An encounter of industry 4.0 and logistics 4.0

As leading shows of their own fields， HANNOVER MESSE and CeMAT talking place from 23 to 27 April 2018 attracted a total of 210，000 visitors at the fair， more than 70，000 of them came from abroad， for an international share of 30%.

Global hotspot for the digital transformation of industry

The worlds leading industrial show HANNOVER MESSE and the intralogistics and supply chain management show CeMAT took place in Hannover， Germany from 23 to 27 April 2018. “Technology is not about competing with us humans； its about assisting us. That is the core message conveyed by this trade fair， which has again underscored Hannovers reputation as a global hotspot for the digital transformation of industry，” said Dr. Jochen K？ckler， Chairman of the Managing Board at Deutsche Messe， at the close of HANNOVER MESSE and CeMAT.

Under the motto of “Integrated Industry – Connect & Collaborate”， a total of 210，000 visitors seized the opportunity to explore the innovations on display. A total of 5，800 exhibitors were present at HANNOVER MESSE & CeMAT. Topics like machine learning， artificial intelligence， industrial IT platforms， the expansion of power grids for eMobility， the use of robots and autonomous systems in production and intralogistics， and the role of workers in the integrated factory were the subject of intense debate at the stands of exhibitors at the event. As the official Partner Country， Mexico profiled itself as an innovative business partner and industrial location.

Discussing the shape of things to come

“Businesses have successfully negotiated the first steps on the path towards digitized， connected production and are now firing up for the second stage of the journey，” reported Thilo Brodtmann， Executive Director of the German Engineering Federation （VDMA）.“New platform-based business models， the use of digital twins and initial experiences with machine learning – all of this is set to play an increasingly important role in the mechanical engineering sector. Hannover Messe is a place where people present and discuss the shape of things to come， and we are once again highly satisfied with the outcome of the show，” he continued. The VDMA believed that automation， software and intralogistics would continue to define the character of HANNOVER MESSE， he said.

Featuring digitization and connectivity

“HANNOVER MESSE has once again confirmed it is the definitive home base for the global transition to Industry 4.0. Extended value creation networks， new forms of human-machine collaboration， and the increasing integration of artificial intelligence into production operations： These remain the key features of digitization and connectivity， and were once again first unveiled here in Hannover. ”said ZVEI Executive Director Dr. Klaus Mittelbach.

Out of a total of 210，000 visitors at the fair， more than 70，000 of them came from abroad， for an international share of 30%t. China headed the foreign visitor statistics with a total of 6，500， followed by the Netherlands （5，300）， Poland （2，700） and the United States （1，700）. A total of 1，400 visitors attended from Mexico， which was this years featured Partner Country.

CeMAT： the integration of production and logistics

The close integration of production and logistics was a key topic in the CeMAT halls – unsurprisingly， since the digital factory simply cannot work without intelligent logistics systems. Product highlights included industrial trucks， autonomous shuttles， order-picking robots and complete systems. Further highlights consisted of assistance systems like exoskeletons， AR goggles， and above all robots. Agile fabrication and intralogistics rely on autonomous transport systems， drones and intelligent personal assistants （IPAs）. The trend towards human/machine collaboration continues unabated.

Meanwhile， displays in the energy-related halls centered on energy efficiency in direct correlation with climate protection. The focus was on decentralized， smart energy systems and infrastructure solutions for the environmentally friendly mobility of the future.

The next HANNOVER MESSE will be staged from 1 to 5 April 2019， with Sweden as the official Partner Country. The next CeMAT will run parallel to HANNOVER MESSE from 20 to 24 April 2020.