Trade show expertise for the machinery, plant engineering, and automation industries
In mechanical and plant engineering, your trade show booth determines not only how visible your company is, but also whether visitors understand your technology. That is why you need a booth concept that translates your products into real-world applications and your product features into customer benefits.
We know these challenges inside out. Over the past 20 years, we have designed and built more than 765 trade show booths for customers in mechanical engineering, plant engineering and automation – for trade shows such as K in Düsseldorf, bauma in Munich, SPS in Nuremberg, NPE in Orlando and FABTECH at various locations across the United States.
We turn your trade show project into a sales tool: combining well-considered design with precise technical planning, high-quality execution and a clear focus on your sales objectives. The result is a trade show presence that creates the right setting for productive conversations and successful project discussions.
What machinery and equipment manufacturers expect from their trade show partner
Our expertise for your trade show presence
In machinery, plant engineering, and automation, it’s not just what you show that matters, but how you show it. We combine reliable processes and on‑time delivery with a high-quality implementation of your brand identity and booth concepts that help visitors quickly grasp the essence of your offering. You can see how we put these requirements into practice in the following examples:
Bringing product and application together
Sutco RecyclingTechnik develops sorting and processing systems for plastic recycling. We use large‑format visuals to show the journey from plastic waste to reclaimed raw material. The plant model is showcased under glass.
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Capturing
attention
Machines in action almost magically draw visitors in. For concrete curing specialist Kraft Curing Systems, we use sound and dramatic steam effects to stage the process — made possible by dedicated water and high‑voltage power connections at the booth.
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Showcasing technology that proves its value
Wandres machines remove particles from surfaces, boosting production quality. By integrating high‑voltage power, compressed air, and data connections, we demonstrate the real results this technology delivers in operation.
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Creating visibility in Europe and the USA
We also build trade show projects in the USA for ystral, specialists in mixing and dispersion technology. Thanks to our branch in Cocoa, Florida, we can offer high-quality German trade show construction and project management in the United States as well.
View the project in Germany
View the project in the USA
We bring three key strengths together to make your trade show presence a success.
Process reliability: how we make your trade show booth a success
A trade show project must not only be visually compelling – above all, it must be well organized and executed precisely. This is especially important when numerous internal stakeholders are involved and content needs to be approved on time.
That is why we rely on a clear process that provides clarity from the outset, facilitates decision-making and gives you confidence throughout the planning process. This gives your team peace of mind, clarity and the confidence needed for productive conversations with visitors.
Defining objectives and briefing
We clarify the goals, target audiences, key messages, and framework for your trade show presence.
Budget and concept
Based on your budget, we develop a compelling booth design that can be implemented cost‑effectively.
Staged approvals
You approve ideas, design, technical planning, and content step by step – for greater clarity and fewer last‑minute changes.
Clear responsibilities
You work with one dedicated point of contact at Müller Messebau in Freiburg – for clear, efficient communication.
Responsive when it matters
If something unexpected happens, we react quickly – with experience, short decision paths, and well‑prepared alternatives.
A successful trade show presence
Right on time for the opening day, we hand over a booth that explains your technology, builds trust, and creates excitement. The stage is set for your sales team’s conversations.
Our clear, reliable processes are Müller Messebau’s strongest argument. And that’s not just our opinion – it’s what our clients tell us as well: through repeat projects, multi-show booth concepts, and trade show appearances in new locations, they continue to place their trust in us.
What our clients in machinery, plant engineering, and automation are saying
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Partnering since 2011
65+ completed trade show booths -
Partnering since 2011
50+ completed trade show booths -
Partnering since 2012
45+ completed trade show booths -
Partnering since 2014
35+ completed trade show booths
Are we a good fit?
We’re a great fit for companies in machinery, plant engineering, and automation that value:
Reliable project management from briefing through to the finished booth
High-quality execution of their trade show stand
Presenting complex products and services in a clear, engaging, and easy-to-understand way.
Consistent, faithful implementation of your brand identity.
For us, trade show construction is only a small part about building booths – and a much larger part about building trust. That’s why we’re a particularly good fit for companies that don’t see their trade show booth as a box to check, but as a strategic tool for sales and trust-building.
We’re a less suitable partner for projects that are awarded solely on the basis of the lowest price, or where there are neither clear responsibilities nor reliable approval processes.
How we move forward from here
Planning a trade show project in plant engineering, machinery, or industrial automation? We’d be glad to learn more about it. In an initial conversation, we’ll walk through the key questions together:
- Which trade show are you planning to attend?
- What booth size and layout are you considering?
- Which products or applications should be in the spotlight?
- Which target audiences do you want to reach?
- What does your timeline look like?
- Which internal approvals do we need to factor in?
- What budget have you allocated?
Based on this, we assess how we can implement your project in a way that’s both economically sound and conceptually convincing – with a trade show booth that fits your brand, your products, and your goals for the show.
Questions our clients often ask us
Matthias Glaser has the answers. He's been Managing Director and Project Manager at Müller Messebau since 2011, focusing on trade show projects in the US and international exhibition campaigns. He's also responsible for marketing, sales, and innovation management at our company.
