Stand construction systems: World of unlimited possibilities

Many systems meet designers’ wishes while giving planners what they want as well: faster construction, greater safety or surprising features, for example.

Japanese exhibition construction companies are often more demanding of stand construction systems than their counterparts in other regions. The new Syma-Cubic multi-storey system meets all their key requirements. Construction at twice the speed with half the manpower? That’s what this system, with its profile frame and convenient hook connectors, was designed to achieve. Its robust modular staircase and load-bearing capacity of 500 kg per square metre are also persuasive factors to the planners from the Land of the Rising Sun. And last but not least, the stands have to be earthquake resistant. Syma-Cubic fits the bill in all these respects. Sakura was one of the first exhibition stand construction companies to introduce the system to Japan. The system’s Japanese debut was a stand for Murata Machinery Ltd at the logistics trade fair Logis-Tech 2014 in Tokyo.
 
But the starting shot was fired in Kirchberg in Switzerland, where the Syma systems are developed and manufactured. Sakura tested the Cubic system there with a trial stand. This was followed by staff training in Tokyo, the preparation work for which was also done in Switzerland. “The training was tailored to meet Sakura’s requirements and also included components such as stress analysis,” recalls Beat Müller, head of sales at Syma: “One of our employees travelled to Tokyo to help Sakura and ensure the system was handled in the best possible way in the future.” Everything went like clockwork at the trade fair. The multi-storey stand went up on a just-in-time basis at the first attempt. And Murata Machinery, the exhibitor, expressed great satisfaction. The ground floor offered plenty of space for presenting its transport systems for automated production. Two flights of stairs led to the upper floor, which featured a spacious lounge and bistro (www.syma.com).

A kind of aluminium band swung over the heads of visitors to the stand, which rose from its floor anchoring like a kind of huge boomerang. Walls, pillars, information boards and displays were arranged under it. This is how Gurit, a Swiss manufacturer of composite materials, presented itself at the trade fair JEC 2015 in Paris. The stand appeared to be individually designed down to the last detail, but that was just a reflection of the potential of the Bematrix construction system. Because not all of its parts are made on the construction kit principle. Companies such as Bematrix, which is based in Roeselare, Belgium, develop and design the elements of their stands based on their customers’ design ideas. If required, they create complete modular stand concepts on the basis of unique designs. The company had already developed a stand for Gurit in 2014.
 
For the 2015 trade fair, Bematrix altered many parts and added others – based entirely on designs by the exhibition stand architects of the British company Enigma. The Gurit stand grew to a size of 144 square metres. And instead of exclusively fabric walls, the exhibitor had the building clad using its own aluminium composite panels as well as other components. There were also LED strips and a variety of other custom elements. “Enigma’s exhibition stand architects were told just to make it even better,” explains Enigma account manager Richard Bicknall. But the design requirements were not the only challenge: “We had very little time in which to build the stand. And the floor wasn’t level, so we had to use additional base plates.” But this is where the modular system came into its own. A team of eight people erected the stand, which had never been built before, in less than three days (www.bematrix.com).

There are some walls you can hear as well as see: The modular system range of Modul International, a company based in Neuss, appeals to the ears as well as the eyes – literally. The new Modul AudioPanel sound walls can convey advertising messages verbally. Or they can accentuate images and moods with music. “We are finding new ways to bring sound to wherever it is desired. Whether that’s at exhibition stands, in shops, at information points or at conferences. And every new sound can stimulate the senses,” says Bruna Marques, head of marketing at Modul International. The secret of the talking, music-playing wall is an integrated sound module. This transforms your entire space into one big loudspeaker. The sound module can be connected to a smartphone, tablet computer or SD card.
 
AudioPanel walls can be supplied fully assembled or in parts, as required. They consist of a silver anodised aluminium frame filled with fabric graphics or lightweight foam panels. Visitors to Viscom, an international fair for visual communication held in Düsseldorf at the start of November 2015, were able to experience their audiovisual impact. Modul International also presented numerous other new products there, as well as other structures made using the Frame Solutions series and demonstrating the wide variety of applications. “You can have light boxes, ceiling lights, free-standing displays or completely illuminated walls, for example. The possibilities are virtually unlimited,” emphasises marketing executive Bruna Marques: “Thanks to the simplicity of the system, which consists of just aluminium profiles, silicone beading and some ingenious lighting technology, everything can be assembled in next to no time” (www.modul-int.com).