On 1 November 2010, Michael Biwer took over the position of Director at Prolight and Sound, the world’s largest events technology trade fair, from his predecessor, Jurgen Kupczik.
Biwer, 33, has worked in various positions at Messe Frankfurt since 2004 and has worked with the Prolight + Sound team since 2008. A business economics graduate (BA), he has had extensive experience in the field of events technology and in the world of trade fairs at large. Pro-Systems journalist Greg Bester caught up with Mr Biwer at Frankfurt 2013 to find out a little more about him and Prolight and Sound 2013.

Michael, give a bit of background on yourself. What is your history?
I started with Sony Music and was with them for a long time. I then went to Messe Frankfurt to do a study programme where you work for three months and study for three months over three years. In this time I did a bit of organising with my colleagues as a student for Musikmesse and Prolight and Sound. Because I’m a musician my heart beats for music. It was a dream for me to work on these exhibitions. However, it did not work well for me initially as all the positions were filled. So I started to work as a team assistant for technical shows worldwide, starting with a sanitary heating show in China.

So that was your foot in the door?
Exactly. That was my first step at Messe Frankfurt in a real position. After that I was promoted as a sales manager for Light and Building that deals with decorative lighting, which gave me a view into technical lighting. I did quite well with Light and Building sales and then moved on to the International Meat Fair called IFA.
Eventually the previous director of Prolight and Sound, Jurgen Kupczik, called me and said, “We have a job position at Prolight and Sound in pro audio. Are you interested?’ So I said, yeah, that would be amazing, I would love to do it! I then started as a sales manager for the audio section in hall eight. After three and a half years, in 2010, Mr Kupczik decided to change his position at Mess Frankfurt and was I fortunate enough to be promoted to show director. I have the background from the Light and Building show and because I am a musician I know the industry quite well. Now my part is quite different to a sales manager. I do the strategy, concept and vision.

Was taking over from Jurgen Kupczik quite a challenge or a natural transition, being involved in the pro audio section previously?
New positions are always a challenge but not just because I took over from Mr Kupczik. It is a challenge because you have to think about how to improve the show, how to keep it fresh, and how to bring your own face to it. Jurgen Kupczik directed the show for nine years and he did a great job so it’s always a challenge to continue that success. But I have my own visions, thoughts and strategies so it was quite easy for me to look at the show, talk to the clients a about the future and then implement my goals.

Can you give me a little bit of background as to how Prolight and Sound started?
Actually, it started a long time ago at the spring show, a consumer goods show, at Messe Frankfurt. In this spring show there was section for musical instruments and also professional lighting and audio. I don’t know exactly the year but after many years of exhibiting music products there, Musikmesse emerged in 1980. As part of Musikmesse, there were obviously sections for audio, lighting, etc, but the first Prolight and Sound as a self-made show began in 1994. So 2014 will be the 20th anniversary of Prolight and Sound.

What do you see the show doing in the next five years? Do you expect more growth?
Of course, as an exhibition organiser you always want more growth and you also need to grow because your superiors are looking at your figures! But from my point of view, it is more about improving the quality of the show. At the moment I see many different product groups merging together. If you look at the London Olympics, I got the feeling that it was the first time where cameras, media networks, lighting and audio all spoke to each other over networks. So that’s why we are trying to get every manufacturer in this section in one place in the future.
The other direction is broadcast production where all the camera technology is. So, for the first time we had the Moving Picture Pavilion in hall nine, where you’ll find all the camera manufacturers. So this is the beginning for that. I think there is a big potential for that in the future. Yet another direction is a theatre technology section. We see a potential in that as well as there are companies who cater to this market who are not here. Digital signage and LED technologies is also emerging. You really just need to take care of your target groups and make sure that our exhibitors are satisfied.

A common gripe from exhibitors is that it’s expensive to participate in the show and it’s difficult to see a return from it. Do you hear that from your exhibitors? What do you have to say to that?
We do hear that. Of course, there will be exhibitors who won’t have new visitors to their stand so that’s why we try every single year to look at the market to find new potential customers. That is why we implement new sections. We, at the moment, are a very technical show but we are starting to look at agencies, planners, engineers to participate in the show.
I think a main point for a successful show like Mediatech and ours is to look back on previous years to find out who the visitors were and who the new ones will potentially be. Of course, people come to the show to network, but if you come to the show and see the same people year on year, it will have a negative effect. We really work closely with our exhibitors. If they tell me they couldn’t find any new visitors to their stand, I ask them what we can do to get the right visitors there. We then look where we can find them in the market and invite them. We also set up advertising partnerships, which helps.

Anything else you’d like to add?
Come to our show! (Laughs).