“Very worthwhile” – METAV exhibitors enthusiastic about the success of the special events at the trade fair

METAV 2010 featured numerous different subjects in the form of special shows and events, which gave exhibitors a platform to present new subjects and to appeal to new target groups. The response from both exhibitors and visitors was good. Michael Czudaj from Index-Werke in Esslingen is very satisfied with his involvement in the two special activities “Blue Competence” and “metal meets MEDICAL”. “Our participation was very worthwhile”, he says. “The medical technology process chain was an excellent platform to present our special product for this field. We have received very positive feedback from customers that all the subjects Index was involved in were interesting.”

Siemens and Vogel-Verlag organised a joint stand with the motto “metal meets MEDICAL”. On this stand, the companies involved demonstrated particularly clearly that maximum precision is essential in the production of hip joints, implants or prostheses. Karsten Schwarz, Application Technology Manager at Siemens: “Our special show was a major attraction. We had an ideal location in the hall and there were plenty of visitors to the stand from the morning onwards. Both the quality and quantity of the visitors were good. The forum that was held directly on the stand received an excellent response and was always well attended.”

Dr Uli Sutor from DMG was also enthusiastic about the great success of the special show. “We are very pleased that we participated in “metal meets MEDICAL”. The co-operation with Siemens and VDW was really terrific. The response from visitors was far greater than we had expected.” Sutor drew particular attention to the wide international spread of the visitors: “The guests we had included specialists from all over Europe and Asia and we were able to make many new contacts at this special show.”

“We succeeded in attracting a very great deal of attention at METAV 2010 with the “Blue Competence” show”, reports Detlev Hagemann from VDW. 15 machine tool manufacturers and their co-operation partners presented solutions for improving the energy efficiency of machine tools at this special show. Hagemann: “We will be continuing to intensify the contacts to users we established here following the end of METAV. The great interest shown by the trade visitors is proof that our efforts were worthwhile.” The trade seminar linked to the show was a tremendous success with more than 120 participants. “Public interest has increased immensely in the past two years. We reached our target groups (investment decision-makers and end-users from the industry as well as the scientific community) completely and are very satisfied with the results.”

On behalf of the special show organised by the NRW cluster “future of automotive drive systems”, Brigitte Fürstenau from the NRW VDMA machine manufacturing/production engineering cluster also expressed great satisfaction with the way METAV went: “With our cluster concept, we give companies – particularly small and medium-sized ones – the chance to take advantage of the entire added-value chain. The response to our presentation was very good – not only from established experts but also from members of the up-and-coming young generation, who showed keen interest. The company representatives wanted specific information about our cluster policy.” Far more than 100 participants took part in the conference organised by the “impact of electromobility on production technology” cluster. “This was considerably more than we expected”, says Fürstenau.

The Institute of Machining Technology at Dortmund University participated in METAV for the first time, presenting its grinding seminar and the special “grinding technology and finishing” show. “We succeeded in attracting specialists from all the different regions of Germany to our special show. The visitors to our stand were most interested in the metalworking machine from Emag, the company from Baden-Württemberg. Measuring technology and finishing were other areas that proved to be particularly popular”, Tobias Heymann from Dortmund University is pleased to report. The seminar was very well attended with 140 participants and appealed to many new groups because of its relevance to METAV 2010.

The special show for young people with the motto “Machine manufacturing – job with power” is, finally, a traditional feature of the trade fair. It proved to be a complete success over the five days of the event. More than 1 000 schoolchildren every day informed themselves about the different training options in machine tool manufacturing. Many of the young people took up the offer of making a workpiece of their own in the form of a keyring and were enthusiastic about the results. Dr Marina Kowalewski, spokeswoman for the VDW-Nachwuchsstiftung foundation: “The feedback from the exhibitors who participated was extremely good. The companies reported that the schoolchildren were very interested in the potential of a career in machine tool manufacturing and were lively participants in the discussions. The overall atmosphere on our stand was absolutely outstanding. This programme must definitely be repeated at the next METAV.”

Press Contact:
Verein Deutscher Werkzeugmaschinenfabriken (VDW) e.V.
Sylke Becker
Leiterin Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Corneliusstraße 4
60325 Frankfurt
Tel. +49 69-756081-33
Fax +49-69-756081-11
s.becker@vdw.de
www.vdw.de

art_abschlussbericht_sonderschauen_eng_final_2010_02_27.doc