Successful Re-Start for SurfaceTechnology Germany
"This was a successful re-start. Exhibitors and visitors were very satisfied with how the event went," said a delighted Hendrik Engelking, Global Director Surface Technology at Deutsche Messe AG. "We are very satisfied with the number of visitors under the given conditions, especially since the quality was extremely high."
After Germany, the strongest visitor countries were Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, Austria, India, the Netherlands, France and Slovenia. For the first time, the event recorded a 100% share of trade visitors. One in three came from top management, one in four from department head level. Almost one in three visitors came to SurfaceTechnology Germany with very specific investment intentions. Asked what the aim of their visit to the show was, most said: to look for new products, to get an overview of the market, and to find suppliers and new business contacts. After a forced break of two years, the need to maintain existing contacts was very pronounced. Further training and knowledge expansion were also a frequently mentioned goal. A third of the visitors were also looking for concrete solutions for their own companies.
According to the survey, most of the visitors came from the metalworking and processing industry, closely followed by the automotive, mechanical and plant engineering, electronics and plastics industries. Users from the aerospace, medical technology, semiconductor and precision engineering industries also used the trade show to find out about solutions, products and services from the surface treatment industry.
High quality of contacts and discussions
An important area of SurfaceTechnology Germany is traditionally the joint stand of the German Surface Technology Association (ZVO). With its approximately 60 companies, the joint stand once again provided an impressive presentation of electroplating technology. "Business contacts, whether existing or new, are based on trust, the basic prerequisite of which is personal contact. This was finally possible again here in Stuttgart after a four-year break due to the pandemic. The broad spectrum of visitors at SurfaceTechnology Germany enables exhibitors to make countless contacts and hold discussions for which they would need several weeks in conventional sales. So it was a pleasure to see how seamlessly SurfaceTechnology Germany followed on from the last event in 2018, and how visitors embraced the new start amid disrupted supply chains, skyrocketing energy prices, inflation and climate change," said Christoph Matheis, ZVO general manager. "Our co-exhibitors drew a consistently positive initial conclusion and, as four years ago, were very pleased with the quality of visitors and discussions, even though the number of visitors felt lower than in 2018. The ZVO is optimistic that SurfaceTechnology Germany 2024 will once again match exhibitor and visitor numbers from the pre-Corona era."
Dr. Martin Riester, General Air Technology/Surface Technology Officer at VDMA, is also satisfied with the event. "After a Corona-related break in 2020, SurfaceTechnology Germany is off to a successful start again. Deutsche Messe AG has staged an attractive and international event despite difficult economic conditions. Exhibitors and trade visitors to the show benefited from the wide range of surface technology offerings. On this basis, we are very positive about the future development of the event and look forward to SurfaceTechnology Germany 2024."
Exhibitors at the "Surface Technology Process Chain" joint booth were also successful. The focus here was on the presentation of diverse surface properties and coatings, which showcase the benefits in a wide variety of applications. A second focus this year was on digitalization in the sense of Industry 4.0 in electroplating with its positive results for saving energy and resources and maintaining a safe working environment for employees. "The quality of the talks is described by the co-exhibitors as consistently positive. On the one hand, the combination of a presentation at the forum and booth space at the joint booth led to numerous, very promising contacts.
Great interest in the specialist forum
The SurfaceTechnology Germany technical forum, as the central contact point for knowledge transfer and exchange of experience, was consistently well attended on all days. With an extensive program of a total of 48 presentations, the forum offered an insight into the current world of surface technology. There was a great deal of interest in the use of laser technologies, as well as in the possibilities for creating functional surfaces using PVD processes and the large field of technologies known as alternative coating processes. Above all, however, it became apparent that coating companies are currently working on increasingly applying the possibilities of data processing, which are on everyone's lips under the abbreviations AR, VR or AI, in daily practice and thus making their processes more efficient. Finally, the shift in the automotive industry towards e-mobility plays an important role for a large proportion of coating companies.
The highlights at the forum also included the awarding of the Stuttgart Innovation Prize "The Surface" by the Fraunhofer IPA. The 2022 award winner is Dürr Systems AG, which was honored for its now series-production-ready overspray-free paint application using EcoPaintJet Pro application technology. "With great staying power and together with partners from the coatings and automotive industries, the company has brought the idea of completely overspray-free wet painting to fruition, potentially creating a disruptive innovation," praised juror Michael Hilt, managing director of the Forschungsgesellschaft für Pigmente und Lacke e.V. (Research Association for Pigments and Coatings). The Speakers Corner as a meeting place for speakers and listeners proved its worth and was actively used. For the first time, the technical forum was also streamed live on the event website. Exhibitors expressed all-around satisfaction.
"The anticipation for the trade fair after 4 years was great. It is all the more gratifying that our expectations were met throughout. It was a positive trade fair with good organization on the part of Deutsche Messe," said Peter Mack and Markus Schlagwein, Sager + Mack GmbH & Co. KG. "We were pleased to meet the acquaintances from the industry as well as new contacts, and we were able to have very good discussions at the stand. It was a pity that both the exhibitors' evening and the Bergfest could not take place, but we are looking forward to SurfaceTechnology Germany 2024 all the more."
"We, acs Coating Systems, are very satisfied with the course of the trade fair. With our offers on the topic of wear-resistant non-stick coatings, we received very promising new contacts. In particular, our new PTFE/PFAS-free coatings (without "Teflon") generated a great deal of interest," commented Dr. Christoph Stecher of acs Coating Systems GmbH. The next SurfaceTechnology Germany will be held in Stuttgart from 04 to 06 June 2024.
