At the SPS IPC Drives press conference, Johann Thoma, Managing Director of show organizer Mesago Messemanagement, was optimistic about the 2013 show. His predictions proved correct. Once again, the trade fair for automation, control and drive solutions, held in Nuremberg from November 26 to 28, broke attendance records. This year it passed the 60,000 exhibitor mark (60,027 vs. 56,874 in 2012) and the 1,600 exhibitor mark (1,622 vs. 1,458 in 2012). These figures once again demonstrate Germany's strength in automation, both from the point of view of manufacturers and publishers, and from that of visitors who use their hardware and software solutions to design their machines and industrial equipment.
For three days, the aisles of the 13 halls offering a total exhibition area of 114,000 m2 were packed to the rafters. Naturally, the stands of the biggest names in industrial automation, such as ABB, Beckhoff, Bosch Rexroth, B&R, Schneider Electric, Pilz, etc., or detection and control solutions, such as Sick, ifm, Leuze, Wenglor, etc., attracted the crowds. It's often hard to find your way around their large stands.
The prize for gigantism and visitor numbers undoubtedly goes to Siemens, which is at home here: its stand alone occupies a good part of Hall 2. But of course, smaller companies also attract just as much interest from visitors. After all, even the best-known suppliers can't offer all the hardware and software solutions required for the multitude of applications on the market. At SPS IPC Drives, the visitor is first and foremost a technician who has come to discuss technology and is looking for solutions to meet his or her requirements. This is confirmed by Lucas Wintjes, Senior Vice President Sales Factory Automation, Industrial Applications at Bosch Rexroth: " the show attracts a highly competent audience of professionals not only from Germany, but also from Asia and America ". The CEO of software publisher EPLAN Software & Service gives a similar impression: ". we meet a large number of users who are at the cutting edge of these subjects and ask us very specific questions ". Volker Jahns, CEO of ifm electronic, makes the same observation: " SPS IPC Drives is a very important event for us. We meet people with clearly defined tasks who are looking for concrete solutions. All conversations take place at a high technical level. ".
Following the success of the German edition of SPS IPC Drives, and at the request of a number of professional organizations and manufacturers, the event has been held in Parma (Italy) and Guangzhou (China) in recent years. In 2015, it will make a stopover in India. The organizers announced at the opening of the Nuremberg show that SPS Automation India will be held for the first time from February 5 to 7, 2015 in Ahmedabad (Gujarat). With an estimated $2.2 billion automation market and average annual growth of 12 %, India is sure to whet the appetite. Looking ahead to 2015, the German edition of SPS IPC Drives will be held from November 25 to 27 in Nuremberg.
Youssef Belgnaoui
Learn more: https://www.mesago.de/en/SPS/home.htm