Many economists are expecting the US economy continue to grow in 2022. The government’s recently adopted climate and healthcare package is driving demand for capital goods. In addition, companies are shifting production back to the US. Demand is correspondingly broad-based: it is coming from the aircraft and automotive industries as well as from oil and gas production. Key areas of investment include digitalization and automation, due not least to the widespread shortage of qualified specialists.

 

“The US cannot meet all its own demand for manufacturing technology. As the second largest market, with a consumption of 9 billion euros at last count, the United States imports almost half of its demand,” explained Dr. Wilfried Schäfer, Executive Director of EMO organizer VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association), Frankfurt am Main, Germany, during today’s EMO media meeting at the IMTS in Chicago. “Germany meets 17 percent of US machine tool demand and is the second largest supplier after Japan. And that is why it makes perfect sense for US manufacturing experts to come to EMO Hannover 2023. More than 2,100 international manufacturers will be showcasing their latest technology offerings for production from 18 to 23 September 2023, including around 750 German and 100 Japanese companies,” Schäfer added.

The Future of Connectivity is a key focus topic in the industry

There have been major advances in connectivity and digitalization in recent years. Many new machine developments are now integrating Industrie 4.0 technology and enabling horizontal networking between machines and systems. Most exhibitors will be featuring this at EMO Hannover 2023. “The German engineering industry is convinced that open standards for customers and system suppliers worldwide are a key prerequisite for effective networking, allowing data to be collected, analyzed and fed back smoothly across all technologies in the factory,” explained Schäfer. The German engineering industry is pushing this and promoting standardized OPC UA-based interfaces worldwide under the umati brand. “After all, every variance ties up capacity and increases costs for the customer,” Schäfer is convinced. Also, having disparate systems can hold back progress if the use of different data formats is preventing new data-based approaches from being applied for all system characteristics. The fact that integration works across different technologies and across borders will be demonstrated on the umati stand, both at IMTS in Chicago and in Japan in November, as well as in China next year and then on a larger scale at EMO Hannover.

Productivity can also be increased through smart digitalization solutions. In the new IIoT in Production area, EMO Hannover will therefore be spotlighting vertical networking and presenting solutions such as data analytics, data management, digital twins, cloud services, process monitoring, predictive maintenance, artificial intelligence and cyber security.

The Future of Connectivity is a key focus topic for the industry and will therefore also feature prominently at EMO Hannover 2023. The successful integration of networking – both horizontally between machines, systems, tools, measuring devices, etc., and vertically from the shop floor to the cloud – will help determine how competitive companies and entire industries will be in the future,” concluded Schäfer.

Registration for exhibitors at EMO Hannover 2023 is currently possible. Until October 15, 2022, there is an attractive early-bird offer available www.emo-hannover.com/registration.