On 4th July 2011 the farewell ceremony of Dr. Ludwig Jörder, chief executive of the Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH, took place in the Goldsaal of the congress centre Westfalenhallen. In November 1985, Dr. Jörder, who began his career as a solicitor and lawyer, began his work with the Westfalenhallen. During the festive evening he thanked the customers, business partners and colleagues for their exciting time together, before beginning his retirement on the 1st August.

Friedhelm Sohn characterized Dr. Jörder as a reliable and competent chief executive that always planned his moves. Among other things, construction work at the Westfalenhallen was never more expensive than planned under his direction.

And a lot was built during Dr. Jörder’s term. This includes the construction of the Westfalenhallen 6 and 7 (1986/1989), the construction of Hall 8 (1996), the fundamental modernization of the congress centre Westfalenhallen (1998 - 2000), the construction of the Hall 3B, including the central administration building (2005) and the continuous modernization of Westfalenhalle 1.

In the face of intensifying competition, Dr. Jörder rebuilt the Westfalenhallen into a powerful company alliance. Since 2001, experts take care of the specific needs of their customers in different subsidiaries. The “daughters" are called: Messe Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH, KHC Westfalenhallen GmbH (Congress Centre - Hotel - Catering) and event centre Westfalenhallen GmbH.

The speakers and guests yesterday also welcomed Sabine Loos, who previously worked as the Executive Director for the Koelnmesse GmbH and wo will be the new Chief Executive of the Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH from 1st August. During an interview on stage at the gala evening, she announced that she plans to develop the corporate divisions of the Westfalenhallen in a future-oriented manner.

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