SPS IPC Drives: the leading event for automation specialists

SPS IPC Drives is an institution in the industrial automation sector. No supplier in the field is missing, whether it's PLCs, drives, motors, sensors, or other components and software for automation and motion control. The major manufacturers exhibit their equipment on stands that are often gigantic. This German event, held annually in Nuremberg, is renowned for its high level of technical expertise. 93 % visitors come to find concrete solutions for automating their machines. The 2013 edition, from November 26 to 28, will be no exception. The organizers once again expect to bring together some 1,500 exhibitors (1,458 in 2012) and attract over 56,000 visitors (56,874 in 2012).

Optimism is the order of the day, because after the sluggish start to the year, companies in the automation sector are hoping for a slight rebound in the second half. " The situation is more or less stable, with slight variations by product group. For the full year, we expect single-digit growth. Foreign markets are experiencing slightly stronger growth. The supply of raw materials such as rare earths is not critical, but their cost and that of energy are weighing on results. "says Johann Thoma, Managing Director of Mesago Messemanagement, the company organizing the show.

Naturally, visitors to this event are mainly German. However, the number of international visitors is far from negligible (22 %). Most come from Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy and Switzerland, although the number of French visitors to Nuremberg is slowly but surely rising. It almost tripled between 2009, from 193 visitors to 555. This is still a small number, but the organizer is confident that his show, which has no equivalent in France, will attract even more in the future. French exhibitors are also on the increase. Two months before the show, some fifteen exhibitors had already registered (including Schneider Electric via its German subsidiary), compared with ten at the previous event. And according to the organizer: " experience shows that other companies will join the French contingent before the show opens in November ".

The number of halls occupied by the event has also risen, from 12 in 2012 to 13 in 2013. This will represent a net exhibition area of 110,000 m2. In addition to the stands manned by each exhibitor, group stands offer visitors the chance to find out more about a specific theme: " Sensory center and measurement and control technology ", " Wireless automation "and " Industrial image processing ". The latter is a novelty born at the request of certain suppliers who wanted a showcase focused on this theme, while the Vision show, which takes place every year in Stuttgart, has just been changed from an annual to a biennial event.