A total of around 117,000 visitors from 150 countries came to the world's leading trade fair for metalworking. They came to find out about current trends and specific solutions for their production from around 2,200 exhibitors. In particular, automation and digitalization approaches for production were on display.

Positive mood despite weakening economy

Exhibitors with a wide range of customers expressed their satisfaction with how the trade fair went. Dr. Wolfgang Heuring, CEO Motion Control of Siemens AG, Erlangen, for example, says: "The number of visitors to our stand this year was overwhelming. We are very satisfied with how the trade fair went." Other companies with a higher share of the passenger car business are more reserved in their assessment of the situation. "We have certainly noticed that companies are currently somewhat more cautious due to the general uncertainty about future market developments," says Dr. Christian Lang, Managing Director of Liebherr-Verzahntechnik in Kempten. Nevertheless, the company has spoken to customers about specific projects that are extremely promising. Some exhibitors are expecting the biggest paradigm shift in the automotive industry in history, which needs to be mastered. Others were able to conclude negotiations with vehicle manufacturers at the trade fair.

Welcker sums up the mood at the trade fair: "I believe that what applies to me as an exhibitor also applies to the vast, vast majority of companies that exhibited. There are always individual areas, there are always individual companies that don't hit the jackpot with their products, or that are unhappy for some reason because a special market they serve has collapsed, and that's why they are missing customers here, but overall this was a very successful trade fair, which follows on seamlessly from the excellent trade fair in 2017."

This was also the basic tenor of the companies that the SCOPE editorial team spoke to. Yes, they are observing the economic development, but after around a decade of high, mostly double-digit growth rates, a decline or even a slump was to be expected. Companies are not talking about a crisis like the one in 2009, but about a structural change. In times of climate discussions, electromobility, Brexit and other economic rollercoaster rides, parts of the industry need to find their feet and reposition themselves. Companies with close ties to the automotive industry are feeling the change more strongly, while others have positioned themselves more broadly after the 2009 crisis in order to better cushion the impact of slumps in individual segments.

Many agree that the "fat years" are over for now. Most do not expect growth until 2021 or 2022, but until then they want to use the "quieter times" to revise internal processes, overhaul the machinery and take concrete steps towards digitalization. In a fully utilized production facility, this would have been complicated or impossible during operation.

World's leading trade fair par excellence

Both Schäfer from the VDW and Welcker are satisfied with the EMO Hannover and are positive about the future. They particularly emphasized the internationality of the event. Welcker: "We are simply satisfied because it went better than we all thought. We came here with great fears that the economic situation would lead to a poor mood, few visitors and fewer projects. And it turned out that a lot of visitors came - especially from abroad! We had some great projects and we are very encouraged by the trade fair."

The figures also show this: More than half of the visitors came to Hanover from abroad. The proportion of Europeans was on a par with guests from overseas. The latter increased by a fifth compared to 2017. The proportion from Asia was particularly high: almost a third of foreign visitors came from China, Japan, Taiwan and India, among others. "The internationality of the EMO visitors, especially from Asia, created a busy and international atmosphere at our stand," comments Dr. Stefan Brand, Managing Director of Vollmer Werke in Biberach. This development is due not least to the increased number of Asian exhibitors who were able to mobilize their customers to the world's leading trade fair in Hanover. Italy, Poland, Sweden, Russia and Turkey were also very well represented.

In his video statement, Welcker is also enthusiastic about the increasing internationality: "The enormous number of foreign visitors is particularly remarkable. (...) And it actually also shows how recognized our machines are, how recognized everything is here. The EMO is still the world's machine tool trade fair! You can also see that from all the new products: Nowhere else in the world is so much news ever brought together as you see at the EMO!"

The next EMO will take place in Milan from October 4 to 9, 2021.