally. Quotes, orders and purchase orders are sent 100% digitally.
Employees
Our employees can also work from home if desired. We place great emphasis on an ergonomic, suitable workstation for every team member. Employee satisfaction is very important to us, and we support each individual in their professional development. Regular one-to-one meetings foster a clear relationship of trust and give everyone the opportunity to contribute improvements.
Cleaning
We clean our exhibition stands using durable fibres that can handle most cleaning tasks even without detergents. Our cleaning products are free from microplastics, biodegradable and “Made in Germany.”
We are proud of our progress to date and of the ideas that continue to drive us forward.
“Those who stand still, fall behind.” There is still a lot to do.
We want to continue promoting sustainable, economically sound growth.
We are also planning further steps to digitise construction records and warehouse management. Tablets and monitors will provide a clearer overview when preparing and assembling materials. In addition, we will keep updating our website to ensure it remains accessible and user-friendly. We also plan to further expand our rental offering of exhibition system components.