HANNOVER MESSE 2009 with 13 international flagship trade fairs

The preparations for HANNOVER MESSE 2009 are already in full swing. The entire Exhibition Grounds will be completely booked out for the event. In 2009 the world's most important technology showcase brings together 13 international flagship trade fairs under one roof. Eagerly awaited for 2009 are three old favourites - MDA - Motion, Drive & Automation, SurfaceTechnology and ComVac, all of which take place once every two years - plus the brand-new trade fair Wind, staged in response to the enormous interest from trade visitors in wind energy.

The fact that INTERKAMA+, the leading trade fair for process automation, is not a stand-alone event but part of HANNOVER MESSE delivers huge benefits for visitors and exhibitors alike. Together with Factory Automation and Industrial Building Automation it makes up a triad of allied trade fairs staged under the collective branding "Industrial Automation".

This generates multiple points of contact between all the different disciplines that play a part in automation technology. One of the highlights of the supporting program for INTERKAMA+ next year will be the World User Club, which takes as its theme "Operational Excellence". An exclusive lounge is available for the use of decision-makers and end users from the process industry: here they can get down to serious discussions about the latest technologies and methods.

Back on the program again next year is "Wireless Automation", a dedicated display area for wireless communications technology, where the discussions about the WirelessHART standard that were initiated in 2008 will be continued and broadened.

Another key attraction is Speaker's Corner, where exhibitors will present their talks on current trends to an audience of interested professionals, and industry users will describe their experiences with various applications.

Anyone who wants to learn about the latest technologies for production automation comes to Factory Automation. As the leading international trade fair in its field, Factory Automation not only covers all aspects of integrated automation solutions for manufacturing, but also presents innovations in mechanical engineering and robot-assisted automation.

The special display "Application Park" shows industrial production processes in action through live demonstrations and guided tours of selected automation exhibits. Another major crowd-puller is sure to be the new Robotation Academy. Set up in association with Volkswagen Coaching, the Academy offers seminars in robotics and automation for industrial SMEs.

Unlike conventional conference centres, the Academy maintains its own stock of machinery for practical demonstrations and practice purposes, while technical experts are on hand to answer questions at the daily advice clinic. Introduced earlier this year, the special presentation "Mobile Robots & Autonomous Systems" is back again for 2009 with a host of innovative technologies and new applications to excite trade buyers.

The Centre of Excellence "Industrial Identification" is a showcase for intelligent identification and marking technologies. Features include a User Advice Clinic and an interactive Identification Test Area.

A new Centre of Excellence, "Clean Production", is making its debut in Hall 16, with scientific backing from the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Engineering and Automation (IPA). Strategically located next to the traditional categories of exhibits associated with factory automation, suppliers here will be presenting innovative components and practical solutions for clean production, ranging from cleanroom-compatible pneumatic systems to robots.

The building of the future will use sophisticated sensors and other recording devices to log everything that happens inside its walls, providing occupants with all kinds of information and controlling essential processes.

This advanced technology has huge implications, not least for industrial production. How that all works can be seen in Hannover - at Industrial Building Automation, the trade fair for integrated automation systems for buildings and production.

Energy efficiency is now high on everyone's agenda - and that includes Industrial Building Automation. Thanks to efficient instrumentation and control technology, intelligent building automation can make a significant contribution to energy savings.

Staged once every two years, the trade fair MDA - Motion, Drive & Automation is the most important event in the business calendar for the power transmission and control industry worldwide. As this is itself one of the most important supplier industries to the mechanical and plant engineering sector, MDA is perfectly positioned at HANNOVER MESSE.

Dominant themes in the coming year will be energy efficiency, life-cycle management, condition monitoring systems and alternative drives. The group display stand "E-Motive" will feature electric drives developed by vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers.

This form of propulsion is widely regarded as the most sustainable and promising way forward: universal in application and emissions-free, electric drives can be powered by a variety of primary energy sources - including renewables.

