MDS and MDI have moved: greetings from the new offices in China and India

From Japan, China, Singapore and India through to Russia or the USA: our offices are spread across the whole globe. Our subsidiaries Messe Düsseldorf India (MDI) and Messe Düsseldorf Shanghai (MDS) have now moved into new premises. And even if we can only marvel from afar at the local teams’ new surroundings, one thing is for sure: all of them are more than happy with the change of scenery!

New MDS Office as first port of call for Chinese companies

Paying a visit to our subsidiary in Shanghai is worthwhile: After waiting for three months the MDS team moved into the new premises of the Sinar Mas Center on Shanghai’s Nordbund in September.

Messe Düsseldorf has been represented in China since 1999 already and is ideally connected with Chinese business. General Manager of MDS, Marius Berlemann, bstresses that MDS will also continue looking “for new opportunities for partnerships” and sees the new office above all as a first point of contact for Chinese companies wanting to present their products and services at the leading trade fairs in Düsseldorf but also worldwide: “We are looking forward to many constructive meetings in our Heinrich-Heine Saal.” The name itself already shows: the new location exudes that Düsseldorf flair.

The move is to evidence how important the Chinese are for Düsseldorf. Even during the pandemic China scored a number of successes. Since July 2020 MDS has organised and/co-organised six physical trade fairs such as CIOSH, Chinaplas, All in CARAVANING and ProWine Hong Kong to name but four, counting over 3,200 exhibitors and 160,000 visitors. This year will see MDS hold nine trade fairs in total. The conversations with customers required for this now take place at the new office far more often as Josh Gu, Project Director of the ProWine team, reports: “Before I often met customers and partners downtown in Shanghai or at their office. Now they all want to visit me in our office.” 😊

A Rhenish attitude to life at the centre of Shanghai

No wonder since the new location scores points with some highlights. Towering at a height of 320 m it offers the employees great vistas of the Huangpu, the skyline of Lujiazui and the world-famous Oriental Pearl Tower. Overlooking the city’s most famous sights this new location follows on from the tradition of the homebase in Düsseldorf. Here the administrative towers captivate visitors with their views of the Rhine and Rheinturm. Marius Berlemann adds: “The river promenade is only a stone’s throw away. Walking down by the river can be quite inspiring.”

In the reception area manned by Office Assistant and SH Office Receptionist Livia Xiu various photos of the Rhenish metropolis spread a Düsseldorf atmosphere – furthermore, there are signed shirts by Fortuna Düsseldorf exhibited here and even Marius Berlemann’s office has a sporty touch to it – thanks to a shirt by Timo Boll, the famous table tennis star playing for our partner Borussia Düsseldorf, displayed on the wall.

The location not only scores points with its Düsseldorf-oriented business decoration but also with its highly practical furnishings. Sophie Yu, Division Director, and Juliet Zho, Project Manager in the C-Star team agree that height-adjustable desks make working so much more pleasant. Especially Juliet Zho delights: “Before the office decoration, we are allowed to write down new office wishes, mine was a lifted desktop. Luckily, my dream came true! Now I spend around 2 hours enjoying my standing-working time every day!”

For Sophia Yu, who has worked for over ten years in the MDS team experiencing some important milestones, the “History Wall” is a “real eye-catcher” that presents landmarks from Düsseldorf, Hongkong, Shanghai and Beijing and now soon to join them will be the Messe Düsseldorf Shanghai development.

You see, there is quite a lot to see. And so it is clear for Livia Xiu that the office is definitely worth a visit: “There are so many hidden details here just waiting to be discovered.” Like Carlsplatz and the Media Harbour …

MDI now at cyber hub of India

Also experiencing a change of scenery were our Indian colleaguesin late August: “Goodbye Jasola and Hello Gurugram!” The main reason for the relocation was the future expansion of MDI. Gurugram is an important financial and industrial hub known for its booming infrastructure, fast urbanisation and economic prosperity. This is precisely why many Fortune-500 companies have set up their offices there, giving the city its nickname: the Cyber Hub of India.

For the team headed by Managing Director Thomas Schlitt the location also played an important role in the decision to opt for a new office. The office area on the 20th floor of Tower A in DLF-Building 5 is far more favourably located than the previous site since not only airports and hotels are a lot closer but also the India International Convention and Expo Center” (IIEC). This brings the customerbase noticeably closer to MDI not only in spatial but also personal terms.

Openness on every level

Proximity was also a key factor in its interior design. Spreading over an area of 686 m² the office is designed according to an open office concept thanks to shared workspaces aimed at fostering better communication, team work and work culture.

The office is just as open from the outside as from the inside. The glass façade of the skyscraper where the new Workspace is located perfectly blends with the futurist cityscape allowing natural daylight to permeate through the entire floor. Needless to say, the glazed front also offers breathtaking views that Anand Nair, Director – Projects, just cannot get enough of: “Every day we are blessed to witness the sunset, which is phenomenal.”

To Lata R. Subramanian, Director Administration and HR, the open café is one of the highlights in the new working environment. In a relaxed atmosphere employees can do their work here, receive guests or take a well-deserved break. This place for relaxation is not only ideal for breaks but also designed to help team building.

This is also confirmed by Damini Diwakar, Manager – Marketing Communication, and Sapna Adhikari, Assistant Manager Administration and Front Office. Damini Diwakar voices his enthusiasm about how much the “environment, the people and the culture all together help you grow, not only professionally but as an individual too” stating that the team is “like my family away from family”. For her part, Sapna Adhikari mentions a core value of Messe Düsseldorf: “We stand for when heart meets business and my heart lies truly in my work and sincerity towards MDI. This is what I also want to impart our guests. My desk faces the main entry to our office, ready to welcome our guests – so I am the person that creates the first impression and can prove that we live up to our good reputation.”

Senior Project Manager Avnish Seth also knows that better work outcomes are also intimately linked with employee satisfaction and explains: “We spend a lot of our time inside a building, where the physical environment influences their well-being and directly impacts their work performance and productivity. Temperature, air quality, lighting and noise conditions in the office affect work concentration and productivity. Our workplace boasts all these qualities and is a blend of all the positive vibes.”
In a nutshell: “We feel at home here and cordially invite you to pay us a visit at Cyber City,” Thomas Schlitt.