The year was 1965: Ludwig Erhard was Chancellor of Germany and the Rolling Stones performed in Germany for the first time. That year, six German trade fair companies decided to create uniform standards for determining figures for exhibitors, floor space and visitors: Düsseldorfer Messegesellschaft mbH NOWEA, Messe- und Ausstellungs-GmbH Frankfurt, Deutsche Messe- und Ausstellungs-AG Hannover, Messe- und Ausstellungs-GmbH Köln-Deutz, Offenbacher Messe GmbH and Spielwarenmesse eGmbH in Nuremberg. The FKM – Gesellschaft zur freiwilligen Kontrolle von Messe- und Ausstellungszahlen (Association for the Voluntary Control of Fair and Exhibition Statistics) was born. And Carl Ferdinand von der Heyde, then head of the Cologne trade fair, was elected as the first chairman of the FKM.
From the outset, it was clear that transparency and credibility were key. The newly founded FKM therefore decided to have these standards audited. Competition between trade fairs was fierce, figures were often embellished and the confidence of the exhibiting industry was correspondingly low. The FKM ensured that audited data once again offered reliability. Prof. Dr Erwin Pougin was the first auditor.
The FKM officially began its work in 1966 and audited 22 trade fairs in its first year – an internationally recognised signal for greater fairness and clarity in the trade fair business. Today, 60 years later, this claim is more relevant than ever.
With 33 members and over 200 trade fairs registered for auditing, FKM continues to ensure that exhibitors and trade fair visitors can make decisions about their participation in trade fairs based on transparent and reliable figures.
The auditing firm EY (Ernst & Young) has been conducting these audits for around 30 years. Two decades ago, it took over the company from Erwin Pougin, the auditor from the early days of FKM.
