Belgium's largest trade fair for the manufacturing industry coming up

The larger the offer and the broader the support base of a trade show, the more interesting the event becomes for visitors. At Easyfairs, they have understood this and are opening up their exhibition platforms to external partners. On May 14, 15 and 16, 2024, they are organizing the largest Belgian trade fair for the manufacturing industry in Antwerp Expo. Together with the fifth edition of Advanced Engineering, Advanced Manufacturing, the combination of Welding Week, Subcontracting and the new Metal, is planned - an exhibition platform with an extensive program.

"We want to open up our trade shows to different companies and organizations that want to add their cart to our events, creating even more added value for visitors," stated head of event Jeroen Arnouts. "For example, if people want to make a trip to Antwerp to visit a trade show, it's nice to suddenly be able to offer them a wider range of demonstrations, content and award ceremonies.... That way their trip to Antwerp Expo is immediately worth much more."

Celebration of metal sector and product development

A great example of that philosophy is the event on May 14, 15 and 16, 2024 at Antwerp Expo, where Easyfairs is bringing together four titles. On May 15 and 16, the anniversary edition of Advanced Engineering will take place, with a focus on product development. That's about design, engineering and prototyping a product, but also about choosing the right components and electronics. For the first time, this exhibition will be linked to Advanced Manufacturing, a new platform with the existing combination Welding Week + Subcontracting and the new event Metal. Welding Week is the welding event for the Benelux, while at Subcontracting industrial suppliers show components and operations in metals. 

"June 2022 saw the first ever Journée du Métal, a new one-day exhibition concept with all-in booths aimed at the French-speaking metal sector. It featured exhibitors with welding, metal and subcontracting solutions, and it was well liked by visitors, exhibitors and partners. At Metal, metalworking professionals can discover what the latest solutions are in terms of machining, sheet metal, surface treatment, 3D printing... Research after the last edition of Welding Week + Subcontracting in 2019 had also already shown that visitors would appreciate being able to see the entire solution chain at the same time in one location," says Jeroen Arnouts. "We will therefore fill all the halls of Antwerp Expo and bring the entire Benelux metal sector and product development together under one roof. After all, with this platform we appeal to R&D teams, product engineers, product designers and innovation managers, but equally to welding professionals, metalworking companies and buyers."

Bustling exhibition floor, extensive program

Visitors not only get a vibrant show floor with a wide variety of segments, but also an interesting program. For example, there are several demo zones, including the VR/AR zone, the AI Hub and a Design District for creative agencies. There is also the welding symposium of the Belgian Institute of Welding Techniques (BIL), an award ceremony of the Steel Warriors competition for engineering schools, the BK virtual welding, and the VCL Wall of Flame where visitors can weld themselves. "To celebrate the fifth edition of Advanced Engineering and its co-location with Advanced Manufacturing, we are brewing our own beer to treat all partners, exhibitors and visitors in a tent in the garden of Antwerp Expo. By the way, this is also the first time in the history of Antwerp Expo that there will be a tent in the little garden - a nice location to end the fair cozily," Jeroen Arnouts states. "This will also be the first edition of Welding Week without driving force Steven Duytschaever. The many expressions of support from exhibitors and partners upon his passing last August were heartwarming for us, his colleagues and family. We cannot thank them hard enough for that."