From the industry, for the industry

Following the partition of Germany, the toy manufacturers in the West were left without a suitable event for the presentation of their products. The previous trade fair was located in Leipzig, behind the border to East Germany, and was no longer available. Four bold entrepreneurs took it upon themselves to establish a German trade fair in Nuremberg, a fair devoted solely to toys.

The circumstances were extremely difficult – after the Second World War much of the city of Nuremberg had been reduced to rubble. There was no exhibition centre, no infrastructure and, at least initially, no financial support from the banks.

Following the successful debut event, the committee and 46 companies joined forces, establishing a cooperative on 11 July 1950. Today, our company is one of the most successful cooperatives in Bavaria and is, in fact, the only trade-fair company to be organised in this way. Spielwarenmesse eG was born from the industry and represents the sector. Our roughly 150 members are primarily from the toy industry and trade. Today, the company operates on the global market as a modern service provider, specialising in the organisation of fairs and in marketing services.