Transformation a challenge for the industry - summary of the 2023 trade fair block

The impressive space of the industrial trade fair block covered almost all industries. The seven halls with a total area of 42,000 square meters offered, among others, metal machine tools, tools, industrial automation, robotics, metallurgy, foundry, welding and cutting, additive technologies, software, industrial metrology, solutions for modern logistics, products for occupational health and safety, and manufacturing companies from the broader metalworking industry and services for industry. The next edition of ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE together with MODERNLOG and SUBCONTRACTING is scheduled for June 4-7, 2024.

During ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE 2023, it was possible to simultaneously visit the exposition of: the Logistics, Warehousing and Transportation Fair Modernlog, the Industrial Cooperation Fair Subcontracting and the Industrial Safety Salon.

SUBCONTRACTING - the superpower of networking

As part of the Subcontracting industrial cooperation fair, 62 companies from 6 countries (Finland, Spain, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Ukraine) presented their latest subcontracting offer, while as many as 100 participants from 15 countries discovered the superpowers of networking at Subcontracting Meetings. The crowds in the pavilions demonstrated the power of live meetings. A key element for SUBCONTRACTING visitors was the international Subcontracting Meetings cooperation negotiations, prepared in cooperation with the Poznań Science and Technology Park. The event is held under the auspices of the European Enterprise Network. In total, there were 95 b2b meetings of nearly 100 representatives of companies from 15 countries: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Italy, France, Turkey, Netherlands, India, Czech Republic, Spain, Sweden, Slovakia, Finland, Macedonia, Moldova. Participants had the opportunity to compare offers from industrial subcontractors, and thus find new customers. The next series of matchmaking meetings, this time online, is scheduled for 5-10.06.2023.

Conferences in the series SUBCONTRACTING-I'M BUYING IT! attracted purchasing industry professionals in large numbers to the Trends for Industry Stage in Pavilion 5A. Interesting topics related to improvements in the area of supply chain management and speeches by experts provided participants with a huge dose of practical knowledge. There was also considerable interest in the events prepared by representatives of the Metalworking Cluster - the National Key Cluster.

The capital of modern logistics

Poznań became the capital of modern logistics for four days thanks to the MODERNLOG Logistics, Warehousing and Transportation Fair - the most important industry event in the country. This year's exposition was very diverse, with exhibitors presenting both innovative warehouse automation solutions or internal transport technologies, as well as logistics services, software, and packaging and identification systems. In the center of the pavilion, logistics demonstrations were held daily in the In4Log zone, which, as every year, attracted the attention of trade fair visitors. Medialog Publishing House together with its partners - AIUT, Mosca, Fronius, Craemer, AnterSystem, Continental, RedSteel, PolPlan, LGS Maximal, Agroma Polsad, LineLaser - prepared dynamic presentations of state-of-the-art intralogistics solutions. MODERNLOG was also a place for debate and exchange of experience and knowledge - as many as 3 industry conferences were held as part of the fair.

The development of Polish and global logistics in relation to technological and socio-economic changes was discussed by speakers at the meeting "Direction to the zone of modern logistics" organized by K-SSEZ and PSI Wielkopolska. The Polish Association of Warehouse Technology, meanwhile, addressed issues related to storage systems during the Racking Conference. Smart Warehouse is a conference that is already well known in the logistics industry, which this year was held for the fourth time and was attended by more than 600 participants. From the stage you could hear 29 speakers from 26 well-known brands during 5 panel discussions: #Human vs. robotics, how to get in touch with a robot in the warehouse, #Mechanization and automation of warehouse processes, #AGV robots, #Fulfillment - logistics for e-commerce, #IoT digitization. The conference also included 5 speeches in the Partner Stage series and a networking zone organized with 9 partner companies.

Occupational Safety and Health Salon - in the service of safety

The Industrial Safety Salon is an event that provides an opportunity to meet with experts, providing participants with knowledge about occupational safety in the industrial sector and to learn about the latest products and solutions in the field of occupational protection and safety.

