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The Bright World of Metals Reinforces its Position as an International Leader
- GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS & NEWCAST stimulate investments
- More professional visitors from overseas
- This trade fair quartet drives the Industry 4.0 and additive manufacturing
  trends forward

After five eventful days at the trade fair, the Bright World of Metals concluded successfully
on Saturday 29 June. It fortified its international leading position as the world’s most
important trade fair platform for metallurgy and casting technology. The dynamic
atmosphere in the twelve halls of the Düsseldorf trade fairground was shaped by the
numerous investments, spontaneous business deals and lively discussion and
exchanges of expertise between exhibitors and professional visitors. Results were
excellent for both exhibitors and visitors at GIFA,METEC, THERMPROCESS &
NEWCAST, particularly in terms of how international the demographic was in
comparison to previous events: 70% of the exhibitors hailed from abroad (65% in 2015)
and 66% of the visitors came from foreign countries (62% in 2015).

Factors for success: An international demographic and decisionmaking power

“With approximately 2,360 exhibitors from all over the world, GIFA, METEC,
THERMPROCESS & NEWCAST have almost covered the entire international market.
Global players, small, innovative newcomers and providers of niche technology alike
are all represented here”, says Friedrich-Georg Kehrer, the Global Portfolio Director for
Metals and Flow Technologies at Messe Düsseldorf GmbH. Around 72,500 visitors
from 118 countries were welcomed into the halls during the trade fair’s five-day run.
The demand for European metallurgy and casting technology is particularly strong
overseas, especially in Asia. This is also reflected in the international country ranking:
China and India edge to the top here, followed by Italy, Turkey, Japan, France and Russia.
“The mix of nations in our visitor and exhibitor demographics is a crucial factor for
success of the Bright World of Metals; indeed, that’s what makes this quadruple
trade fair so unique. GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS & NEWCAST are an absolute
must for metallurgy and casting professionals from all over the world“, continues Kehrer.

Dipl.-Ing. Heinz Nelissen, President of GIFA & NEWCAST and CEO of Vesuvius GmbH
FOSECO Foundry Division, was quick to confirm this: “Right after the trade fair started,
any remaining uncertainty caused by the economic slump simply lifted and the rush of
visitors was enorm. This huge crowd of high-quality visitors, from an incredibly diverse
range of international countries, were here to see the innovations from our exhibitors”,
said Nelissen. “Above all, digitalisation, automation, additive manufacturing and
resource efficiency were the focal points of the talks. We undoubtedly proved that GIFA
has reinforced this trade fair’s status as a global leader.

The second important factor for success, along with the diversity of internationalities
is the quality of the visitors: Over two-thirds work in upper and middle management in
their companies and as such have a direct influence on investment decisions. Dr.-Ing.
Joachim G. Wünning, President of THERMPROCESS and CEO of WS Wärmeprozess-
technik GmbH, also confirmed this as an exhibitor himself: “The mood is amazing.
The Bright World of Metals really stimulates investment decisions, and that’s exactly
what our industry needs.”

The trade fair quartet: A mega trend driver

Once more, the metallurgy trade fair quartet has proved itself to be a driver of trends
and innovation. The mega trends, namely additive manufacturing and industry 4.0, ran
through all the trade fair halls, uniting them. These trends met with huge interest from
the professional visitors. The subjects of energy efficiency and saving resources also
played a big role in events, which could be seen best in the ecoMetals Trails, for
example. The synopsis from Burkhard Dahmen, President of METEC and Chairman
of the Managing Board for the SMS Group, was also positive: “This year’s METEC
puts out a clear statement and is a beacon for the future of metallurgy and steel
production. The exhibitors presented solution concepts that primarily reflected the
futuristic highlights for the industry: ecoMetals, additive manufacturing, sustainability
and digitalisation. Now, we need to harness this spirit and act on it to create a
successful future. I’m looking forward to seeing the results of METEC 2023 already.”

The next Bright World of Metals, comprised of the leading trade fairs GIFA, METEC,
THERMPROCESS & NEWCAST will be held in June 2023; the precise date will be
set over the next few months.

Press note from 29th June 2019