COLOMBIA – Koelnmesse is further expanding its presence on the Latin American market with the establishment of the subsidiary Koelnmesse SAS in Colombia. Headquartered in Bogotá, Koelnmesse is the first international trade fair organizer to be represented in this key Latin American trade fair market with its own subsidiary.

“With the establishment of this subsidiary, we want to make even better use of the potential that Colombia and the Andes region as a whole offers us. As the third-largest national economy in Latin America, Colombia is very important for us as a trade fair market, but also for our events in Cologne,” explains Gerald Böse, CEO of Koelnmesse GmbH.

Koelnmesse has been active in Colombia since 2014. Together with the Colombian trade fair company Corferias, which operates the largest trade fair grounds in the Andes region, Koelnmesse currently organizes three trade fairs locally: The food technology fair Alimentec, the packaging technology fair Andina-Pack as well as Feria Mueble & Madera as a business platform for the furniture supplier industry. Koelnmesse is thus represented in the market with its global fields of competence in Food and FoodTec and in Furniture, Interiors and Design.

Christian Guarin will become Managing Director of the subsidiary on 1 June 2018. The 48-year-old native Colombian last worked as Sales and Marketing Director for a trade fair representative in Spain. Prior to that, he held various positions, particularly in marketing and sales, in an international context and with a focus on the Spanish and Latin American markets.

The subsidiary will be responsible for Koelnmesse events in Colombia and for the distribution of Koelnmesse’s global events to Colombian exhibitors and visitors.