Bright World of Metals: 2,100 exhibitors from all over the world

Excellent registration figures for the “Bright World of Metals”: about 2,100 exhibitors from all over the world will be showcasing their achievements at the leading international trade fairs for foundry and metallurgical technology GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS and NEWCAST from 25. to 29. June. “For the first time in the more than 60-year history, we had more than 2,000 exhibitors in 2015. So I am particularly pleased that we have succeeded in maintaining this high level and in confirming the dominant position held by our four trade fairs”, is how Friedrich Kehrer, Global Portfolio Director Metals and Flow Technology at Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, summarises the first-rate registration figures. The exhibitors will be presenting the entire spectrum of foundry technology, castings, metallurgy and thermo process technology in twelve different halls. The list of countries participating is global and ranges from “A” for Australia to “U” for United Arab Emirates. Trade visitors from the business, research, development and academic communities cannot obtain such a comprehensive insight into the industry at any other trade fair anywhere in the world. So the international reach of the four trade fairs will once again be impressively broad this year. It is traditionally the case that more than half of the 78,000 trade visitors that are expected to attend come to the world capital of the “Bright World of Metals” from overseas and from European countries.

As the leading trade fairs in their respective sectors, GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS and NEWCAST will be covering the most important trends – and that is not all: they will be driving forces behind the ongoing market development of key technologies, above all in the core areas of additive manufacturing and Industry 4.0 or with respect to the tremendous potential offered by lightweight structures in the automotive industry.

Industry 4.0: a dominant issue at the “Bright World of Metals”

Digital transformation is an important topic at the “Bright World of Metals”, because Industry 4.0 is one of the main developments determining the future in the metallurgical sectors too, so it will be a dominant issue in the halls on the exhibition site in Düsseldorf. More and more sophisticated sensor technology is providing more and more data from the production process in foundries and steel mills. Thousands of data are needed for every slab that is cast and every strip of steel that is rolled. It is no longer possible to analyse these data, to recognise patterns and to obtain information from them with the classic IT methods. The computer centres and databases of the past are being replaced by big data analysis, artificial intelligence and networked cloud systems. The digital monitoring of machines and equipment reduces maintenance costs, increases efficiency and has the potential to optimise products.

Major focus: additive manufacturing

The “Bright World of Metals” is spotlighting another topical subject: additive manufacturing – the big issue in production engineering. The special additive manufacturing show in Hall 3 and the “Metal 3D Printing” conference will, for example, be premiered on 26. June. AM is already in successful operation in many demanding industries like medical engineering, car manufacturing and aerospace. The foundry, steel and aluminium industry have recognised the potential of 3D printing too – as, not least of all, a survey by the Federal Association of the German Foundry Industry (BDG) about the impact of electromobility on the foundry industry and its products emphasises. Alternative concepts implemented in hybrid and electric drives require increasing casting volumes by comparison with drives based exclusively on combustion engines. It is likely that peak casting demand will not be reached until 2030, according to the BDG survey – so the prospects for GIFA and METEC 2019 are excellent.

ecoMetals & ecoMetals Trails

The ecoMetals campaign by Messe Düsseldorf is an established feature of the “Bright World of Metals” and has been a success story for a long time now. It is no secret that sustainability, minimisation of resource consumption and energy efficiency are current trends in the energy-intensive foundry and metallurgical industries. Modern technologies that minimise resource consumption and improve energy efficiency play a not inconsiderable role when industrial customers are making investments. There can be no doubt that companies which excel in these areas will also be popular destinations for visitors to GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS or NEWCAST. Messe Düsseldorf responded to this trend as early as 2011 by launching a special campaign focussing on this issue, in which the leading companies in the industries spontaneously took part by presenting their technological innovations. The emphasis this year is again on environmentally sound operation and production in the sector, with resource and energy efficiency, climate protection and innovative processes and products as the main priorities. About 30 exhibitors will probably be presenting their accomplishments under the heading “ecoMetals@Bright World of Metals“. Visitors can obtain a personal insight in the context of guided tours - known as “ecoMetals Trails”.

Bright World of Metals: four trade fairs under one roof

GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS and NEWCAST are independent trade fairs that each individually stands for itself and its markets, while they together make up the complete picture presented by the “Bright World of Metals”. GIFA, the International Foundry Trade Fair and Technical Forum, has been the heart of the foundry industry for decades. About 900 exhibitors from 47 countries so far will be presenting their products and services in Halls 10 to 13 and 15 to 17. They include such world market leaders as Bühler AG (Switzerland), ASK Chemicals GmbH (Germany), FOSECO (Germany), Hüttenes Albertus (Germany), Loramendi S. Coop (Spain) und Vesuvius GmbH (Germany). There will also be large joint stands again from China and Italy.

NEWCAST: fully booked on its 5^th anniversary

NEWCAST, the 5^th International Trade Fair for Castings with the Newcast Forum, is fully booked on its 5^th anniversary. Some 400 exhibitors from more than 30 different countries will be demonstrating in Halls 13 and 14 how global the production of castings has become. Market leaders like Finoba Automotive GmbH (Germany), GOM GmbH (Germany), Gießerei Heunisch (Germany), Eisenwerk Brühl (Germany), Kimura Foundry Co. Ltd. (Japan), Kutes Metal Inc. (Turkey) und Waupaca Foundry (USA) are taking advantage of this platform. The Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials/IFAM (Germany) will also be represented. The foundry associations from Croatia, Mexico and Hungary will be at NEWCAST for the first time.

METEC 2019: new record on its 10^th anniversary

METEC, the 10^th International Metallurgical Trade Fair, is home to the large plant manufacturers. Suppliers of equipment for iron, steel and non-ferrous metal production, for casting, pouring and shaping steel as well as rolling mills and steel mills will have particular impressive displays at METEC. METEC is setting a new record for the number of exhibitors this year, with more than 530 companies from 34 countries so far, and is the undisputed leader among trade fairs for its industry. The list of exhibitors includes: Inteco (Austria), Primetals Technologies Ltd. (UK), RHI Magnesita (Austria), SMS Group (Germany) und Tenova S.P.A. (Italy). Forged components will be on show at METEC for the first time too. In the past, they were part of NEWCAST, but the increase in their significance makes the Metallurgical Trade Fair a better place to exhibit them

Industry leaders at THERMPROCESS

With foreign participation amounting to 50 per cent and about 300 exhibitors, THERMPROCESS, the 12^th International Trade Fair and Symposium for Thermo Process Technology, is a must for international equipment suppliers. This is reflected in the list of exhibitors that have registered so far, which includes many of the industry leaders: Aichelin Holding GmbH (Germany), Ajax Tocco Magnethermic GmbH (Germany), Andritz Maerz GmbH (Germany), Honeywell Thermal Solutions (Germany), Inductotherm Group (USA), ITG Induktionsanlagen GmbH (Germany) will be highlighting technological trends relating to industrial furnaces, industrial heat treatment plants and thermal processes for precious metals, hard metals, ceramics, steel and iron, components and equipment as well as other supplies.

Buying tickets online

Visitors who are interested can buy their ticket to GMTN 2019 online before the trade fair and print it out at home. This has two advantages: the ticket entitles the holder to use the VRR public transport system free of charge. In addition to this, the ticket costs less in the online shop that it does at the exhibition site. The online day ticket costs EUR 45.00 (instead of EUR 64.00), while the ticket for the entire trade fair costs EUR 100.00 (instead of EUR 130.00); the ticket for students and schoolchildren is only available on-site at the GMTN entrance areas for a price of EUR 18.00 on presentation of the relevant credentials.

Source: GIFA, Photo: Fotolia