HANNOVER MESSE 2012 – Automation goes GREEN Technologies

HANNOVER MESSE 2012 delivered top performance on all fronts: “All the right topics, a further rise in participation from abroad and highly satisfied exhibitors – this year’s HANNOVER MESSE added up to a complete success,” commented Dr. Wolfram von Fritsch, Chairman of the Managing Board of Deutsche Messe, at the press conference on the last day of the show. “HANNOVER MESSE 2012 has triggered a new wave of business for industrial enterprises. The show’s 5,000 exhibitors will now have their work cut out for them.”

“Greentelligence” in tune with today’s challenges

By focusing on the keynote topic of “greentelligence”, HANNOVER MESSE 2012 made three major points: “Green technologies are a viable business model with the power to drive growth around the world. Industry has the solutions needed for achieving sustainability in manufacturing.

And green technology can translate into higher profitability for industry,” declared von Fritsch. Market interest in the show’s “green” offerings ran high, with nearly one in four visitors stopping by the new IndustrialGreenTec show in Hall 26.

The five-day HANNOVER MESSE 2012 provided a ringing endorsement of the organizer’s efforts to align the event with the global megatrends of energy and environmental technologies, mobility and urbanization. “The new themes launched at HANNOVER MESSE over the past several years are now at the forefront of interest and are energizing the entire show. This means that our long-term strategy is proving to be right on target,” said von Fritsch.

HANNOVER MESSE 2012 also demonstrated that industry has embraced the outstanding opportunities created by the energy shift. “Industry has the expertise required; now it’s time to get moving on implementation,” he continued.

HANNOVER MESSE 2012 attracted well over 190,000 attendees. “We knew we would definitely be seeing more visitors than in 2010 – a year in which turnout was impacted by the volcanic ash cloud. But we were not at all prepared for pulling even with our figures for the boom year of 2008, as well as for a significant rise in attendance from abroad. This underscores the kind of top performance delivered by this year’s event,” von Fritsch noted.

A total of 50,000 visitors attended the event from abroad in 2012 – a jump of over one-third compared with 2008. 20,000 of these were from outside of Europe. “We had higher visitor numbers not just from China, but also from India, Korea, Brazil and the United States,” von Fritsch reported. There were also a higher number of visitors from other European countries.

This year’s HANNOVER MESSE further strengthened its position as an event for top-level decision-makers, he reported: “One out of five visitors was a CEO or company owner.” Professionals accounted for 95% of all attendees – a jump of five percent compared with 2008. “This mix of international participation, thematic excellence and high-caliber decision-makers defines HANNOVER MESSE as the international benchmark for new business generation and networking in the industrial, government and research sectors,” von Fritsch added.

China as this year’s featured Partner Country showcased solutions for sustainable growth under the slogan of “Green + Intelligence”. “Here in Hannover, China has raised the bar for future Partner Countries a notch higher,” declared von Fritsch. “The People’s Republic has presented itself as an equal partner and an important market and technology driver.” China’s presentation at HANNOVER MESSE was its largest-ever industrial showcase at a foreign venue. The 500 participating Chinese companies were represented in all display sectors at the event. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao opened the event jointly with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Dr. von Fritsch is confident of a successful HANNOVER MESSE 2013: “More than 600 companies have already submitted their registrations for HANNOVER MESSE 2013. Over the past few days many of them have even inquired about the possibility of booking bigger stands next year. So next year’s event is likely to fill the entire trade fair complex in Hannover,” he concluded.

Industrial Automation at HANNOVER MESSE 2012

The 1,040 exhibitors at the “Industrial Automation” trade fair presented a wide array of automation innovations for manufacturing and processing, as well as system solutions for production plants and facilities, on floor space totaling over 55,000 square meters. The new Automation & IT display circuit – which provided a direct tie-in between halls 7 to 9 on the one hand and halls 11 to 17 on the other – brought the show’s lineup of IT- and automation-related topics into closer alignment.

A central attraction at Industrial Automation was the Efficiency Arena, dedicated to adapting plants and systems for an energy-optimized production process. There was also a steady stream of visitors to the Robotics & Automation Application Park and the Robotics Automation & Vision Forum, where R&D and manufacturing experts addressed robot-assisted automation, delving into its challenges as well as solutions. The Industrial IT display focused on the many possible uses of IT in production settings. This section of the show filled twice the space it did the year before.

Industrial Automation featured the debut of the “MicroTechnology – Smart Systems for Automation” showcase. Its close proximity to the Linear and Drive Technology displays proved particularly beneficial to exhibitors thanks to thematic overlap between automation solutions and microtechnology. The “Product and Know-how Protection” show focused on new ways of countering product piracy.

아이씨엔 매거진 2012년 05월호