The energy sector is the focus of several trade fairs in the HANNOVER MESSE line-up, and these are being further enlarged and augmented for 2009. In recent years Hannover has become a global hub for the entire energy industry. The main reason: Energy is the only trade fair in the world that provides full coverage of conventional and renewable energies at the same time and in the same place.

HANNOVER MESSE is the platform for discussing the energy mix that we need for the future - secure, efficient, sustainable and competitive. Energy documents every link in the energy industry's value-adding chain - from generation and supply to transmission and distribution. For 2009 Energy is being systematically expanded in scope, not least in the area of renewables, with extended coverage of bio-energy and solar energy.

New focus topics include the gas industry and all aspects of IT for the energy industry's business processes. Special displays and forums that always prove popular are the Clean Moves Expo (energy-efficient mobility), the group exhibit Hydrogen + Fuel Cells and the Energy Forum "Life needs Power", the ESCO Forum (Contracting) and the Industry and Export Forum "Renewable Energy".

And once again HANNOVER MESSE is hosting the high-profile WORLD ENERGY DIALOGUE in 2009, with the theme "Security of energy supply".

Power Plant Technology - International Trade Fair for Power Plant Planning, Construction, Operation and Maintenance - celebrated its premiere at HANNOVER MESSE in 2008. Attracting nearly 50,000, the new show made its mark from the word go. Eager to build on this success, Power Plant Technology will be focusing in 2009 on power plant construction and component supply.

Other issues of great topical interest at the show are how to improve the efficiency of power stations, and how to reduce or eliminate carbon emissions in energy conversion in order to achieve long-term climate protection. Last year's popular Forum for industry users is back again for 2009.

Organized by market-leading associations, it is conveniently located within the main exhibition area. Power Plant Technology forms part of the total energy mix documented in Hall 27 - right alongside the brand-new trade fair Wind.

The market for wind energy is experiencing a global boom - and as from 2009 this important branch of industry will have its own presentation platform at HANNOVER MESSE. Wind, the Leading International Trade Fair for Plant, Components and Services for Wind Energy, will take place once every two years as part of HANNOVER MESSE, alternating with HusumWindEnergy.

The new trade fair has been warmly welcomed by the international wind energy industry and leading industry associations. Wind benefits substantially from the famous synergy effects associated with HANNOVER MESSE. Sections of the companion trade fair Motion, Drive & Automation are housed right next door to Wind in Hall 27 - and the wind energy market is an important partner for the power transmission industry.

Other major categories of displays - Industrial Automation, Subcontracting and Surface Technology - likewise have many points of contact with the wind energy industry, so that wind energy is clearly going to be a central theme of HANNOVER MESSE 2009.

Digital Factory - the Leading Trade Fair for Integrated Processes and IT Solutions gives visiting professionals a complete picture of the customized software tools available for product development, planning, production and services. One of the many current trends is the modularization of software applications; another is IT-based collaboration between different departments, companies and countries.

During HANNOVER MESSE 2009 Digital Factory will be presenting an update on these trends, together with a host of other IT products. At next year's show we can also expect to see a greater emphasis on CRM solutions (Customer Relationship Management) for the capital goods industry. The all-embracing CRM concepts on display at Digital Factory will be of particular interest to small and medium-sized companies, enabling them to improve the quality of their customer relations and take appropriate measures to enhance the profitability of individual projects.

The special display "RapidX" is back again next year, focusing the attention of visitors on key stages in the value-adding chain, and using practical examples to show how industry needs to design its processes around state-of-the-art technology in order to remain competitive.

Scientists, product developers and designers, plus buyers from manufacturing industry, the service sector, the energy industry, the skilled trades and the construction industry all come together at Subcontracting, the Leading Trade Fair for Subcontracting Services, Materials, Components and Systems for Mechanical Engineering, the Automotive Industry and Plant Engineering.

