EMO Hannover 2019: Tech execs give technology mixed reviews

Dr Heinz-Jurgen Prokop, Chairman of the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders‘ Association)

At EMO, we persented a further milestone- our first major EMO showcase. Over two years ago now, VDW launched the standard interface to allow mchines in the production environment to communicate with IT systems. A core working group- consisting of Chiron, DMG Mori, Emag, Grob, Heller, Liebherr, Trumpf and United Grinding- promoted the project engaged in many discussions, meetings and workshops with great enthusiasm and commitment. I am pleased to announce that umati- the universal machine tool interface- works. umati enables machine tool manufacturers to fulfill another promise of Industry 4.0: simple, fast and secure data exchange.

Jackson H.H. Wong, President, Kasuga Seiki Ltd, Taiwan

This is our first time to join EMO and so far we have no expectations. Finding out what challenges the customers have, and bringing them together with our machines – that’s the main thing we’re looking to do. There had been a steady flow of peple in and out, and everyone seems interested.

Rafael Idigoras, Managing Director, Soraluce, Spain

“#MadeForYOU is how Soraluce expresses commitment to active listening, to asking and analysing what customers need from their technology partner. It’s thinking, feeling and acting the way our customers want us to. It is our commitment and our responsibility to our customers, partners, employees, society and the environment. It is what makes Soraluce a comprehensive partner with the most complete and advanced ranges of products and services on the market, which is also designed to be customised according to each customer’s specific needs. #MadeForYOU is our relationship with our customers. It is actively participating by responding to their unique characteristics as a comprehensive, technologically-advanced machinery partner, making the “Intelligent Machine” a reality, while providing high-added-value services and solutions, offering expert advice in machining engineering.”

Jason Wu, Sales Engineer, Averex Automation Co. Ltd, Taiwan

EMO brings together the entire machine tool industry and it’s a chance for us to show our high-speed horizontal machining centers from Taiwan, and also engage with customers all in one place. What this show is really great for is being able to bring the entire industry together.

Markus Burton, Chairman of CECIMO’s Economic Committee, Belgium

With the uncertainty being the only clear rule nowadays, the outlook for global markets might deter almost adventurous of manufacturers and exporters. However, a more balanced analysis of our economic environment shows us that despite the looming geopolitical troubles, there are many foreign opportunities for the machine tool industry to thrive. As for Vietnam, the trade and investment agreement signed in June 2019 will allow European manufacturers to access the EU’s 16th trade partner in goods and the EU's second largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The potential of this market is clear: while in 2007, machine tool exports to Vietnam were worth just 13 million euros, in 2018 they reached 139,4 million euros.

Jessie Shih, Sales Manager, Pintai Machinery Co. Ltd, Taiwan

This is our first time to attend the show and present and promote our grinding machines. We are also looking for distributors to be able to fully expand in the European market. The high calibre of attendees means we can apply our practical knowledge to solving some high-level problems. We do other exhibitions. We like to meet future customers here in Europe directly and interact with them, so it’s very useful.

Elke Aurand, General Manager, Dormer Pramet Germany, Pramet Tools, s.r.o., Sumperk, Czech Republic

“EMO 2019 has been the ideal stage for us to showcase our expertise and product range in a variety of segments, including railway, heavy machining and general engineering. This year our focus has been to share our knowledge with new and existing customers, talking with them about their application needs and challenges. EMO 2019 has provided an opportunity for us to reach many people from around the world and demonstrate we are by their side.”

Peter Wagner, Head of Sales in Northeast Germany, Meusburger Georg GmbH & Co. KG, Wolfurt, Austria

“As an internationally leading manufacturer of high-quality products for tool & die and machine construction, we could not afford to miss EMO 2019 in Hannover. Here we were able to demonstrate to a highly international audience the way we support our customers along the entire supply chain to ensure their success. The discussions we held here in Hannover have filled us with confidence, even though the industry as a whole is facing some major challenges. But it is precisely then that it is important to have a presence – and EMO is of course ideally suited for this. With its good organisation and clear concept, EMO 2019 in Hannover once again guaranteed a high degree of satisfaction with our appearance at the fair.”

