Stage set for the latest technology trends in production
How EMO Hanover 2025 will address the topics of metalworking and production technology worldwide
Frankfurt am Main, July 14, 2025 – Dr. Markus Heering is a highly sought-after conversation partner these days. Not only because the Executive Director of the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association), the organizer of EMO Hanover 2025, answered questions from many journalists, companies, exhibitors and industry representatives on his world tour across three continents, 27 countries and 35 cities. Cameras and microphones were also pointed at him at the preview on July 10 and 11 this year in Frankfurt am Main, the most important media event in the run-up to the trade fair. He spoke there, for example, about international tariff policy, the competitive situation of German machine tool manufacturers on the Asian market and the latest technological trends that will be discussed at the world’s leading trade fair for production technology in Hanover from September 22 to 26.
EMO is positioning itself as the most important platform for dialog between all international players in the industry. “Nowhere else can guests encounter so much international expertise as at EMO,” emphasized Heering at the preview, which was attended by around 150 participants from 24 countries, including China, India, the USA, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, and naturally from neighboring European countries. Of course, the preview also started with an interview with Markus Heering. The first question from presenter Sven Krause focused on the impressions that Heering brought back from the World Tour. According to the head of the VDW, he was very impressed by how intensively the community in various countries was preparing for EMO and the anticipation the trade fair was generating. Despite the current global uncertainties and various challenges, Heering said that “positive signals are expected from EMO.” No matter what the focus is whether it’s technical innovations or 24/7 automation: “Both exhibitors and visitors arrive expecting to leave the trade fair in a positive and confident mood.”
Innovations every 90 seconds
EMO reflects the current megatrends of automation, digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability, explained Heering. This was also confirmed by the 26 exhibitors who were present at the preview. In 90-second pitches, they described to the audience what visitors can expect to see on their EMO stand in September. An entertaining, thoroughly sporty foray, but one that led to various in-depth discussions, also during the evening boat trip on the River Main. Many of the pitches revolved around new machines and features, tools, automation or quick-change systems (“time is money”). It was all about process optimization and the use of robots with intelligent software or autonomous transport systems in the factory. Sustainability concepts were discussed, with long-lasting machines and retrofitting for a second life, as well as the question of how the CO2 footprint of machines can be reduced. The topics of sustainability and energy efficiency were also to be addressed on the second day of the preview, during which a tour of the ETA factory in Darmstadt, a model factory of the Technical University, was on the agenda and where the focus was on research for the climate-neutral factory.
Artificial intelligence sets the tone
The innovations presented in the three pitch rounds also addressed solutions to the shortage of skilled workers, for example machines with “intuitive machine controls” to show how “easy high technology can be”. Great attention was paid to the announcement of a machine with an integrated chatbot which is not only used for training purposes, but also asks the operator, for example, whether he now wants to refill cooling lubricant and then immediately shows him where he can find the required cooling lubricant in the hall.
The prospects of artificial intelligence in manufacturing were also the subject of a panel discussion featuring Sebastian Heinz, founder and CEO of Statworxs, a consulting and development company for data and AI from Frankfurt am Main, and Prof. Michael Zäh from the Chair of Machine Tools and Production Engineering at the Technical University of Munich. Both called for more attention to be paid to AI. In their opinion, European companies need to significantly increase the pace of innovation in AI in order to keep up with Asian and US providers. This is particularly true of small and medium-sized companies, which have so far been very cautious. There should be good prospects in quality assurance and predictive maintenance in particular. Both experts recognize that AI will not make humans superfluous in production. “AI makes mistakes,” Prof. Zäh noted. Recognizing this is a skill that is urgently needed and must be trained. Sebastian Heinz believes that the biggest advantage of AI is that it can increase the speed of innovation and generate new ideas. Both experts were convinced that there is no alternative to AI in the future. “Not using AI is not an option,” said Prof. Zäh. “Others are already using AI and those who don’t are losing out.
Partner country Canada
The Canadian Jayson Myers is obviously rather relaxed about the current hype surrounding the topic of AI. Canada is the Allied Country of EMO 2025, and Myers used the stage to introduce his organization. NGen (Next Generation Manufacturing Canada) is a not-for-profit Canadian industry organization dedicated to promoting world-leading advanced manufacturing solutions. The network represents around 11,000 members, including manufacturers, technology providers, universities and research institutions from across Canada, and initiates cooperation projects. “AI is not the solution,” said Myers, “AI is part of the solution.” The focus is equally on technology topics such as automation and robotics, IoT and networks, modern materials, biotechnology and nanotechnology, cyber security, and measurement technology. NGen is organizing the joint stand of the Canadian industry at EMO with 15 to 20 exhibitors. In addition, the organization sees itself as a link to around 5,000 technology providers from the metalworking sector who are open to cooperation. As Meyers emphasized, NGen has already invested in around 250 cooperation projects for development and commercialization since its foundation in 2018, generating over 1 billion dollars in project investments and more than 7.5 billion dollars in sales.
The foray through the innovations at EMO and the promotion of more dialog and willingness to cooperate, even across national borders, should have been entirely in the spirit of Markus Heering, who always emphasizes one particular strength of EMO in many interviews: “EMO sets the right topics, and it provides a platform for discussions and forging new contacts.”
Author: Cornelia Gewiehs
Contacts
Sylke Becker
+49 69 756081-33
VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association) e.V.
Head of Communications
