Industrie 4.0 is changing Industries, Markets … and Trade Fairs
Industry 4.0 is increasingly blurring the lines between the various sectors of industry, while innovation cycles continue to get shorter. These are trends that manufacturers around the world cannot afford to ignore, no matter how large or small. HANNOVER MESSE, too, is adapting to this new reality. Up to now, transmission and fluid power technologies have been featured at the fair on a biennial basis. “But the marketplace has changed,” reports Deutsche Messe Managing Board member Dr. Jochen Köckler. “In the digital age, new products are reaching the market stage much more quickly, with the result that companies want to showcase them at shorter intervals. That’s why we’ve decided to feature transmission and fluid power technologies annually from 2018 on,” he explains.
As of next year, Deutsche Messe, the organizer of HANNOVER MESSE, will merge the event’s annual Industrial Automation (IA) fair with the biennial Motion, Drive & Automation (MDA). The new, combined flagship tradeshow will be called Integrated Automation, Motion & Drives (IAMD) and will feature the full range of industrial automation, transmission and fluid power solutions.
“From a technology standpoint, the Industrial Automation and MDA shows have been converging for a number of years now,” Köckler remarks. “This merger reflects the reality of today’s market environment, which increasingly favors cross-sector and cross-platform solutions as well as digitally integrated products. It also further bolsters HANNOVER MESSE’s position as the world’s number one Industry 4.0 tradeshow. Like no other fair, HANNOVER MESSE showcases complete Industry 4.0 solutions – everything from smart components to cloud-based data management, not just the individual building blocks.”
Merger driven by leading companies and major industry associations
The merger culminating in the new IAMD show comes at the express wish and initiative of leading HANNOVER MESSE exhibitors and major German industry associations. “Transmission and fluid power systems play a key role in engine performance,” comments Christian Kienzle, Chairman of the Fluid Power Association within VDMA (the German Engineering Federation) and CEO of the Argo-Hytos Group. “With digitalization, these systems have now also become important data sources. Two years are an eternity in the age of digitalization. That’s why it’s important that we have the opportunity to put our latest solutions in front of customers without undue delay,” he adds.
“The automation industry’s sensor, control and networking products, systems and solutions are the ‘enablers’ of the fourth industrial revolution. And by bringing them together with electronic and mechanical drive systems under the Integrated Automation, Motion & Drives umbrella, Deutsche Messe has created a flagship fair that covers the entire factory shop floor and shows how it can be integrated into the Industry 4.0 environment,” remarks Dr. Gunther Kegel, the head of German industry association ZVEI’s measurement technology and process automation division and Managing Director of Pepperl + Fuchs GmbH.
The new IAMD show comprises production, process and energy automation systems; robotics; industrial IT; hardware and services; production technologies and services; transmission and fluid power components and systems; pneumatic and hydraulic systems; plain and rolling bearings; geared motors; linear technology; and sealing technology. A comprehensive, topical program of supporting events, including the Industry 4.0 Forum and the Predictive Maintenance special display, will further boost the show’s innovation credentials.
CeMAT: Biggest pool of transmission and fluid power buyers
Another big plus for transmission and fluid power exhibitors at IAMD will be the show’s co-location with the CeMAT intralogistics fair at HANNOVER MESSE 2018. CeMAT, which features mobile machines such as truck-mounted cranes, forklift trucks, and driverless transport systems plus many other intralogistics 4.0 solutions, attracts a large and fast-growing buyer group that is also a key target market for transmission and fluid power technology providers.
IAMD to build worldwide presence
Deutsche Messe plans to roll out the IAMD brand to key markets around the globe. This will open up further opportunities for companies wishing to export to emerging and fast-growing economies with an enhanced need for automation solutions, such as China. Deutsche Messe’s existing offshoot tradeshows in China, Canada, the US and Turkey will be successively restructured and rebranded in line with the parent event in Germany. The company also has plans to establish IAMD shows in other key markets.
