The Stand of The Year 2013 Award ceremony in Poznań

The Stand of The Year 2013 Award ceremony took place in Poznań on June 3, during ITM POLAND / FOCAST 2014 at Poznań International Fair. For the fifteenth time Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry has nominated the laureates of Tthe contest The Stand of the Year which is organized for companies which design and construct exhibition stands, associated in PCEI, the most important Chamber which associates companies operating in the exhibition industry in Poland. The winner, Inter-Mark Group from Poznań, owned and managed by Mr. Maciej Witkowiak, is the leading Polish company providing services in the area of exhibition stands construction. The Jury composed of experts, Polish architects representing technical universities and artistic tertiary institutions and representatives of PCEI member companies, assessed twelve projects submitted by five companies and selected the laureates. Medals and distinctions The Gold Medal for the Stand of the Year 2013 was not only presented to Inter-Mark Group but to cooperating designer and exhibitors as well. The awarded stand was designed by an American John Athey from the marketing agency DERSE. It was constructed for American exhibitors – IGT Reno and IGT Las Vegas, for the exhibition ICE Totally Gaming 2013 held in Great Britain. – I am very excited to be here and happy I could cooperate with Inter-MarkGroup. It was a very special project for both of our companies and we have put a lot of energy in it. I am very proud it has resulted in the PCEI Gold Medal for the Stand of the Year 2013 – said Jan Groenveld, CEO of Derse after the award ceremony. Maciej Witkowiak, CEO of Inter-Mark Group was also very happy to get another PCEI award for their collaborative project. – Each year to enter the PCEI competition we try to choose the most interesting projects, out of nearly one hundred exhibition stands constructed by our company yearly. The last years’ winning entry, accomplished for IGT, was one of our biggest projects. Thanks to the cooperation lasting six years, we were able to accomplish an international project and in this way we can show the world that we are a remarkable partner – commented Maciej Witkowiak. Silver Medal was awarded to the exposition constructed by Meliński Minuth from Poznań. The stand was designed by Israeli Studio Jeger for Israel Export Institute. The concept was accomplished at the Medica trade fair in Dusseldorf. – Each award is very important for our company, the staff and the motivation. But I think it is especially important for our clients and their success at trade fairs. The award can be also a decisive factor for continuing cooperation with us by such organizations like Poznań International Fair , a trade fair organizer and at the same time one of the best promotors of business in Poland – said Andrzej Meliński, president of the board of Meliński Minuth. The Bronze Medal was awarded to the stand submitted by Expo Linia from Buk, Poland. The design by Gizela Rozwadowska-Mylka and Marta Krawczyk of Expo Linia was executed by this stand constructor for the Polish company Solaris Bus Coach, which participated in BUSWOLRD Exhibition in Kortijk, Belgium. – It is a great honorable mention for us. We are a Polish company which acts independently in the area of design and construction of exhibition stands. The award is very important for us, also in the aspect of promotion of young architects cooperating with us, such as Ms. Marta Krawczyk, the co-author of the awarded stand design – stressed Gizela Rozwadowska – Mylka. Due to the high level of submitted works, the Jury of this year’s edition of the contest also decided to award a Special Distinction. It was presented to the company Meliński Minuth, the winner of the Silver Medal. The design was prepared by this company for the companies Veolia and SARPI during the POLEKO exhibition in Poznań. The future projects The idea of „The Stand of the Year” competition is promotion of the art of exhibiting and the latest trends in this area. The Jury composed of outstanding specialists including: Prof. Remigiusz Grochal from the University of Fine Arts in Gdańsk and Koszalin University of Technology – the Deputy Chair of the Committee, Prof. Jacek Ojrzanowski from the Koszalin University of Technology, Prof. Włodzimierz Bartczak from the University of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Prof. Andrzej Wielgosz from the University of Arts in Poznań, Mr. Alojzy Kuca – the originator of the contest, the Editor-in-Chief of Expovortal.com, Honorary Member of PCEI and Mr. Maciej Sobolewski, an architect and CEO of Tecon Service from Poznań, at the meeting chaired by Mr. Adam Gabrysiak, the Vice-President of the Board of PCI and CEO of Abisal from Poznań, appraised twelve designs submitted to the contest the Stand of the Year 2013 by five companies and selected the laureates. The task was not easy. – Over fifteen years we have observed that the awarded exhibition stands have become important sources of inspiration and trend-setters for the next years. Even today we are able to foresee how the next year entries will look like. In my opinion however the educational function of the PCEI competition is the most important feature. This goeas in line with the trend-setting function – said Mr. Alojzy Kuca. The latest edition of the competition organized by the Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry confirms a very high level of services provided by the Polish companies involved in design and construction of trade fair and stands. Growing level of the competition and its influence on services of designing and constructing of trade fair and exhibition stands excites the event organizers. It also confirms the educational role of the PCEI project. Source: Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry; photography: Beata Szwabowicz (Inter-Mark Group), Krystian Majer (Meliński Minuth), Studio Ozdoba.