That mostly depends on how central these machines, connections, and demo capabilities are to your trade show booth. If you're building your booth around a standout exhibit that you want to show running live, you should look into your technical requirements, on-site conditions, and the show's regulations as early as the exhibit selection stage. We're happy to help you with that.
Early planning around exhibits matters to us as your booth builder, too, since running cables and lines between the show's connection points and your equipment often calls for a raised floor.
As a general rule:
At the vast majority of trade shows in Europe, you can book connections for high-voltage power, compressed air, data, and fresh/wastewater, so there's nothing standing in the way of running your machines from a technical standpoint.
In our experience, though, the show's rules on emissions, noise, personnel safety, and similar issues matter even more than the technical infrastructure. These requirements are non-negotiable — if you don't meet them, the show can shut down operation of your machine entirely. We're glad to sort all of this out for you.
One thing up front: a detailed briefing is the best foundation for a compelling booth concept and a smooth build. We're especially interested in your answers to the following questions:
- What are your trade show goals?
Do you want to raise brand awareness? Generate new leads? Nurture existing customer relationships? Or gather market feedback? - What should the booth design focus on?
Do you want to showcase products? Attract new visitors? Have in-depth conversations with existing customers? - What should your booth be able to do?
Which exhibits do you want to display? What media do you want to use? How do you want to host your guests? - What guidelines do we need to follow?
Which logos should we feature? Which fonts should we use? What graphic styles and imagery should we work with?
If you have answers to these questions ready — and ideally already aligned across marketing, sales, and leadership — we can move quickly from concept to sign-off. But don't worry: you don't need everything figured out before you call us. Our project managers will walk through every relevant question with you in detail.
It depends. If running your machines live lets you demonstrate real advantages — or even features that set you apart from the competition — then your machine absolutely belongs on the booth. Just keep in mind that operating it means complying with the show's rules on emissions, noise, and personnel safety.
Before committing, take a close look at what the machine actually adds. Large exhibits don't just drive up costs for transport and rigging equipment in the hall — they also eat into the floor space you have for conversations with visitors. In that case, an extra meeting room or a second, more conversation-focused area on the booth can be worth adding, especially if you're scheduling appointments with customers and prospects ahead of time.
And if the key processes happen deep inside the machine, or the equipment is simply too large for the booth, a digital twin can actually tell your story better than the physical exhibit. That could be an animation, a hologram, or an interactive simulation using our 3D Holo Wall. These digital formats also have a life beyond the show itself — you can put them to work in marketing and sales — though they do come with their own costs.
Trade show construction in the US operates at a noticeably lower quality level than what you'll find at European shows. Part of the reason is drayage — the weight-based fees charged for moving booth materials in and out of the convention center. As a result, US booths are built for easy assembly and minimal weight. Drayage rates for exhibits are somewhat lower, but they still add up as a real cost factor.
When it comes to hooking up machinery, keep in mind that the US power grid is different from what you're used to: instead of 230V/50Hz, US outlets run on 120V at 60Hz. For high-voltage connections, the available voltage also depends on the specific building and its electrical service.
Another key difference from Europe: most American trade shows don't offer a water hookup at all. If you need one, we'll need to build fresh and wastewater tanks directly into the booth.
Friction in booth preparation usually comes down to one thing: departments not talking to each other. Marketing often plans the booth without looping in the sales team — or only brings them in late in the process. But it's typically sales who actually staffs the booth and talks to visitors. That's why we make it a priority to bring sales into the planning process early. At the end of the day, our goal isn't just to build a beautiful booth — it's to hand you a sales tool that actually performs.
Visual design has its own pitfalls, too. Machinery and equipment manufacturers tend to gravitate toward blue, since it's associated with authority and trustworthiness. But since so many companies think alike, trade show floors end up packed with blue booths — which makes it that much harder to stand out. That's why we encourage our clients to break away from industry convention and use bold colors and unconventional booth designs to make an impression at first glance.
For new, large-scale booths, we recommend kicking off planning with us 9 to 10 months before the show. Ideally, marketing and sales will have already aligned by that point and put together a joint briefing for the booth concept. For large repeat booths, 6 months of lead time is usually enough. Small booths can typically be planned well with just 3 months' notice.
One important note: we don't start on detailed planning until the show organizer has confirmed your booth space.
We strongly advise against shorter, "last-minute" prep timelines. Time pressure creates cost pressure — especially for booth elements built by outside vendors — and that's money you can simply avoid spending with earlier planning.
With our 3D Holo Wall, we can work with our partner to build digital twins of your machines and equipment. You can integrate these models into your booth as a holographic animation, and put them to work as a sales tool well beyond the show itself.
In many cases, digital twins let you present your equipment more effectively — and show more — than a physical exhibit on the floor ever could. That said, building the model takes time and close collaboration between your engineering team, your marketing team, and our 3D artists. The STEP format makes it easy to bring the data over, but turning it into a working animation still requires significant adaptation and animation work.