The Poznań International Fair (PIF,
Polish: Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie, MTP) is the biggest industrial
fair in Poland. It is held on the Poznań fairground in Poland. Poznań International Fair is located in the centre of the city opposite the main railway station –
Poznań Główny, in the centre of Poland and in the centre of Europe.[1]
Typically, there are about 13,200 exhibitors including about 3,000 foreign companies from 70 countries of the world participating in 80 trade fair events organized on the grounds of the Poznań fair.[1]
The Poznań-based fair owns the largest exhibition and conference infrastructure in Poland, including 16 high standard air-conditioned halls with a large exhibition area (over 110,000 square metres (1,200,000 sq ft) in exhibition halls and almost 35,000 square metres (380,000 sq ft) on open grounds) and 81 modern conference rooms.[1]
History
The idea of organising a modern fair by Polish manufacturers and merchants had its origins during the congress of the Union of Merchant Associations held in Poznań in 1917. The Union was an organisation of Polish merchants from
Greater Poland and
Eastern Pomerania. The fair was required to be of an international character and organised like the
Leipzig Trade Fair. The first Poznań Trade Fair (I Targ Poznański), as it was called, took place in 1921 (from 28 May till 5 June), and the first chairman was
Mieczysław Krzyżankiewicz.
Before 1924, only Polish companies, companies from
Free City of Gdańsk and foreign companies with branches in Poland which were represented by Polish citizens could participate. During 1924, agreements were signed with companies from
Czechoslovakia, France,
Yugoslavia,
Latvia, Germany,
Romania, Switzerland, and Sweden, so that the first really international fair took place in 1925.[2]
In 1927 the PIF was accepted as a member of the
UFI.
The intensive developments of the 1920s were crowned by the huge
General National Exhibition (
Polish: Powszechna Wystawa Krajowa, PWK, PeWuKa) of 1929 that was visited by 4,5 mln people. This was the year that the
Great Depression began. Despite the difficult economic situation, the PIF survived and at the end of the
interbellum it was one of largest companies of its kind in Europe. During World War II, the company ceased to exist, its infrastructure was confiscated, and turned into a factory of
Focke-Wulf, which made the PIF a military target for the Allied air forces. This led to great destruction of its infrastructure in 1945. During the war 85% of the PIF was destroyed, but despite this damage, the first postwar exhibition took place in 1946 and one year later, in 1947, the PIF had already regained its international character. In 1990 the Poznań International Fair transformed into a limited liability company with the State Treasure as one of its shareholders Since then the PIF is continuing to expand and enlarge its exhibition space.
Poznań International Fair today
Today the PIF is the largest trade fair organizer in Poland (by over 50% of total exhibition area and over 60% of exhibitors). It is the 21st largest fair in the world, with about 50 trade events taking place on its area every year. Area of PIF is over 110,000 m2 (1,200,000 sq ft) indoor and 35,000 m2 (380,000 sq ft) outdoor exhibition space. PIF a is state-owned company – 60% of shares belong to
Polish State Treasury, and 40% to the City of
Poznań. MTP organises expositions of Polish leaders at over 50 renowned trade shows and exhibitions abroad in such countries as: Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.[1]
MTP has foreign representative offices all over the world. The
World Expo Company is an official representative office of MTP Group in Ukraine and works on such exhibitions as
Budma and other. Every year, MTP organises over 1,600 congresses, conferences and workshops and hosts about 100,000 participants at these events.[1]
List of annual exhibitions organized by the PIF
PIF highlights
Between 29 December 2009 and 2 January 2010, Poznań International Fair – Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie (MTP) hosted participants of Taizé's 32nd European Meeting for Young Adults
Saldent 2006
Education Fair 2010
Education Fair 2010
2017 Poznań Motor Show