Exhibitors - 21 companies from 4 countries (Belgium, Germany, Poland, Switzerland) presented: individual and collective protection measures, first aid measures and equipment, solutions for safe work in the warehouse, protective and work clothing, workplace equipment/ ergonomics, marking and safety signs. On the first day, there was a conference prepared by the National Labor Inspectorate and the National Association of Occupational Safety and Health Service Employees entitled. "PROFESSIONAL OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY SERVICE THE FOUNDATION OF SAFE WORKING CONDITIONS. Challenges of modern technologies." The conference attracted crowds of specialists representing the labor protection industry, who want to improve their knowledge and skills, and thus take care of creating a safety culture in Polish workplaces.

ITM Industry Europe - Transformation a challenge for industry

- The current times have been very unstable for the past few years, and the industry is facing many challenges such as the war in Ukraine, previously a pandemic, broken supply chains and long waiting times for machine components. However, while there are rumblings of an impending industry crisis, these worrisome trends are not evident at the fair. We are grateful for the involvement of so many companies, institutions, and clusters that made this year's edition with us. Both the exposition of our exhibitors and the program are the heart of ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE, without which there would be no success of this event.- emphasized Anna Lemańska-Kramer, director of ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE.

Industry Next Congress for the third time

The world of industry in times of transformation - this was the motto of this year's Industry Next Congress, which accompanied the ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE trade fair for the third time. The opening lecture was given by Dr. Maciej Kawecki, technology popularizer, science journalist appointed by the European Commission as Digital EU Ambassador, president of the Lem Institute. - The biggest challenge of Polish industry is transformation! Our industry developed at a time when robotics, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence were looked at differently. To carry out the transformation in such a way as not to replace the human factor but to use its creativity is very difficult. - argued Dr. Maciej Kawecki.

The congress not only emphasized the need for digital transformation, but also discussed the environmental shot.

-Green is not just aluminum, green is the industry, and it will be green and it will have to be green, because that's how Europe wants to shape its future," explained Andrzej Michalski-Stępkowski, president of the Polish Aluminum Association, adding that aluminum is, on the one hand, a material whose production is subject to regulations resulting from the EU climate policy, but on the other hand, a raw material necessary for the production of all kinds of products allowing to meet ambitious environmental policy goals. Katarzyna Błachowicz, Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Cluster of Waste Management and Recycling, also spoke about the need for transformation towards a closed loop economy, support for innovation and digital transformation of companies in the panel: Green transformation of industry: how to make it happen?

- Without access to critical raw materials, there can be no green transformation of Europe. According to the draft EU regulation on critical raw materials, by 2030. 10 percent of these raw materials should be mined within the EU, and 15 percent should be recycled. This will make the EU independent of raw material imports from China, among others. This requires bold decisions to promote green strategic investments. Developing the innovative potential of SMEs, with a focus on the recycling sector, is key. Without the recovery of raw materials from waste, we will not close the loop and will lose our chances to make Europe competitive," assessed Katarzyna Błachowicz.

During the three days of the Industry Next Congress, experts stressed the need to automate industry faster, pointed out opportunities and risks associated with artificial intelligence in business, discussed ways to implement robotization and digital twins, and sought support tools for industry transformation.

In total, the ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE trade fair featured dozens of debates on four stages with the support of key organizations, companies and institutions related to the industrial sector.

Science and industry - a common path

An important part of the exhibition was the representation of Polish research centers under the common name SCIENCE FOR THE ECONOMY.

- We are happy to have so many representatives of science here, because it is science, innovation and technology transfer that are the three main watchwords of the ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE fair," said Tomasz Kobierski, President of the MTP Group, during the inauguration of the fair.

The synergy of industry and science also resounded in the debates and conferences held during the fair. An example of such cooperation was the XVI Engineering FORUM - IX DAY OF MECHANICS, which has accompanied the industrial fair for twenty years. The organizers: the Federation of Scientific and Technical Associations of the Polish Federation of Engineering Associations and the Association of Polish Mechanical Engineers and Technicians ensure that the ties between scientific and research centers and industry are successively strengthened. This year, scientists debated the determinants of technical creativity and the possibility of implementing its results in the economy.

- For years we have been presenting innovations at this Forum, finding out how they are implemented, but also what barriers they face. Today we are showing young creators to make them aware of the problems they face in order to realize their research - noted during the Forum Ewa Mańkiewicz-Cudny, President of the Board of FSNT-NOT.

