ALTENPFLEGE, the leading gathering place for the care industry, is undergoing a strategic realignment and will adopt a new name starting in May 2026: care:xpo. This transformation will create a modern, cross-sector trade show and knowledge-sharing platform that brings together the entire care sector – from long-term care to outpatient, home-based, and rehabilitative care, as well as specialized care settings. The brand’s evolution is a response to the structural, professional, and societal changes currently shaping the care industry.
Care as a Connected Nursing Journey
At the heart of the new brand identity is the Nursing Journey. It illustrates how nursing truly works: in a networked, multiprofessional manner that spans numerous transitions. care:xpo connects long-term care with all related areas of nursing and demonstrates how closely different forms of care are interwoven today. In doing so, it brings into focus the reality that affects nursing practitioners, managers, academia, and policymakers alike: care can only be organized across sectors.
Debut in Essen in 2026: The new identity is revealed
The public debut of the care:xpo brand will take place at ALTENPFLEGE 2026 in Essen. There, the trade show will unveil its new corporate design and visual identity for the first time at key touchpoints – a design that conveys a strong stance, highlights diversity, and fosters dialogue across sector boundaries. The new brand identity provides clear points of reference throughout the entire nursing journey and lays the foundation for a trade show future that reflects the industry’s aspirations: a strong, modern, and sustainable platform for everyone shaping the future of care.
What stays the same – and what gets better
Even after its rebranding, ALTENPFLEGE retains its strengths. Under the name care:xpo, the trade show remains a key meeting place for decision-makers, executives, professionals, and industry experts. It remains a relevant marketplace for products, innovations, technologies, and services from all areas of care. At the same time, the new brand opens up additional perspectives: a broader range of topics, more networking, and greater systemic foresight – especially for long-term care across all related care sectors.
Exhibition Congress remains the centerpiece of the event
Under the care:xpo umbrella, the established ALTENPFLEGE exhibition congress organized by Vincentz Network – the leading provider of specialized information and platforms for long-term care – will continue and even gain in significance. Its depth of content and its focus on knowledge transfer, guidance, and professional exchange will become even more prominent within the new brand environment. The congress thus remains a key component of the event and a relevant meeting place, particularly for decision-makers in the management and practice of long-term care.
A platform for everyone involved in shaping care
care:xpo is aimed at all stakeholders who are responsible for and shape the future of care. Here, nursing professionals and managers find inspiration for their daily work and for advancing care practices. Institutions, associations, and funding bodies gain guidance for strategic decisions in areas such as digitalization, workforce development, and structural change. Innovators, startups, and technology companies encounter real-world needs and application scenarios. Municipalities, political institutions, and government agencies gain insights into systemic challenges and potential solutions. Universities, research institutions, and educational and training organizations find opportunities for networking, professionalization, and the further development of nursing role profiles.
Shaping the trade show of the future together
With its transformation into care:xpo, the leading trade fair is sending a clear signal regarding the further development and visibility of the entire nursing sector. The new brand identity reinforces commitment, provides direction, and demonstrates how care is conceived today and shaped for tomorrow. It brings together people, innovations, and care systems – across the entire nursing journey and across all sectors. care:xpo – because care deserves more than just a trade show. It deserves a future.
