Spellbinding Production Show
Woven around the theme of ‘Smart technologies driving tomorrow’s production!’, EMO Hannover 2019 once again proved to be the premier trade fair for the metalworking sector, featuring the entire bandwidth of present-day manufacturing technologies.
Focusing on smart engineering, EMO Hannover 2019 housed a comprehensive range of advanced trends in metal-cutting, metal forming, production systems, high-precision tools, automated material flows, computer technology, industrial electro-nics & accessories, latest machines, efficient technical solutions, product-supportive services, sustainability in the production process, and much more at Hannover Fair Grounds from September 16-21, 2019.
The much-awaited trade fair was opened in the presence of Andreas Scheuer, Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure; Stephan Weil, Lower Saxony’s First Minister; Adel Al-Saleh, Member of the Board of Management of Deutsche Telekom; Dr Roland Feichtl, President, CECIMO; and Carl Martin Welcker, General Commissioner, EMO.
With around 117,000 production specialists from 150 countries and more than 2,200 exhibitors from 48 countries, who showcased their innovations for industrial production, the world’s leading metalworking fair was a haven for manufacturing enthusiasts seeking to know more.
Visitors from Asia, particularly India, China, Japan and Taiwan, made up almost one third of foreign visitors this year.
Thriving in Uncertain Times
According to VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association), the percentage of company executives among tradeshow attendees was about as high as two years ago, at 58 percent. Around half of them came armed with capital investment plans and for foreign visitors. This figure was even higher, at more than 62 percent. Around 25 percent of attendees placed orders during the fair or planned to do so soon. Further around 20 percent intended to spend money downstream from the fair.
In this backdrop, Welcker shared, “EMO Hannover has once again proved solid as a rock, providing clarity for further development of production technology, even in uncertain times. Its trademarks included a strong international character, a high caliber of visitors and exhibitors, and an amazing wealth of innovations and new products.”
Dr Markus Flik, Chairman of the Board of Management, Chiron Group SE, noted, “The focus of our displays has been on lightweight construction, our digital SmartLine systems and our new ‘LifetimeSolutions’ service concept. Our discussions with customers have revealed that these topics are right on target.”
Impressive Visitor Presence
The trade visitors at EMO Hannover 2019 were from major industry sectors such as machinery and plant manufacturers, automotive industry and its component suppliers, aerospace sector, precision mechanics and optics, ship-building, medical technology, tool and die manufacture, steel and lightweight construction. A high percentage of Asian visitors accounted for almost one third of visitors from abroad, with China, Japan, Taiwan and India heading the rankings. Other countries with strong representation at the event included Italy, Poland, Sweden, Russia and Turkey.
Maiden EMO visitor, Joanna Wu, International Trade Manager, Hangzhou Zhijiang Magnetics Co., Ltd, shared, “My first impression is the sheer scale of this fair. I have come here from China to look for joint venture possibilities for our company and find potential partners.”
Solutions to Meet Changing Demands
Addressing the EMO opening press conference, Welcker said, “Digitalization and networking have been the subject of much discussion over the last few years, but they are now finally being implemented in the production processes. With factories becoming smart and machine tools becoming intelligent they communicate with each other, raising production to new quality levels.”
He stressed that there are challenges and opportunities arising from the transition of the automotive industry – the metalworking sector’s largest customer. The introduction of new drive technologies will undoubtedly lead to changes in individual manufacturing processes. Hence, complex new production systems are needed for the manufacturing of key electrical components such as batteries, traction motors and power electronics.
Japanese attendee Kiyokazu Sugiyama, Machining Engineering Group, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd, emphasized, “EMO 2019 is providing an ideal way for us to get a comprehensive overview of what is happening in the automotive sector. Two years ago, we made our capital investment decisions and signed deals for a new technology at EMO. There is a wide range of production systems and machine tools available in the Japanese market, but we want to get a direct comparison with the range in the world market.”
Innovation Platform for Production Technology
The EMO motto ‘Smart technologies driving tomorrow’s production’ focused on the key issues faced by the industry today. Christian Thönes, Chairman of the Executive Board, DMG Mori AG, shared, “Our discussions with customers at EMO 2019 in Hannover revealed that a focus on the holistic process chain including digital services, creates the relevant added value for customers.”
This edition of EMO featured the first Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in the Start-up area as well as at the booths of some trailblazing companies. Along with the strong interest in AI and machine learning, visitors’ appetite for future visions was reflected in the concurrent events and forums where the topics included not only AI, but also additive processes, the industrial internet of things (IIoT), 5G and OPC UA or umati, the new standard interface between machine tools and overarching IT systems.
umati – Cynosure of EMO Hannover 2019
umati – the universal machine tool interface is an industry initiative of the VDW that was set up with an objective to achieve an open standard for data exchange based on the global interoperability standard OPC UA. It defines all necessary framework conditions to ensure seamless and secure integration of customers’ machines and software. Dr Heinz-Jürgen Prokop, Chairman, VDW, highlighted, “Seventy companies from 10 countries have connected 110 machines and 28 value-added services at EMO Hannover 2019 via the umati standard interface, demonstrating for the first time that the universal interface between machines and IT systems can function across all product types. umati is opening up a new chapter in production.”
Paving the Path for Future
According to Welcker, this edition of the show proved that the industry is actively addressing the challenges of the future and has served as a prelude to the next EMO to be held in Milan, Italy from October 04 – 09, 2021.
Creating a connection and providing a uniform language for machines, systems and software are essential prerequisites for reaping the benefits of digitalization in production.
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