The multilingual fair

Trade visitors from more than 40 countries are expected to attend the  ROOF+TIMBER International in Cologne on 18-21 February 2014. The  growing numbers of international visitors at the event are also having an  impact on exhibitors, who are now endeavouring more and more to greet  guests in their own language.

Munich/Cologne 31.10.2013 – According to marketing manager Wolfgang  Holfelder, staff at the stand of Paul Bauder GmbH & Co. KG based in Stuttgart  are able to speak five languages. The company, which produces sealing,  insulation, greening and power generation systems for roofs and markets  them throughout Europe, is expecting many customers from Eastern Europe.
"We will of course be making sure that staff are on hand who can assist these  customers in their own languages and who speak not only English but also  Polish and Russian, for example. English is of course essential for talking to  customers from northern European countries like Norway and Sweden. This  language, plus German and French, are the standard languages at the  company's stand," says Holfelder.  "We will definitely have people at the stand who are able to speak German,  English and French," says Christoph Ohnweiler, project manager for PR and  online communication at Knauf Insulation GmbH from Simbach am Inn. The  company has representations in more than 35 countries. "If we are going to be  receiving a visitor from one of these countries, we will always have a  representative of our company at the stand from the respective country," says  Ohnweiler. Not only are customers from countries like the Netherlands and  Belgium expected at the stand in Cologne, but also visitors from Russia and  the Arab countries. "All of them," he stresses, "will be welcomed in their own  language."

In addition to its trade visitors from Germany, Rheinzink GmbH & Co. KG is  also expecting many international guests, according to Frank Neumann, head  of the application technology and marketing department at the company,  which is based in Datteln in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is for this reason that  its German team at the ROOF+TIMBER International will also be calling on  the support of their international colleagues. This means that in addition to  German, languages spoken at the stand will include English, French, Polish,  Italian, Russian, Latvian and Dutch. According to Neumann, both the show  stand and the products and innovations displayed by the titanium zinc  producer will attract many trade visitors from abroad.

"For us, the ROOF+TIMBER International is an important platform for  marketing and sales activities aimed at carpenters and wood workers,"  explains Tobias Bennerscheidt, head of marketing at Fermacell GmbH. In  addition to its German customers, more and more international guests visit the  stand of the Duisburg company, which produces timber construction and dry  construction systems. "The majority of our customers come from countries  traditionally associated with timber construction, such as Austria and  Switzerland," says Bennerscheidt. "But our standard trade audience at the  exhibition also includes visitors from France, Italy and Scandinavia. This  development is of significance both to the international growth trend of the  event and that of Fermacell itself." English is the language spoken with the  majority of visitors from these countries.

"WOLFIN Bautechnik GmbH has had sales partners and employees in the  field been representing it in many European countries as well as in Asia and  Australia," says export manager Markus Brando. Over the coming years, the  export activities of the company, which produces plastic panels for flat-roof  and structural waterproofing, will focus on developing further central and  eastern European markets. An internationally oriented trade fair like the  ROOF+TIMBER International provides just the right platform, along with  opportunities for creating new international contacts and furthering existing  ones. This is why there are staff manning the stand of the company from the  town of Wächtersbach in Hesse who can speak not only German but also  English and French.

English, French and German are also the standard languages spoken at the  Velux stand, according to Astrid Unger, press spokeswoman and head of  public relations for the Hamburg manufacturer of roof windows and sun blinds  and shades. "Velux Germany has overall responsibility for the stand, because  that is where the majority of our customers come from, but we are also happy  to welcome visitors from all over the world to our stand at the ROOF+TIMBER  International in Cologne."

Whether in German, English, Russian, Italian, Polish, Dutch or French, the  more than 48,000 trade visitors to Cologne will above all be speaking about  one thing on 18-21 February 2014 – the ROOF+TIMBER International and its  exhibitors.
Tickets are available now for all roofers, carpenters, metal roofers, architects  and planners wishing to attend. Simply order your tickets from the comfort of  your home from www.dach-holz.de. All you have to do is register, place the  number of tickets you require in your shopping basket, print them out, and  take them with you when you visit the exhibition.
All the latest news and information from the roof and timber industry are  available now. For anyone wishing to be kept up to date with the latest  information  from  the  exhibition,  our  Twitter  account  is  www.twitter.com/dachundholz.

About ROOF+TIMBER International
ROOF+TIMBER International takes place every two years and is the meeting point for  the roofing and carpentry trades. Since 2008 - when it was held for the first time -  ROOF+TIMBER International has alternated between exhibition centres in Stuttgart  and Cologne. ROOF+TIMBER International features every product and service sector  for the building trade: timber construction and extensions, roofing, walls, insulation and  plumbing technology. It is chiefly aimed at carpenters, roofers, plumbers, architects,  planners and engineers. The sponsors of the trade fair are the Central Association of  the German Roofing and Timber Construction Trades and the Association of German Master Carpenters, which is part of the Central Association of the German Construction  Industry. The organisers of ROOF+TIMBER International are GHM Gesellschaft für  Handwerksmessen mbH (Munich). Up-to-date trade fair information is also available  from the new Twitter account www.twitter.com/dachundholz.

Press contact:
Dr Patrik Hof, Head of Press and Public Relations
P +49 (0)89 949 55-161
F +49 (0)89 949 55-169
hof@ghm.de
www.dach-holz.de