As the leading contact centre for the subcontracting industry in general, Subcontracting at HANNOVER MESSE 2009 will open up a wealth of opportunities for forging new business relationships. In Halls 3, 4 and 5 the displays by component supply firms underline their status as valued project partners for their customers, bringing engineering expertise and innovation with them.

Subcontracting covers all stages of the industrial process chain - from materials and production methods to finished product - thus reflecting the complexity of our industrialized world. With buyers from so many industries and so many countries at the show, exhibiting firms at Subcontracting will be able to make new customer contacts right across the industrial spectrum.

Innovative solutions for optimizing production and the supply of energy for manufacturing processes take centre stage at ComVac, the Leading Trade Fair for Compressed Air and Vacuum Technology. In order to be able to produce goods at a competitive cost, nearly every manufacturer today needs compressed air and vacuum technologies in some shape or form.

Here too demand is growing on the world market, as companies seek new solutions to upgrade their production processes. The ComVac portfolio covers all aspects of compressed air and vacuum technology - from the generation, treatment and distribution of the air to its application in machines and systems.

The focus is on modern electronic control and regulator systems, which in the near future will be able to take over important functions. Services such as current state analyses or compressed air contracting complete the range of offerings at ComVac 2009, which can be found in Hall 26.

In modern industrial production much depends on the quality of the surface finish. As the leading trade fair in its field, SurfaceTechnology documents the full range of current and future technologies for the finishing, coating and treatment of surfaces. At SurfaceTechnology 2009 companies from all over the world will be presenting not just innovative coating techniques, but also the full range of associated services.

The aim of SurfaceTechnology is to unpick the seemingly very complex manufacturing processes involved in surface treatment and make them easy to understand. Through a series of special displays documenting the application of these technologies across a range of industries, the show helps to encourage dialogue across the industry divide.

The highly successful group presentation "World of Surface Treatment", organized for many years now by the Central Association for Surface Technology (ZVO), covers all stages of the coating process - from pre-treatment, electroplating, process chemistry and plant engineering to quality assurance and testing.

The special display "Praxispark" examines each individual element in the end-to-end processing chain - from raw material to finished surface. Another popular feature of this display is the industrial paint line, where visitors can see live demonstrations of the painting process.

MicroTechnology is ideally positioned at the heart of the world's biggest technology event, alongside surface treatment technology (Hall 6), the subcontracting industry (Halls 3 - 5) and industrial process technology (Halls 6 - 9, 11). Other attractions nearby include the Centres of Excellence "Hygienic Design", "RFID" and "Mechatronics".

From engineering and materials to production processes and interface management - all the latest marketable developments and practical solutions in micro- and nanotechnology will be on display at MicroTechnology, along with laser technology.

At the Forum "Innovations for Industry" suppliers and users share information about the latest innovations in microtechnology products, while speakers from the scientific and business communities discuss current trends in micro- and nanotechnology.

Research & Technology - the "Innovations Market for Research and Technology" - is a hotbed of new technologies, and thus a driver of international technology transfer between the worlds of science and industry. Here scientists present their know-how and latest research findings to business decision-makers and product designers from all sections of industry.

Hall 2 serves as a hub where cutting-edge technologies are channelled into commercially viable products and applications. The event has a distinguished patron in the person of Dr. Annette Schavan, Germany's Minister for Education and Research. Once again the primary source of information about knowledge transfer is the stand "tech transfer - Gateway2Innovation", with its centrally located lecture and discussion forum.

Major themes in 2009 will be Bionics, Adaptronics, Engineering Textiles, Nanotechnology and SpaceTransfer (transfer of space technologies for high-tech applications in industry). And on the first night of the show Hall 2 traditionally hosts an informal get-together for exhibitors and visitors from all sections of HANNOVER MESSE. Science meets business at the Hannover Fair - and it all starts right here, at the "Night of Innovations" on 20 April.

- Marco Siebert-