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the invention of the future - ahead of its time.

A software package makes history: octacad
Jörg Staeger and a member of his team...
...developing OCTAcad 1.0 on a computer with
a 40 MB hard drive and 1 MB working memory.


If today's employees were taken back in time to the 1980s they would be simply amazed. The place where a computer is on a desk nowadays was probably just the space that was used for an ashtray. Smoking bans were unknown in offices – as were PCs. Messages to colleagues weren't emailed, they were put into large brown envelopes and sent via the internal post system. Even after the 1984 unveiling of the first Macintosh computer by Steve Jobs, computers were simply not used in most firms. Anyone who openly advocated the introduction of EDP (electronic data processing) faced resistance. Above all from the people who were responsible for financial matters. Even relatively small computers often cost as much as a sports car. However the biggest hurdle to their introduction was ignorance of what they could do. However, this was another area where OCTANORM took a far-sighted approach. At a time when hardly anyone in the trade fair sector bothered with computers, Jörg Staeger, the son of the company's founder, started to think seriously about using them. He initially looked into the opportunities that the new technology might provide for OCTANORM and its partners.

The traditional methods.
n the middle of the 1980s, all drafting and design tasks were carried out with the aid of a drawing board. Only in exceptional cases did people work with perspective views, since they were very labour-intensive. Especially when changes needed to be made. This could only be done by using scalpel blades and glass-fibre eraser pens. If bigger changes were needed the draft was simply thrown away, and then the job started again from the beginning. Determining the quantities of the various components that were needed was also a laborious process. This was done by using check lists. So there were huge opportunities for making improvements.

The shape of things to come.
At the 1986 OSPI meeting in Brazil, OCTANORM made the opportunities for using computers in planning a key subject of discussion for the first time. And in the same year three initial CAD/CAM solutions were presented at the OCTANORM Service Partner conference. The costs of a single workstation were certainly huge, and for two workstations they ran into hundreds GREAT PLANS AND 1 MB OF WORKING MEMORY. The invention of the future – ahead of its time. A software package makes history: OCTAcad. Jörg Staeger and a member of his team... ...developing OCTAcad 1.0 on a computer with a 40 MB hard drive and 1 MB working memory. OCTACAD 14 | 15 of thousands of Deutschmarks. However this didn't dampen people's enthusiasm because everyone realized that the future lay in planning. What's more, Jörg Staeger had another ace up his sleeve at the conference in the form of a much cheaper solution. This had been devised by the Aachen-based aerospace engineer, Günther Stöhr. It was based on AutoCAD 2.5® software and ran on a cheap PC. This solution was derided by the experts because at that time the average PC had a 1 MB working memory and a hard drive of perhaps 40 MB. They were proved wrong. Autodesk®, the company which created AutoCAD® is now the world's largest provider of CAD, visualization and animation software.

How to plan planning software.
Jörg Staeger led a team which drew up requirements for the software that was to be developed for OCTANORM based on the AutoCAD®. The aim was to make life easier for designers, drafters, planners and project managers, but without spending a fortune. In order to come up with a practical solution, experts from the trade fair construction and data processing fields worked together. By 1987 the result was already presented at EuroShop, and the year after that it was presented at the OSPI meeting in Canada. OCTAcad 1.0 wasn't just an excellent tool for drawing up plans, the new software also produced lists of materials and worked out the costs. Exhibition stand builders were accordingly very enthusiastic about it.

  Joachim Kopf
The manager of the Digital Innovations department is responsible for all the digital developments at OCTANORM.


However, the final breakthrough would still take some time because the infrastructure first had to be created within the companies and people had to be provided with the necessary know-how. So Jörg Staeger and his team really undertook pioneering work.

Reunification year
1989 was marked by the fall of the Berlin Wall, and it was when the OCTAcad breakthrough began with the unveiling of Version 2.0 at EuroShop. The printouts that came out of the plotter became the crowd-draws of the trade fair. Perspective views were possible for the first time. The program went on to be used in more and more planning departments – all around the world. Exciting new features were added almost every year. In 1990 OCTAcad became capable of producing 3D renderings for the first time. Then in 1995 the unveiling of OCTAdesign opened an entirely new chapter. The multifunctional plug-in for Autodesk 3ds Max® became the ground-breaking solution for trade fair designers and architects due to its customized functions. Even today it still sets

  Jörg Staeger
As the representative of the principal shareholder and the Managing Director of
Staeger-Verwaltungs-GmbH he recognized at any early stage the opportunities which
can be opened up by computers. He still devotes himself to working on ground-breaking issues, and right now he's especially fascinated by developments in relation to digital presentation, AV media, AR, AI and 3D printing.


the standards for the sector in terms of efficiency and speed.
Of course developments continued in relation to OCTAcad, and in 1996 the software was converted to Windows. The new user interface and the ease of use which it provided meant that even more users were able to benefit from it. This development already took place under the leadership of Joachim Kopf – one of the very first users of OCTAcad. In 1992 he joined the team, and since 1994 he has taken prime responsibility for all the innovations introduced in the DI department. He's the driving force behind all the important digital innovations of the last 25 years. This also includes the development of the OCTAsketch online tool which today enables virtually anyone who doesn't have any specialist knowledge to use a computer in order to design a professional trade fair stand. Joachim Kopf has had a crucial role in ensuring that in our anniversary year over 1,200 companies in 65 countries use OCTANORM software solutions. He's currently preparing a campaign for a variety of new digital products and solutions. They include pioneering developments in the field of e-commerce, AR, VR, AI and 3D printing. When asked what his department might be expected to come up with in the next few years, Joachim Kopf answers: "At the moment we're concentrating very much on issues relating to artificial intelligence (AI) and 'augmented reality (AR)’. AI and AR will help us to ensure that in future our customers will still be able to rely on pioneering and innovative software provided by OCTANORM."