Lothar Horn, Managing Director, Paul Horn GmbH, Tübingen, Germany

“EMO 2019 in Hannover got off to a flying start. From the very first day, we recorded an above-average number of visitors at our stand. Day two and three even managed to top those positive impressions. This year’s EMO once again generated fresh momentum for innovations. The tradeshow’s motto of 'Smart Technologies driving tomorrow’s production' is reflected with us at Horn in the area of dynamic measuring technology in the tool holder. Here, in cooperation with Kistler, a piezo sensor is used to take the pressure, force, torque and acceleration into account. This sensor measures even the lowest chip removal forces with high resolution and can thus help to reduce the number of rejects and increase quality at the same time.”

Marie-Sophie Maier-Wember, Geschäftsführerin, Haas Schleifmaschinen GmbH, Trossingen, Germany

“At EMO 2019, we were particularly pleased at the increased rate of attendance from abroad. We met many customers in Hannover and took advantage of the opportunity for good discussions. In addition, we were able to generate many promising new leads. Both the visitor frequency at our trade fair stand and the quality of contacts were very good at EMO 2019, and the positive visitor response to the highlights of our trade fair presentation was also striking. These included a grinding simulation and an industry 4.0 application. The application possibilities of our machines from the Multigrind series also met with lively interest, the spectrum here ranged from roller peeling wheels to flat jaws, boring plates and slotting wheels to the complete machining of threads.”

Lukas Czaja, Head of Machine Tools Industry Management, igus GmbH, Cologne, Germany

“We consider EMO to be the world’s most important trade fair for the machine tool segment. EMO 2019 in Hannover once again clearly demonstrated that no other event offers as much internationality, as many qualified visitors and as many concrete queries. At EMO Hannover 2019, we noticed that plastics are increasingly becoming the center of attention at the heart of metalworking. Because our solutions help reduce process costs, increase machine safety and reduce maintenance costs. In our new Hall 8 we are again in the immediate vicinity of our partner Fanuc in Hall 9, where Fanuc presented its new open industrial IoT platform, which can connect production machines from all manufacturers via a local network topology and thus enable comprehensive data analysis of the entire process chain. For this new system, we at igus have developed a smart plastics app, which we were able to demonstrate to the visitors of EMO 2019 at the Fanuc booth. The interest in it as well as in many other of our topics was extremely high and we are looking forward to numerous concrete inquiries.”

Werner Mäurer, Managing Director, Hiwin GmbH, Offenburg, Germany

“As a drive specialist, we came to EMO Hannover 2019 with a host of innovations. For example, we presented a widely acclaimed solution for the benefit of designers who repeatedly encounter the challenge of the thermal decoupling of drive components from the machine body when developing machine tools. For this purpose, the LMF linear motor series, which has been available for a long time, was extended by precision cooling for stator and motor. Against the background of the highly international character of EMO and the decision-making authority of its visitors – two aspects that are definitely unrivalled in this segment – our appearance at EMO 2019 in Hannover went without saying. We were once again able to hold fruitful discussions and are eager to see exactly how this is going to develop. The industry is facing some major challenges, which is one of the reasons why an event that brings together the key market players from all over the world is of such significance.”

Volker Nesenhöner, CEO, Open Mind Technologies AG, Wessling, Germany

“For Open Mind, EMO Hannover, the world's leading metalworking fair, has long been an integral part of our trade fair calendar. This year as well, Hannover-based EMO turned out to be a great success. For us as an internationally leading manufacturer of CAD/CAM software, EMO always represents the ideal platform for us to present our innovations and latest technologies before an audience of manufacturing specialists. We have been faithfully implementing this year’s EMO motto of ‘Smart technologies driving tomorrow’s production’ for years and we provide our customers with technologies for the digitalisation and intelligent connectivity of production, all in keeping with Industry 4.0.”