At the opening event for the media, Dr. Wilfried Schäfer, executive director of the METAV organizer VDW (German Machine Tool Builders' Association), said: "We're delighted to see all the exhibitors again this week. Recent order levels, which were up 37% year-on-year by April, are evidence of the strong demand for investment in the industry.
"And that is why we are convinced that our exhibitors will encounter customers who are keen to buy this week, and that there are very sound prospects for good business."
In comparison to the current figure, more than twice as many companies registered for METAV 2022 originally – despite the event having been postponed, cancelled and run in digital form in the past four years.
"However, many companies were unable to adapt to the latest pandemic-related postponement from March to June, as their schedules were already too tightly packed with other trade fairs, in-house exhibitions and events," explained Schäfer.
For METAV 2024, he is expecting participation levels to normalise, as the market in and around North Rhine-Westphalia is known to offer great potential.
For more than 40 years, METAV has been bringing metalworking experts together in the heart of Europe's largest industrial conurbation. "The spotlight here is not only on the managers and purchasers from the key customer industries, but above all on the men and women actually operating the machines," said Schäfer.
They are often the first in the company to recognise potential areas for optimization and to realize when new solutions are called for. That's why they and their expertise are so valuable when it comes to making purchasing decisions. METAV offers a compact overview to help them in this. Exhibitors of all sizes will be showcasing the full range and creative power of production technology.
The VDW is now taking its commitment to the next generation of entrepreneurs to a new level. A total of 13 companies from Germany, Austria and Switzerland will be presenting their products and services on two joint stands – one for national and one for international start-ups.
Their founders decided to leave their familiar working environment within the last 10 years and to strike out on their own in order to develop their innovative ideas independently. They have identified the METAV as a platform that can help young companies gain a foothold in the market and provide attractive framework conditions to help them grow their business.
The German company founders are supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). The VDW has also launched its own platform specially for international start-ups. Some of these companies will be showing their product and process innovations to a larger trade audience for the first time.
