Technology showcase for Western and Northern Europe

Metalworkers get out your agenda. From March 10 to 13, Messe Düsseldorf will once again host METAV, the biennial technology fair for machine tools, CAD/CAM systems, control and measurement technologies, automation and tools and machines for tool, die and model making. For this 21st edition of the fair, the organizers are announcing many new features.

The new floor plan for the 21st edition of METAV.

This year VDW and Messe Düsseldorf are celebrating forty years of METAV. This fair was first organized in 1980 to then establish itself as an international fair in the even-numbered years. Over the years, METAV has developed on the exhibitor side into an international fair with visitors from many European countries. Thus, some 560 exhibitors from 24 countries worldwide took part in the previous edition in 2018 and around 27,000 visitors from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland in particular found their way to Düsseldorf. They mainly come from metal production and processing, electronics and electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and the vehicle industry.

New halls, layout and duration

As with all previous editions, the focus at METAV 2020 is on the complete process chain of metalworking, and the organization has expanded it by four zones for several years. The themes of additive manufacturing, medical, moulding and quality will be highlighted and draw their own audiences. This edition is also the information hub for Industrie 4.0 in manufacturing. After all, this (r)evolution has also taken off in metalworking with, for example, connected production, cloud applications, cybersecurity, data analysis, 5G, machine learning, artificial intelligence, platform economy and not least with umati (universal machine tool interface) and OPC UA. For this edition, the fair is moving to new halls on the Düsseldorf fairgrounds. Thus, the new Hall 1 - larger in area than the old Halls 1 and 2 combined - and Halls 4, 5 and 7a will be added, ensuring optimal routing through Entrance North and the new Entrance South. The halls will be completely rearranged. The strict separation based on product segments will be abandoned, so that, for example, precision tools and accessories will be found closer to the machine manufacturers. Finally, the duration of the fair was reduced from five to four days at the request of the exhibitors.

METAV is the meeting point for visitors from metal production and processing, electronics and electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and the vehicle industry.

New and existing initiatives combined

The 21st edition of the METAV is based on a combination of existing and new initiatives. Thus, the METAV remains the meeting point for the international exchange of knowledge. The specialist program therefore covers many important topics from the industry, some of which were also covered at the EMO in September. Together with the VDMA state association Nordrhein-Westfalen and other partners, the VDW is organizing a Dutch-German business meeting on March 10, and there will also be an information day on the same day concerning machine tool safety. The trade association for precision tools within the VDMA is organizing its fourth forum around machining technology on March 11, this time focusing on digital challenges. On March 12, the maw innovation forum, which has been taking place in Böblingen for twelve years, will take place in Düsseldorf for the first time. Since quite a few of the visitors are interested in the topic of automation, according to a survey, there will be a theme park around "digitization and automation," topics that are essential for the future development of firms. This theme park provides an almost complete overview of interesting Industrie 4.0 solutions. Similar to EMO, there will be a umati showcase at METAV, which will demonstrate the live connection of machines and software systems via the umati interface to a central dashboard. Finally, on March 11, VDW is organizing a conference on cybersecurity, a topic that is surely a challenge for any firm dealing with Industry 4.0.