All made technology under one roof

Machinists and sheet metal workers, welders and surface finishers, OEMs and suppliers, they all found what they were looking for at the Belgian Machineering at the end of March. This three-day fair brought smart manufacturing technology together in Brussels Expo. Metaalvak was there, welcomed visitors in the lounge and saw that it was good. Because despite all the geopolitical tensions, manufacturing companies above all want to keep investing in tomorrow.

Let's start with the numbers. In any case, it will not have been down to the exhibitors. There were more of them than ever. With 147 to be exact, they accounted for an increase of 25%. Moreover, they also pulled out their pouches a bit bigger than previous editions for more booth space to show machines in demo. In total, the show floor accounted for 12,500 m², also a record. And the visitors? Those registered a status quo. There were 5,976 of them (and we are only counting professionals, not students) to discover smart manufacturing solutions. Remarkable though is the larger turnout from the Netherlands (7.5% more). Two years ago, the counter stuck at 5,799 professional visitors. 

Quality 

So is that small surplus enough in relation to the time and resources exhibitors commit? At the fair, it did feel that way. Because the quality of the visitors and the concrete projects with which they stepped up to exhibitors managed to outweigh the quantity. Steven Jacobs of JS-Laser Benelux was perhaps the most enthusiastic and even spoke of a hit: "Because we went home with two signed orders and a bunch of interesting leads to follow up on."

150 machines in action

So what exactly had most people come for? Machines in action, of course. And in that respect they really came into their own at this Machineering. There were no less than 150 of them on display. Who had the biggest? That depends on whether you want to count in kilograms or meters. No one noticed the endless tube laser from Bodor on the stand of The Tollenaere could miss. The same can be said for Wouters Cutting & Welding where they needed two cranes to show their Microstep all-round solution for cutting, drilling and milling to the public at all. "A machine that is certainly not the ideal match for every workshop. But an eye-catcher, showing what Microstep has to offer," sales engineer Yves Vandyck told us.  

Presence from China

Notable present this edition: the laser. In the first place because of increased competition in sheet metal processing technology from China. Penta's machines are a good example of that. A last-minute addition, by the way, to the lineup of this Machineering. "We hesitated for a long time to be here, as we are opening the doors of our own showroom in Deurne (NL) a week later," confesses Jeroen Carmiggelt. "But we wanted to be here anyway to show that Penta is a serious company that can make you happy as a European. The customer is not alone but can count on us for service and technical support, in addition to, of course, very well performing machines and automation solutions."    

Rise of laser welding

But the laser is also ubiquitous in welding today. Visitors knew that as soon as they entered, where CNC Europe showed a demo around laser welding. "We are only at the beginning of the revolution," assures Patrick Favoreel. "Laser light is such a powerful tool, provided that you can control it and that you pay enough attention to safety. Today we can already do one-sided penetration up to 12 mm deep, and that brings significant benefits to customers, because in some cases it can be up to almost half the cost of traditional production methods. But we also see opportunities for surface cleaning with laser. That will be our next development."

Automation solutions prominent

Not to be missed at Machineering: the number of automation solutions on display. These used to be something for conversations afterwards. Today, they are increasingly prominent. At Okuma's booth, for example, RoboJob highlighted its new Pallet-Load-Integrated and Hermle Nederland showed its C12U RS05-02, a high performance machine enhanced with flexible automation. Schunk and Hoffmann Group's tools were also showing numerous solutions to minimize the time between tool changes, whether milling or turning. 

Responding to scarcity of personnel

At Th. Wortelboer, which specializes in pipe processing, they hook into this theme with their solutions. "We have machines with which you can actually save a lot of time, so that you can do the same work with fewer people. And it doesn't matter if they have less experience. We make technology that helps the thinking." Q-Fin's deburring machines also aim to do this. Patrick van Scherpenseel: "Because customers are asking for it. They are under pressure to deliver consistently high quality. By machine deburring, you can meet those demands. The next steps now are to add a cobot or automatic loading to go one step further again."

Entry-level

It almost seemed like stand-alone machines are slowly being retired. Nothing could be further from the truth, of course. At the very opposite end of the spectrum, we also see more and more so-called entry-level machines popping up. The new model from Muratec is one of those. Patrick Vaessen of Bendertechniek: "Classically, Muratec machines land in the high-end segment. With this new model we broaden the accessibility to benefit from fast changeover times, high accuracy and above all lots of productivity." The dealer made chopsticks with it for visitors during Machineering.

Grow further

Quite a few Dutch exhibitors also focused on the Belgian market. "A relatively new market for us," says Bart van Gisbergen of supplier De Cromvoirtse. "We want to show Belgian machine builders here how easily they can order sheet metal work through our web portal. We see a lot of growth potential." A similar story at Lumixz, which makes advanced tube and sheet laser machines and was in Belgium for the first time. "We already have a first reference in Beveren, but there will hopefully be more after this fair," they let on at the booth." Laskar Puntlastechniek was also present for the first time. "Actually, we have quite a few customers in Flanders. With stud welding and spot welding, we are in a niche in which we try to excel with our products. With new developments such as data logging, we are in any case well prepared for the future," said Huig Wols.

Quality and reliability

"Every SME in Belgium should actually know us," says Niek de Boer of Kipp Netherlands with a wink. That was translated at the fair: it took a while to queue up to have a chat with them. "We are here because, as a family business, we think personal contact is important. At the same time, we want to showcase our state-of-the-art website. What makes it unique is that users can look up what they need based on a picture. That saves a lot of time and frustration." Of German origin are the machines of Zinser, specialists in cutting and welding and have been for 127 years. Joep Buitink: "We stand for quality and reliability. For us, this is the best Belgian fair. Good contacts, new projects ahead." 

What's next?

On March 26 and 27, 2026, the first Machineering NextGen Experience will bring the entire value chain together in one large production floor of the future. This unique networking concept is built on several experience boxes, each with a series of all-in network booths surrounding a central demo production island. Here, different partners join forces to bring innovations together in a large-scale, live production demonstration. The ideal setting to demonstrate how machinery, tooling, automation and digitization come together to create an efficient convergence.