Are you familiar with the story behind the “hi” expo?

“I wanted to open this exhibition by congratulating Herning that has demonstrated to Denmark what a society can achieve by joining forces to achieve a common goal.” Those were the words of King Frederik IX when he officially opened the first ‘hi’ expo.

The year was 1963. Herning’s first big hall at the Herning Conference Centre had opened almost a decade earlier, in 1954. The hall attracted great interest and needed to be enlarged. Prior to the first Builder & Industry trade fair in 1963, the exhibition area was enlarged to include a trade show centre, and five new halls totalling 10,000 square metres were ready to house the trade fair that we now know as simply ‘hi’.

The first Builder & Industry trade fair in was held from 5 to 15 September 1963. These ten days saw a wide variety of exhibitors. The overarching topic was trade and industry, but the trade fair was used in equal measure as a meeting place for the wide diversity of visitors and exhibitors. It became a festive gathering, visited by children and adults alike. Over the years, the fair took on a more professional, technical focus, so now it only lasts three days and has shifted its focus to networking, inspiration and knowledge-sharing.

Part of technological developments

In 1963, computers were machines found only at universities and at large companies; today virtually every visitor and exhibitor is furnished with a mobile phone and a laptop. Hi has been part of this technological journey from the beginning. This has also been reflected in the products exhibited at the trade fair over the years. From laser instruments to industrial robots and cloud-based solutions. These are examples of some of the new products that have been displayed at the fair, and at this year’s trade fair, it is notably automation and robots that constitute one of the biggest technical fields as part of Industry 4.0.

The needs have changed over the years, and while the trade fair has transitioned from lasting ten to just three days, the exhibition area has grown from 10,000 to 110,000 square metres. The programme has become more comprehensive, and the demands on knowledge, innovation and creativity at the individual stands have become more prominent.

Hoyer Transmissions at hi

Hoyer Transmissions has exhibited at hi for a great many years, and the developments at the trade fair have been unmistakable. Peder Mørch, Business Unit Director, Hoyer Transmissions, will be participating at the trade fair once again.

“I’ve personally attended hi since the late 1980s. It’s amusing to remember how our stand looked in the early days. We did things like serve Hoyer sausages to our visitors. Today, we have a smaller stand with fewer products that match the actual market demand. The stand’s seriousness and quality have risen, and we now experience how visitors at the stand are professionals and technicians,” says Peder Mørch, who is looking forward once again to getting to meet Hoyer’s business partners at the hi trade fair.

Hoyer Transmissions will be exhibiting in hall M at stand M9744 at hi Tech & Industry Scandinavia 2019.