Where is the journey at mac heading?

The Langenlonsheim-based company mac has been presenting itself to its customers and partners under the “mac. brand spaces” brand for several months now. With this new, internationally applicable word and figurative mark, the company wants to position itself even more clearly than before as a holistic service provider in the trade fair business, offering its customers sustainable solutions for both physical and digital live communication. We asked CEO Stefan Trieb what this means.

BlachReport: New brand, new image, new units at mac: where is mac heading?
Stefan Trieb: Fortunately, we are moving forward. Together with our employees, we in the management team were convinced that it was time to polish up mac’s previous image. Our new – and, in my opinion, modern – brand identity reflects the entire business: trade fairs, furniture construction, shopfitting and digital brand spaces. Of course, we also have our international positioning in mind – after all, this accounts for around a third of our revenue.

BlachReport: You are now positioning yourself as a ‘holistic service provider in the trade fair business’. Will this change your portfolio?
Stefan Trieb: Yes. And that’s the right thing to do. You have to realize that this pandemic has hit our industry hard. mac came through the crisis well. But that’s no coincidence: we used the time to optimize our structures and develop new business areas such as Digital Brand Spaces.

We have special resources that only a company with a long and successful tradition like mac can have. These include our long-standing customer relationships on the one hand and the vast wealth of experience and expertise of all our employees on the other. We are craftsmen in the best sense of the word, but we are also at the forefront of digitalization. Strengthening these strengths has been our guiding principle in recent months. The ‘mac Campus’ brings together all disciplines and trades in one place. In addition to design and project management, for example, there is a high-performance joinery, paint shop, metalworking shop and electrical department.

It is important to me that we keep a responsible eye on all areas of activity, i.e. ecology, social issues and economy, and position mac as a sustainable brand on the market. In February, we published our first sustainability report, which was very well received by our customers.

BlachReport: How does this affect the employee structure?
Stefan Trieb: Even during the crisis, we were able to selectively hire new employees, especially for the digital division. In some cases, it was also possible to upskill existing staff.

BlachReport: Quote from Stefan Trieb: ‘mac is fit for the transformation of the traditional trade fair business into a creative and efficient combination of real and virtual spaces’. What does that mean in practice?
Stefan Trieb: Customers want dialog and live communication from a single source. Digital formats will have a firm place post-Covid, particularly as hybrid formats for integrating content and extending reach. However, experiences and offers must contain consistent and high-quality content. We can provide support here because we are familiar with both worlds and can therefore save the customer the time-consuming task of managing different service providers. Our goal is always to develop offers with a concept and solution that fit the customer’s specific needs.

BlachReport: Does this positioning play the same role nationally and internationally?
Stefan Trieb: I don’t see any difference. The travel options are still different, which is currently helping to decide the balance between digital and presence elements. And with top target groups, digital formats may also make sense in the future.

BlachReport: ‘Digital’ now plays an important role at mac. Also in terms of revenue?
Stefan Trieb: Digital projects also play a significant role in terms of business. But they don’t come close to those of physical formats.

BlachReport: Let’s assume that corona simply disappeared tomorrow. What impact would that have on trade fairs and exhibitions and also on mac?
Stefan Trieb: That’s very hypothetical, unfortunately. Even if the virus were to disappear, there would still be restrictions in the various regions of the world for a long time to come, simply because of the very different vaccination progress. It will probably take two to four years for exhibitors and visitors from some regions, such as South America or Asia, to return to normal.

However, we are in a good starting position because we are a financially healthy company and therefore have the staying power to survive even prolonged downturns.

BlachReport: How do you expect mac and the market to develop over the next twelve months?
Stefan Trieb: Physical events have been taking place again since the summer and we have really got going again – for example at the IAA Mobility. On the other hand, there are still gaps in orders in the fall and spring. We will probably have to adjust to alternating workload peaks and idle periods over the next twelve months.

BlachReport: Thank you very much for answering our question