With its focus on advancing digitalization, Euroblech is also following this year's number one trade fair trend theme. No wonder, as digital transformation offers enormous potential, especially for small and medium-sized companies, as it enables new business models with leaner and less complex processes as well as improved productivity and efficiency. "Things that were dreams of the future just a few years ago, such as an app for checking the maintenance of machines or the interaction of machines and robots that communicate with each other throughout the entire production process, are already a reality in sheet metal processing. It is no longer just the large companies that are making progress in this area; SMEs have also recognized its potential. The size of their companies generally allows them to react more flexibly and at shorter notice to such changes, which puts them in a good position to take advantage of digitalization," says Evelyn Warwick, Exhibition Director of Euroblech.

Trade fair motto: "On the pulse of digitalization"

Euroblech is aimed at a broad audience. Design engineers, production and manufacturing managers, quality managers, buyers, craftsmen, technical directors as well as experts from research and development and associations find their way to Hanover every two years to discover the latest trends and machines in sheet metal working. This year, visitors can expect the complete range of intelligent solutions and machines for modern production in sheet metal processing. The digital transformation promises, among other things, increased efficiency in production, which can be attributed to the increasing degree of automation on the one hand and the diverse possibilities of data analysis on the other.

These developments are also reflected in this year's Euroblech motto "On the pulse of digitalization", as Industry 4.0 and the associated Smart Factory have now fully arrived in the sheet metal processing industry. "The digital transformation is an important topic in the industry at the moment. This requires close collaboration along the entire value chain, from production control to maintenance," says Warwick. "Creating intelligent manufacturing environments based on the secure exchange of information and the networking of machines and processes is the challenge for companies in the sheet metal working industry. Euroblech 2018 offers visitors the opportunity to explore solutions to these challenges and find business partners with whom they can integrate these processes, machines and systems into their production," Warwick continues.

Online competition with five categories

Once again this year, companies with outstanding achievements in the sheet metal working industry were invited to take part in the Euroblech online competition. The five winners in five categories will be recognized for best practice, innovation, excellence and exceptional performance. The winners will be selected by sheet metal working industry professionals via an online voting system starting in September.

The thematic basis of the competition is this year's trade fair motto "On the pulse of digitalization". The five categories stand for current topics in the digital context of the sheet metal working industry: In the "Digital Transformation" category, companies with solutions for networked production methods are up for election. The second category, "25 Euroblech trade fairs", is looking for the funniest anecdote from the past 25 trade fairs. "Cybersecurity" as the third category is open to pioneers in secure data exchange within a production environment in sheet metal processing. The fourth category is "Best Start-up" and honors the achievements of young companies in the industry. Pioneers in lightweight construction and component design compete in the fifth category, "E-mobility".