With ‘Integrated industry – Connect & collaborate’ as the theme this year, the trade show will highlight how connectivity in industry facilitates completely new forms of business, work and collaboration.

Curtains will be raised for this year’s Hannover Messe, one of the world’s leading trade shows for industrial technology, on April 23, 2018. To be held from April 23-27 with the theme of ‘Integrated industry - Connect & collaborate’, the trade fair will witness participation from over 5,000 exhibitors from 75 countries.The trade fair is the global hotspot for every topic relating to the digitisation of production processes (Industry 4.0) and energy systems (integrated energy).

Hannover Messe will combine five flagship fairs at a single location: Integrated Automation, Motion & Drive (IAMD), Digital Factory, Energy, Industrial Supply and Research & Technology. This year, Mexico is the partner country at Hannover Messe.

Featuring CeMAT and IAMD

In 2018 edition of Hannover Messe, Deutsche Messe AG (the organiser of the trade fair) has merged the annual Industrial Automation (IA) show with the biennial Motion, Drive & Automation (MDA) to create a new show Integrated Automation, Motion & Drives (IAMD) – reflecting the entire spectrum of industrial automation, power transmission and fluid power.

At the same time, starting from 2018, CeMAT, the world’s leading intralogistics trade fair, will be staged every two years in parallel with Hannover Messe. “Production and logistics processes are in the process of becoming intelligently integrated, enabling even more efficient, flexible production processes. At CeMAT we will be making this integration tangible and will demonstrate the resulting potential,” said Dr Jochen Kockler, Chairman of the Managing Board, Deutsche Messe AG.

Combination of CeMAT and Hannover Messe will provide a unique platform for international decision-makers from industry and logistics.

Industry 4.0 reaches the next stage

The interplay between automation and energy technology, IT platforms and artificial intelligence is driving the digital transformation of industry. With the lead theme ‘Integrated industry – Connect & collaborate’, Hannover Messe 2018 spotlights the potential of this development.

Humans, machines and IT - these are the cornerstones of tomorrow’s factories. However, only with networking will they reach their full potential. “The new connectivity - that is, the organisation of networks – is taking Industrie 4.0 to the next stage. With ‘Integrated industry – Connect & collaborate’, we highlight how connectivity in industry facilitates completely new forms of business, work and collaboration. The result: more competitiveness, better jobs and new business models,” said Dr Köckler.

Factory and energy technologies are more efficient than ever. So is data analysis. Industrial IT platforms are pushing their way into the market. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) enable machines to make decisions. Engineers are able to digitally simulate entire production chains. With new players and new business models emerging, boundaries between industries are blurring.

Industry 4.0 meets Logistics 4.0

Industry 4.0 is changing production logistics as well as the demands placed on logistics companies. More and more, customers want individual solutions from a single source. The intralogistics tradeshow CeMAT, which runs parallel to Hannover Messe, reflects this trend. Consequently, visitors at the Hannover Exhibition Center will profit from the complete ‘Industry 4.0 meets Logistics 4.0’ experience.

Digitisation is already a critical success factor in logistics, where one of the main challenges lies in managing complex processes and making them more efficient. The future of the retail sector depends on innovative logistics processes that can handle increasingly complex supply chains. The required logistics environment starts with automated warehouses, where all processes are managed by software and where robots work around the clock, moving autonomously through the halls and delivering goods to the right place, at the right time and in the right quantities.

Similar things are happening in manufacturing, where production and logistics processes are becoming ever more closely integrated through intelligent technologies as part of the ongoing quest to boost efficiency and flexibility and hence lower costs. At CeMAT, visitors will be able to experience the convergence of production and logistics for themselves.

Career 4.0

Digitisation is revolutionising the world of work: Robots work hand in hand with humans or travel autonomously through warehouses. Technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality connect workers with the factory, while exoskeletons support them on the job. But industry is still confronted with some major challenges – one among them being the shortage of skilled labor. By 2030, the economic research and consulting firm Prognos is forecasting a skilled labor shortage of approximately three million people. Career 4.0 at Hannover Messe is dedicated to examining the steps needed to resolve this shortage and build a qualified workforce.

Industrial security

Integration is the watchword – at a technological level and between enterprises and sectors. However, it is essential to bear in mind the attendant risks and challenges. Integration presupposes a dependable digital infrastructure. IT security will thus play a prominent role at Hannover Messe 2018.

The new exhibit category “Industrial Security” under the umbrella of Digital Factory in Hall 6 will create a central magnet for users and product developers in the field of mechanical/plant engineering and industrial automation. The line-up will embrace individual exhibitors, a group presentation and the Industrial Security Forum.

Advanced manufacturing technologies are the key driver of future economic growth for any country. Hannover Messe, the global hotspot for Industry 4.0, will not only showcase cutting-edge technologies, but also provide numerous opportunities for knowledge and technology transfer. The tradeshow will bring together leading technology providers to co-innovate and showcase the latest developments in manufacturing technologies to the world.

Highlights of Hannover Messe 2018

•  Five flagship fairs at a single location - Integrated Automation, Motion & Drive (IAMD), Digital Factory, Energy, Industrial Supply  and Research & Technology
•  5,000 exhibitors from 75 countries
•  500 application examples
•  1,400 Lectures and panel discussions

India at Hannover Messe

India, which is one of the top ten participating countries at Hannover Messe today, was Partner Country for the trade fair in 2015. With 5,300 visitors, India accounted for the third largest number of foreign visitors in 2017 edition - behind China (9,000) and the Netherlands (6,200). About 160 Indian companies exhibited their products and services at Hannover Messe 2017. Even this year, one can expect bigger participation from India.

On April 23, 2018, Department of Heavy Industry along with EEPC India (the country’s premier trade and export promotion organization) will organise a roundtable on ‘Smart Manufacturing’ at Hall 27. With the Government of India taking strong initiative to raise technology levels in Indian manufacturing through Industry 4.0, automation and integration, the roundtable will discuss the adoption of smart technologies to achieve high industrial efficiency.

Similarly, VDMA India, the Indian arm of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), is organising “Indian Day” on April 26, 2018 along with a panel discussion on ‘Ease of doing business in India’. Industry experts like Noshir Bulsara (MD, NRB Hydraulics), Rajiv Chawla (Chairman, JaiRaj Group of Industries), Christian H Kienzle (CEO, Argo-Hytos Group), P L Muthusekkar (MD, NORD Drivesystems Pvt Ltd), Debasis Nandi (President, South & South East Asia, Lenze Mechatronics), etc will participate in the discussion.