Global Attendance Intergeo

This morning Intergeo, the trade fair for geodesy, geoinformation and land management in Karlsruhe, opened its doors. Over 15,000 specialist visitors from all corners of the globe are expected at the Karlsruhe Trade Fair and Exhibition Centre on the three days of the fair.

"The international flavour of the fair is becoming more pronounced each year", DVW president Dr. Karl-Friedrich Thöne states in the opening ceremony. "This year, France is under the spotlight in its role as partner country. Most companies from outside Germany come from the Netherlands, followed by the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, China, Switzerland and France," he continues.

Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble, German Federal Minister of the Interior, is patron of Intergeo 2009. Dr. Karl-Friedrich Thöne states "The support that we have been given by the Federal Minister of the Interior demonstrates that both the public and private sectors have a need for increasingly networked geoinformation instruments and structures", states

It's not just the market leaders that will be showcasing their portfolios in Karlsruhe. A number of young innovative companies will also be presenting their products to a wider audience, some for the first time. The Intergeo innovation park will be home to eleven companies that are receiving backing from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi). The BMWi aims to help companies take part in selected leading international trade fairs and offer them maximum support in marketing new innovative products to boost Germany's export trade and its position as a centre for innovation.

As in previous years at Intergeo, many good ideas can also be expected from experts in free and open source GIS software projects. The Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) is patron to ten highly dynamic companies in the Open Source Park.