EMO 2013:
Event of Superlatives

The EMO “will be a superlative event for our industry”, stated the EMO General Commissioner in Mannheim at the international EMO press conference, which took place at the tractor manufacturer, John Deere. This display window for innovation shows how communication and networking can improve efficiency with the high-tech solutions for production. The 2029 exhibitors from 39 countries have registered until July and booked a net exhibition space of 177,000 square meters. “We will exceed the result of EMO 2011”, Mr. Welcker is very certain of this. 2037 companies from 41 countries were registered two years ago, and an area of 176,000 square meters was used.

As the world’s leading trade show, the EMO Hanover honors its name in every way. It undisputedly holds the top position both in comparison with other foreign trade shows as well as in the net exhibition area. Neither the IMTS 2012 in Chicago with 1909 exhibitors nor the CIMT in Beijing (1407 exhibitors) can compare. The percentage of Asian exhibitors has grown to one-fifth with 430 companies. The trend towards internationality is uninterrupted, as the rate of foreign visitors of 60 percent emphasizes.

The industry expects a splendid result for the year. With an increase in the production of power tools according to the most recent predictions of one percent in contrast with the previous year of 14.1 billion euros (plus 10 percent), the hopes in Germany at mid-year however continue to exist that the record industry result from 2008 will be shelved. And the worldwide development in the consumption of power tools makes one hungry for more. According to the predictions of the Vereins Deutscher Werkzeugmaschinenfabriken (VDW, association of German power tool factories), the global consumption of power tools will grow this year by two percent to the record volume of 67.9 billion euros. The breathing pause should not last long. A ten percent increase is planned for 2014, because the analysts from VDW and Oxford Economics are planning with the strengthening of the Chinese market.

“The customer industries are making increased requests”, explains VDW's Managing Director Dr. Wilfried Schäfer, “The EMO plays an important role in the preparation of investment decisions”. Machine construction, estimated to be more active until mid-year, reduced its production predictions for Germany to a negative one percent, however internationally investments are expected to increase by 12.7. “Reindustrialization in the USA” is also responsible for this, as Dr. Schäfer continued. “Global trade with power tools has increased since 2000 by 80 percent”, reported the VDW Managing Director, which corresponds to an average growth of five percent annually.

Markus Heseding, Managing Director of the VDMA's Precision Tools Association predicted stagnation to the record level, after the growth of four percent in 2012. However in the USA, growth by four percent in machine construction and by five percent in automobile production is expected. The Chinese machine manufacturers will also increase their production by five percent according to the VDMA prediction.

“The work market has been cleaned out”, complained Mr. Heseding, because the highly innovative industry would be directed to new and exceptionally trained employees. Consequently, the EMO is used by the companies, in order to present themselves as modern and interesting employers. They would have to improve machine designs with the help of control technology, tools and processes, in order to be prepared for flexible and trans-location manufacturing, high numbers of variations and new materials.

Increasingly, durability is being requested by the customers. The energy distribution of a power tool shows that only a third is used for working, while two-thirds ultimately serves the operation of the machine according to examinations by Leibniz-Universität Hannover, reported Professor Dr.-Ing. Berend Denkena of the Institut für Fertigungstechnik und Werkzeugmaschinen (institute for manufacturing technology and power tools). Blue competence must taken from the manufacturing planning to the process”, stated Prof. Denkena. Energy efficiency could be increased by 43 percent given constant drive performance, if the process parameters were optimized. Also, adjustment of the cooling lubricant on every tool could save 28 percent.

In addition to the EMO focus on India and the “Producing more intelligently” congress, the “New production technologies in Aerospace Industry congress” and the special show “Innovations” are among the interesting side programs. A look back at 25 years of CAD/CAM is also included in this. “The EMO plays an important role in the preparation of investment decisions”, said VDW Managing Director Schäfer. “First, everything became intelligent, and now it will become smart”, added Professor Dr.-Ing. Dr. h. c. Detlef Zühlke from the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), at TU Kaiserslautern / Germany relying on the Industry 4.0 perspective for the future. Because everything is constantly becoming more complex, “it has to be designed so that people can use it“, said Prof. Zühlke, “which is why we have to remove complexity”.