INTERGEO 2009 Innovation Park and Open Source Park

13 August 2009, 9:53am

Karlsruhe, 13.08.2009. INTERGEO is not only the leading world trade fair for geodesy, geoinformation and land management - the congress trade fair in Karlsruhe from 22 to 24 September will also be a presentation platform for innovative start-up companies. For the first time, the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) is promoting the joint presentation of the Open Source Park (OSP) along with ten companies. Experts from free and open source GIS software projects have demonstrated their considerable innovative skills at INTERGEO over the last few years under the patronage of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo). As well as the OSP, INTERGEO also helps improve entry to the market for start-ups through the Innovation Park. The eleven enterprises involved, some of which are showcasing their capabilities to an international audience of specialists for the first time, will receive support from the BMWi to ensure their participation in this leading international trade fair is a success.

"Following a year of development and preparation, funded by an Exist business start-up grant from the BMWi and a start-up subsidy from NBank, the four-strong Geoplex team has been active on the market since the start of September. INTERGEO is one of the key platforms on the geoinformation market for Geoplex, offering optimum conditions for targeted expansion of the customer and sales network," says graduate geographer Michael Gottensträter from Geoplex - 3D und Solar.

Decision-makers from the geo industry don't just come into contact with market leaders during INTERGEO. "My company is a very new start-up that I have been running as a sole trader since March 2009. INTERGEO is the second trade fair I am taking part in and I have great hopes of attracting customers and boosting my profile. I chose INTERGEO because it offers the opportunity to show that physical models produced on the basis of GIS data go well beyond animated virtual 3D models and can therefore open up additional target groups," says Ulf Teller from Ulf Teller 3D-Druck. The two directors and seven employees of terrestris GmbH & Co. KG have been making waves on the market since July 2002 and, since that time, they have had a regular stand at INTERGEO: "INTERGEO is the leading trade fair for the GIS sector in the German-speaking world," says Managing Director Hinrich Paulsen.

"We are looking to present www.Laserscanning-Europe.com as an independent system house for 3D laser scanning. Sales of hardware-independent 3D laser scanning software, our consulting and training offerings, and presentation of the leasing concept for 3D laser scanners are all of particular interest to visitors at INTERGEO," explains Eric Bergholz, Managing Director of Laserscanning Europe GmbH. The company was founded in April this year with five staff and fixed collaborative agreements already in place with other specialist companies. Gütersloh-based Atlogis Geoinformatics is also harnessing the opportunities of the innovation park in what is the company's first participation at the trade fair. "INTERGEO is the largest trade fair for GIS and is attended overwhelmingly by people from the industry. As a supplier of services and data for GIS, we know we can find our target group at INTERGEO. We want to showcase our products and services at the trade fair and hope to make new contacts and, of course, win new orders," says Managing Director Kai Pieper.

INTERGEO 2009 - more international than ever before ...
This year, ongoing efforts to tap into international market sectors are once again generating very positive results. Around 450 exhibitors from 28 countries will be presenting products and services from the geo sector at the Karlsruhe Exhibition Centre. Not since INTERGEO first opened its doors in 1995 will companies have come from so many different countries of the world, both in Europe and beyond. In comparison to last year's event, INTERGEO has seen the proportion of international exhibitors rise by 5% to a total of 38%. Most of the companies represented are based in the Netherlands, followed by the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, China, Switzerland and France.

INTERGEO 2009

Geo: International