Michael Johannes

From Promoter to Entrepreneur

Before entering the trade fair and event industry, I completed an apprenticeship as a tool mechanic — a technical background that still helps me today in understanding the requirements of industrial exhibitors and realistically assessing staffing needs for technical trade fairs.

From 2007, I was working directly at the exhibition stand: as a promoter and host for brands like Mercedes-Benz, Maserati and Volkswagen across Europe — at trade shows, events and roadshows in Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland. In parallel, I gained experience in catering, trade show logistics, stand setup and teardown, and as a stagehand — everywhere the real operations take place.

Those years on both sides of the market — as deployed staff in a wide variety of roles and as a client — showed me what exhibitors truly need and where traditional agencies fall short. In 2011, I became self-employed to close exactly that gap.

In 2016 I founded höchstmass GmbH (now höchstmass holding GmbH) as the foundation for a group of companies offering staffing services and exhibition stand construction under one roof. Today, our exhibition stand construction operates Europe-wide, while our staffing services focus primarily on the German-speaking market. My guiding principle: every project deserves staff who don't just show up, but make the difference.