Bocholt at the EXPO REAL property fair in Munich

Munich/ Bocholt. Bocholt will once again be present at this year's EXPO REAL trade fair in Munich (6 to 8 October 2025). City Planning Councillor Dave Welling and Economic Development Manager Ludger Dieckhues, together with Rudolf Schmeing, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Wirtschaftsförderung/Stadtmarketing Bocholt, held numerous discussions on the topics of city centre and commercial space development.

Expo Real is the most important international trade fair for property and investment in Europe and has been held every October since 1998. This year, over 1,900 exhibitors and around 40,000 trade visitors from around 70 countries are expected to attend.

In addition to the "Münster I Land" region, which is represented at the trade fair with its own stand, almost all major German economic regions as well as many project developers, real estate companies, investors, consulting, investment and financing companies and numerous retail and construction companies will be exhibiting on around 75,000 square metres of exhibition space at EXPO REAL. The mood on the property market is only brightening to a limited extent, reports business promoter Dieckhues. Especially as the continuing economic slowdown in Germany, the interest rate environment, the global political situation including war events in Europe and the Middle East as well as politics and bureaucracy continue to create challenging conditions. Dieckhues: "This year, discussions on the (further) development of sustainable commercial space, infrastructure development and pricing in the energy sector, greenfield vs. brownfield development, urban development projects and the vitality of city centres dominated once again."

Drawing attention to Bocholt

Bocholt's representatives at EXPO REAL on Monday were business promoter Ludger Dieckhues and Bocholt's city planning officer Dave Welling. Together, they held talks with project developers, investors, expansion managers, consultants, urban planners and colleagues from other business development organisations and NRW.Global Business, the business development agency of the state of NRW. "Expo Real is the ideal place to draw the attention of expansion managers to Bocholt, even though the current high construction costs, the rather uncertain future and the weak economy are keeping the property sector very busy and caution is the order of the day when it comes to investments and rental commitments", says Ludger Dieckhues.

Dave Welling and Ludger Dieckhues held talks with the major local suppliers as well as with providers of modern car park management systems, traffic planners and urban/landscape planners.

Rudolf Schmeing, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Bocholt Economic Development Agency, who is also active at EXPO REAL in his capacity as an entrepreneur and project developer, was delighted with the commitment of the Economic Development Agency and the city of Bocholt at the trade fair. "Expo Real is a must for all players in the property sector and there is a great need to discuss the current challenges. As the Schmeing Baugruppe, we are involved in many discussions and at many stands with concrete projects", says Rudolf Schmeing.

In discussions with Andreas Bothe, President of the Münster District Council, and Sven Wolf, Deputy Managing Director of the IHK NordWestfalen, it became clear how important clear and forward-looking regulations are with regard to the development of sustainable business parks and the associated infrastructure as well as renewable energies in Münsterland. The expansion of photovoltaics and wind power in the Münsterland region must also move forward. Investors need security; regulations for agriculture and, of course, neighbouring residents must be made reliably and quickly. The Bocholt Economic Development Agency and the city planning department are also particularly concerned with the expansion of wind power in industrial estates.

In addition to project developers, business promoters and investors, the Bocholt Economic Development Agency is also in close dialogue with the Münster Economic Development Agency and Münsterland e.V., whose Managing Director Andreas Grotendorst is also in Munich. "We are focussing on business and commercial space as well as investment opportunities in the Münsterland region at EXPO REAL - Bocholt and Rheine, as major business locations alongside Münster, are also important components of this," explains Grotendorst.

In addition to discussions on traditional marketing topics relating to commercial properties and Bocholt's business parks, which were held by Wirtschaftsförderung Bocholt and the city of Bocholt at the trade fair, this year's focus was on current retail and local supply projects, the property situation in Bocholt's city centre and the ever-changing customer requirements (keywords: e-commerce / face-to-face retail).

Focus on Bocholt's construction issues

For city planning officer Dave Welling, the main focus is on sustainable construction, transport, local supply and inner-city densification for Bocholt and how these can continue to be realised under the difficult conditions of consistently high construction costs and rather higher interest rates. ""At the Expo, you really meet a lot of experts on a wide range of property topics - these contacts must be used with regard to the challenges for Bocholt," says the city planning officer. Exciting contacts in the field of construction project management and sustainable forms of construction were made at the trade fair, which will have a positive impact on the efficiency and sustainability of Bocholt's construction projects in the future.