Polagra AGRO-PREMIERY – International Trade Fair of Agricultural Mechanization
AQUA-SAN – Bathroom and Wellness Exhibition
BAKEPOL – Trade Fair for the Bakery Industry in
Kielce
Bezpieczeństwo Pracy w Przemyśle – Work Safety in Industry Exhibition
Biuro – Fair of Office Furniture and Furnishing
Body Style – Exhibition of Lingerie and Beach Fashion
Budma – International Construction Fair
Bumasz – International Fair for Construction Machines, Tools and Equipment
BuyPoland – workshop for the tourism industry
Dodatki do żywności – International Food Ingredients Show
Home Decor – Exhibition of textiles, table and kitchen, light, interior design
Drema – International Trade Fair of Machines and Tools for the Wood and Furniture Industries
Targi Edukacyjne – Education Fair
Energia – Power Industry Exhibition
Eurofoto – Trade Fair of Photographic Products and Services
Expopower – Power Industry Fair
Farma – International Trade Fair of Animal Breeding, Horticulture and Rural Development
Poznańskie Dni Mody – Fair of Clothing and Fabrics
Festiwal Przedmiotów Artystycznych – Festival of Artistic Objects
FIT-EXPO – Fair of Fitness and Body & Fashion
Furnica – Trade Fair of Components for Furniture Production
FurniFab – Furniture Fabric Show – Supply Show for the Upholstered Furniture Industry
Gardenia – Garden Trade Fair
Wiosenna Giełda Turystyczna – Spring Tourist Market
Euro-Reklama GIFT EXPO – International Trade Fair of Advertising Goods and Services
HiPeCo – International Trade Fair for Hygiene and Pest Control
HOBBY – Salon Modelarstwa – Show of modellers
Infosystem – Fair of IT Solution for industry and administration
Instalacje – International Trade Fair for Installations and Equipment
Intermasz – International Trade Fair of Textile, Clothes and Shoemaking Machines
Investfield – Property and Investment Salon
Gastro-Invest-Hotel – Exhibition of Products and Services for the Hotel and Catering Industry
Targi Książki – Poznań Fair for Books for Children and Young People
KWO – National Horticultural Exhibition
KWZH – National Animal Breeding Exhibition
Look – Hairdressing and Cosmetics Forum
Mach-Tool – Machine Tools Exhibition
Meble – Fair of Furniture and Furnishing
Metalforum – Exhibition of Metallugrical, Foundry Engineering and Metallurgy Industry
Motoryzacja – TTM – Automotive Technology Fair
NA RYBY – Angling Equipment Trade Fair
Natura Sanat – International Health Resort and Tourism Trade Fair in
Polanica Zdrój
Nauka dla gospodarki – Exhibition Science for the Economy
Next Season – Fair of long-term contracts
Poznański Salon Optyczny – Optical Salon
Euro-Reklama OUTDOOR EXPO – International Trade Fair of Advertising Goods and Services
Pakfood – Fair of Packaging for Food Industry
PGA – Game Arena – Exhibition of video and computer games
Polagra-Food – International Trade Fair for the Foodstuffs and Gastronomy
Polagra-Tech – International Trade Fair of Food Processing Technologies Polagra-Tech
Poleko – International Ecological Fair
Poligrafia – International Fair of Printing Machines, Materials and Services
Poznańskie Spotkanai Motoryyzacyjne – Automotive Industry Meetings
Roltechnika – Exhibition of Agricultural Machines and Equipment – (takes place in
Bierkowice [
pl] city quarter of
Opole)
Saldent – International Dentistry Fair
SALMED – International Trade Fair of Medical Equipment
Salus – Prevention and Health Care Forum and Exhibition
Sawo – International Fair of Work Protection, Rescue and Fire-Fighting
Securex – International Security Exhibition
Targi Obuwia, Skóry i Wyrobów Skórzanych – Fair of Shoes, Leather and Leather goods
Surfex – Exhibition of Surface Treatment Technologies
Świat Dziecka – Trade Fair of Goods for Children
Taropak – International Packaging Technology and Logistics Exhibition
Jerzy Topolski, Lech Trzeciakowski (red) Dzieje Poznania, tom II cz. 1 1793–1918, Warszawa-Poznań 1994, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe
ISBN83-01-11393-6
Jerzy Topolski, Lech Trzeciakowski (red) Dzieje Poznania, tom II cz. 2 1918–1945, Warszawa-Poznań 1998, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe
ISBN83-01-12401-6
Zbigniew Zakrzewski, Przechadzki po Poznaniu lat miedzywojennych wyd. II, Warszawa-Poznań 1983, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe,
ISBN83-01-04696-1