Nordbau construction fair
Photo: Holstenhallen Neumünster

68th NordBau – outdoor area fully booked and highly topical themes in the halls: Water security, energy saving, attracting young talent and much more.


(Neumünster)
The 68th NordBau will take place from 6 to 10 September 2023 at the Holstenhallen Neumünster exhibition centre. The largest compact trade fair for construction in northern Europe is a meeting place and exchange platform for the construction industry and all those responsible for construction from the entire Baltic Sea region. Visitors can expect a fully booked outdoor area with a wide range of construction machinery and equipment for building construction and civil engineering as well as commercial vehicles. The proportion of vehicles with battery and electric operation is steadily increasing, as is the digitalisation of construction sites. The halls offer comprehensive information for architects, planners and builders.

Opening with representatives from politics, business and industry: focus on water

The 68th NordBau will be opened by Claus Ruhe Madsen, Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister for Economics, Transport, Labour, Technology and Tourism on 6 September at 11 am. The special theme of NordBau “Water… & Building” will be the focus of the opening event. Gesine Strohmeyer, Managing Director of Hamburg Wasser, will shed light on the resilience of the water industry. Lykke Leonardsen will report on how Copenhagen became a sponge city and thus a pioneer for many other cities in Europe. As an expert in the municipal administration of Copenhagen, she is significantly involved in the implementation. Finally, the close connection to the NordBau partner country Denmark will be underlined by Embassy Counsellor Mikkel Hagen Hess.

“Water … & build” – Challenges and opportunities for the construction industry

This year NordBau has taken up the theme “Water… & Build”: heavy rainfall, flood protection, water supply and the environment are the fields in focus. The NordBau special theme highlights the challenges and (constructional) developments that are becoming increasingly urgent around water management. Ideas, solutions and models are presented that are intended to inspire or can also be implemented directly: Near-natural hydraulic engineering, fish ladders, rainwater retention basins, energy-autonomous and crisis-proof waterworks, green roofs with delayed water run-off for further water supply, models for dyke construction and coastal protection, water hazard management, safeguarding drinking water quality – to name just a few examples. A special show in Hall 6 will show visitors the resilience of water management – supplemented by accompanying seminars.

The committed partners of the special theme include: Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg with its hydraulic engineering laboratory, Kiel University of Applied Sciences Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Christian Albrechts University Kiel, the implementing authorities of the ministries (for coastal protection, for road construction and for the environment), the Fachverband Garten-, Landschafts- und Sportplatzbau SH (SH Professional Association for Gardening, Landscaping and Sports Ground Construction), the Landesinnung der Brunnenbauer (State Guild of Well Builders), the globally active company HamburgWasser as well as renowned manufacturers of suitable products.

Municipalities, construction companies, planning institutions and all interested parties will receive answers on risk assessment, how to minimise impacts and how to exploit opportunities. Sustainable water management – a special topic of current and urgent importance that holds challenging and huge implementation projects in store for the construction industry.

Energy saving, tiles and bathroom, interior design and kitchen.

In the exhibition hall for heating and energy technology, equipment and products for alternative energy generation and saving will be increasingly presented by manufacturers and service providers. The central advice stand of the Consumer Advice Centre and Haus & Grund will again be located in the middle of Hall 7 due to the great demand last year. Through forward-looking planning and retrofitting, taking efficiency into account, individual solutions for energy use can be identified – for households and businesses. The experts on site will be available to answer questions – without prior appointment.

The Landesfachgruppe Fliesen und Natursteine (State Specialist Group for Tiles and Natural Stones) will hold its autumn conference as part of NordBau, underlining the importance of the fair for these building materials. Parallel to this, suppliers from the tile, bathroom profiles and construction chemicals sectors will be presenting their wide range of products. Well-known exhibitors of kitchens round off the range of products for interior fittings

Research pavilion shows significant progress in the concrete 3D printing process

Students from Lübeck University of Applied Sciences will present the Hexastone research pavilion at NordBau, which, from the point of view of the university and industry, represents a significant advance in the concrete 3D printing process. Industrial partners in the project are Sika Deutschland GmbH, a speciality chemicals company for the construction and manufacturing industries, and Vertico, a Dutch start-up. “The research pavilion is interesting for us because with the students and their pavilion we can push the boundaries of what is possible in 3D concrete printing and decisively develop our know-how,” says Volker Ruitinga, founder of Vertico, in whose company for concrete 3D printing services and robots in Eindhoven the Hexastone elements are printed. The micro-concrete for 3D printing comes from Sika Deutschland GmbH, the market leader in concrete technology. Its market field manager Peter Löschnig is also enthusiastic about the gain in knowledge: “We are happy to support the research project of the TH Lübeck, as it allows us to test our material in the experimental process and gain new knowledge for further development.” Research vividly presented hands-on in Hall 1

Sustainability in building construction – an eye on the future

Other projects demonstrate energy-saving and resource-conserving construction – presented by the Schleswig-Holstein Materials Testing Institute and the Forum Kreislaufwirtschaft Bau (forum circular economy construction), consisting of important players and associations in the construction industry. It is underlined that mineral building materials, such as bricks, clinker bricks, sand-lime bricks and concrete are essential building materials that will continue to play a decisive role in planners’ designs. However, the “ReUse” aspect is also becoming increasingly important for building projects: the ecological footprint and the climate consideration are essential factors for building in the future, according to university professors.

Fascination building jobs nordjob Bau

What types of construction jobs are there? Who provides training? What do they work with and how? On the 7th of September, the participating companies offer practical information to pupils from general education schools and pre-vocational schools. The day is organised and run by the Institute for Talent Development. People talk to each other here – this also applies to young professionals and interested companies.

Start-Up Stage 2023 – new companies meet established industry players

Networking and exchange is also the motto of the premiere of the Start-Up Stage 2023 in Hall 4. LECTURA GmbH initiated this format with the support of the Federal Association of Digital Construction (BDBau). Young companies are given the opportunity here to enter into conversation with the classic construction industry: Presenting ideas and concepts, recognising pitfalls, breaking up deadlocked paths. On all five days of the fair there will be short presentations of the start-ups on a separate stage.

Extensive training programme

The trade fair will once again be accompanied by an extensive further training programme. More than 4,500 conference participants are expected to attend the more than 50 lecture events at NordBau, of which a good half are officially recognised training events by the SH Chamber of Architects and Engineers. Trade fair visit included.

Source: Nordbau