From 17 – 20 November 2015 the very first edition of formnext powered by tct 2015 succeeded in drawing 8.982 visitors from all around the world, establishing the event as an impressive platform for cutting-edge product development. The exhibitors were delighted with the number of people visiting the booths and the upbeat atmosphere.

"With an excellent ratio of visitors per exhibitor, the debut of formnext has really hit the ground running," reports Sascha Wenzler, Vice President at Mesago Messe Frankfurt, the organizer of formnext. "Despite the tight preparation schedule, we managed to establish an excellent market position for formnext thanks to strong support from our exhibitors. At 42 percent, the share of international visitors at the event also sends a very positive signal."

Meanwhile, the exhibitors' positive feedback has affirmed formnext’s concept as well as a successful international convention for both additive technologies and conventional product development and manufacturing techniques.

Among those praising formnext 2015 for the outstanding quality of the information on offer was Rainer Lotz, CEO of Renishaw: "The additive industry is showing off its best side here; there's nothing else like it in the world," Lotz said, adding that he was pleasantly surprised by the quantity and exceptional competence of those in attendance. "For our service department involved in contract manufacturing with additive metal components, the contacts we've gained have made formnext our best event of the year."

For Stratasys, meanwhile, formnext proved to be a real sales platform right on the first day. "We're very happy, and pleasantly surprised by how many attendees have come to see us. In our view, formnext's first event has been a rousing success," stated Karolina Radosevic, EMEA event manager at the company. "Our strong commitment to formnext was definitely the right decision – we'll be back next year for sure."

André Bikar, an executive at BIKAR-METALLE, was also highly satisfied with the event as a whole. "We met a lot of new people from many different continents, industries, and application areas, some of them from larger corporate groups," he revealed before affirming that his company will be back in 2016.

Among those describing formnext as the right exhibition and conference for presenting new products was Daan A.J. Kersten, founder and CEO of Additive Industries. "We couldn't have made a better decision than to schedule the product launch of our 3D metal-printing system MetalFAB1 for formnext," he declared. "Attending formnext 2015 enabled us to reach the exact target group we have in mind." Besides praising the event's excellent organization, Kersten is thus already looking forward to "exhibiting at formnext again next year."

"The visitors we interacted with were highly competent, and they included some new contacts with real interest in our products," noted Deniz Okur, a marketing manager for 3D production printers at 3D Systems. "We're now planning to prepare an even greater presence for formnext 2016."

Throughout the event, the formnext conference delved into topics devised by content partner tct and emerged as a real think tank for the latest development and potential applications for additive technologies. It also demonstrated their growing importance in product development and manufacturing. Here, 266 participants attended the cutting-edge presentations held by members of various industries, including Audi, MTU Aero Engines, EDAG Engineering, and BMW.

The special shows at formnext – including "Audi Toolmaking" in particular – also resonated with much of the audience. "From Basic Material to Component", meanwhile, offered an overview of the latest developments in materials. Finally, the formnext Design Dialogue was a very popular meeting point for attendees with an interest in design.