This year, the world's leading trade show for transport technology and mobility is the biggest trade show that Berlin has ever had: the entire site is fully booked - from the exhibition halls to the summer garden and the track area. This corresponds to an area the size of 16 football pitches or five times the size of Berlin's Olympic Stadium. The exhibition area is growing in height: around 100 exhibition stands are two-storey, some even have three floors. A total of 2,940 exhibitors from 59 countries will be presenting themselves at InnoTrans.

A particular highlight of InnoTrans is the track area with 3.5 kilometres of track - roughly the length of the Straße des 17. Juni from the Brandenburg Gate to Ernst-Reuter-Platz. A total of 133 trains will be presented here. The longest train is over 100 metres long.

Setting up InnoTrans is a masterpiece of logistics: in the past few days, trains from all over the world have travelled to the exhibition grounds. The longest journey was made by a train from China. The particular challenge in setting up the exhibition on the railway yard is to get all the trains to the right place in a short space of time. In addition, over 2000 40 tonne lorries deliver stand construction materials and exhibits around the clock. Some exhibits are so large that they have to be delivered by heavy goods vehicles. A total of around 50 heavy goods vehicles have been registered for the construction and dismantling of InnoTrans.

The 14th edition of InnoTrans will take place at the Berlin Exhibition Centre from 24 to 27 September. Berlin will once again become the international hub for the mobility of tomorrow. Trade visitors from all over the world are expected to attend. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck and EU Director-General Magda Kopczyńska have also announced their visit.

Igor Palka has been responsible for ‘Tech and Business Development’ at Messe Berlin since 1 September. The 40-year-old has more than 20 years of experience in the trade fair industry. Palka also has many years of experience abroad in Asia, where he was in charge of Messe München's foreign trade fairs and successfully launched various trade fairs in Southeast Asia.

‘With Igor Palka on board, we are relying on experience and innovative strength. He will not only further develop existing concepts, but also set new accents to drive the growth and internationalisation of Messe Berlin,’ says Dr Mario Tobias, CEO of Messe Berlin.

In his new position, Palka will be responsible for New Business Development and Messe Berlin's internationalisation strategy. His area of responsibility includes the New Business Team, the management of the trade fair's global international network and the ‘Business Insights and Analytics’ analysis areas. In his new role, he will also be responsible for Messe Berlin's technology trade fairs - Europe's leading event for digital health DMEA, the Fintech Festival FIBE, the Smart Country Convention the leading event for the digital state and public services and droidcon's global developer conferences, as there is great future potential for the further development of trade fair concepts, particularly in the area of technology.

To the LinkedIn profile of Igor Palka