One could also hear about the interpenetration of the worlds of science and industry at the Industry 4.0 Forum, organized under the auspices of the Polish Academy of Sciences. - Industry 4.0 is a phenomenon on a global scale . It's a concept that was coined 12 years ago and today it's hard to find a place in the world where Industry 4.0 isn't talked about," said at the Forum's inauguration one of the initiators of the undertaking, Andrzej Soldaty of the Silesian University of Technology's Industry 4.0 Center.

The conference was hosted by the largest Tech Scene in Poland, in a special innovation space for factories of the future initiated by DBR77.

- If we don't start with education then we won't get to the factory of the future and that efficiency , which will give us competitiveness. What does this mean? It's not just that we are short of engineers or programmers, but we care about educating at every level, but especially where decisions are made. The Industry 4.0 Forum is a great place, a meeting of manufacturers, NGOs and scientific institutions, which together can find a method of education on a mass scale," stressed Dr. Piotr Wisniewski - founder and CEO of DBR77.

Gold Medals presented!

Business successes are also innovative products and exhibitors present at ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE create the future of the industrial world. Examples of products creating trends in the industry are the winners of the MTP Gold Medal, who were honored at the opening ceremony of the fair. Fifteen gold medals were handed out. The best products of the ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE fair turned out to be: CNC longitudinal lathe SD-26 (RANDS Ryżewscy Spółka komandytowa - applicant, STAR MICRONICS AG - manufacturer), Mechatronic Ladder (METALKAS SA - applicant and manufacturer), ENKi System (GG TECH POLSKA Sp. z o.o. Sp. K. - applicant and manufacturer), 3D Head 3 GEN (Ajan Polska - applicant, Ajan Elektronic Serwis SAN - manufacturer), FSW Head (TECHNIKA SPAWALNICZA Sp. z o.o. - applicant, Stirweld - manufacturer), IPOsystem (UIBS Teamwork Skowron Fiegler sp. k. - applicant and manufacturer), Laser Regius 3015 AJ 6KW (AMADA Sp. z o.o. - applicant and manufacturer), Laser cutting machine TruMatic 6000 (K05) CO2 resonator TruFlow 2700 W (TRUMPF POLSKA Spółka z o.o. Sp.k. - applicant and manufacturer), Industrial Linea (TENTE Sp. z o.o. - applicant and manufacturer), Microset VIO 20|50 linear (HAIMER GmbH - applicant and manufacturer), Vertical machining center M2 (DMG MORI Polska Sp. z o.o. - applicant, FAMOT Pleszew Sp. z o.o. - manufacturer), T1 numerically controlled lathe (DMG MORI Polska Sp. z o.o. - applicant, FAMOT Pleszew Sp. z o.o. - manufacturer), TruLaser 5030 fiber (L76) laser cutting machine with TruDisk 24001 W resonator (TRUMPF POLSKA Spółka z o.o. Sp.k. - applicant and manufacturer).

Two Gold Medals were also presented to representatives of the MODERNLOG fair. The best turned out to be: Intuitive Picking Assistant (KARDEX POLSKA Sp. z o.o. - applicant and manufacturer) and Synaptic Platform (Instytut Studiów Programistycznych S.A. - applicant and manufacturer). The Consumers' Choice Gold Medal award went to AJAN POLSKA.

In turn, exhibitors who demonstrated a special vision in arranging their exhibition space received the Acanthus Aureus statuette. The Golden Acanthus statuette is awarded to stands that are best designed and prepared to implement the company's marketing strategy during the fair. This year the award went to: DMG MORI Polska Sp. z o.o., RoTec POLSKA SCHENCK RoTec GmbH, Schwaebische Werkzeugmaschinen Polska Sp. z o.o., DEMATEC POLSKA Sp. z o.o., MAZAK - YAMAZAKI MAZAK CENTRAL EUROPE Sp. z o.o. Poland Branch, HSG LASER CO.,LTD., SIEĆ BADAWCZA ŁUKASIEWICZ, TRUMPF POLSKA Sp. z o.o. Sp.k., JET SYSTEM Sp. z o.o. Sp.k., EROWA TECHNOLOGY Sp. z o.o. as well as MODERNLOG exhibitors: KARDEX POLSKA Sp. z o.o., SEALED AIR POLSKA Sp. z o.o., NEWLAND EUROPE B.V.

We would like to invite you to the next installment of the SUBCONTRACTING Industrial Cooperation Fair, which is scheduled for 4-7.06.2024, of course, in Poznań!

See you there and may the superpowers be with you!