Exclusive interview on the Digital Days
"New paths for hybrid formats"
After the Hannover Messe had to be postponed and ultimately canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the digital version will take place shortly. Arno Reich, Business Unit Director Industry, Energy & Logistics of the organizer Deutsche Messe, comments.
During the spring, there was still a vague hope that trade fairs could take place as planned, but time has taught us otherwise. As the organizer, how did you experience this process up to the difficult step of canceling the Hannover Messe?
Arno Reich: When we received the first reports of the new coronavirus from China, we - like many others - still believed that there would not be a pandemic of such global proportions. On February 12, we held our Hannover Messe Preview, to which journalists from China had already stopped arriving. It was only at the end of February, beginning of March, that we realized that the Hannover Messe could be at risk. After intensive discussions and in close consultation with our exhibitors and sponsoring associations, we decided to postpone the fair until July. Ultimately, July was not an option and we had to cancel the trade fair with a heavy heart. It was and is a tough time for us as organizers, but we will use the crisis to emerge stronger. With our Hannover Messe Digital Event, we are breaking new digital ground in order to be able to organize more hybrid formats in the future.
How quickly did you realize that the only alternative was to be found in virtual form?
The Hannover Messe Digital Days are no substitute for the actual Hannover Messe and can only represent parts of it. But in these times, they are a good opportunity for the industry to discuss which levers need to be used to mitigate the consequences of the shutdown. They provide orientation and offer a platform for exchanging ideas on how the industrial transformation will continue, because after the cancellation of the Hannover Messe, it quickly became clear that companies still need to present their products and solutions and exchange ideas. However, digital formats will not be able to replace personal contact, but only supplement it.
Arno Reich, Head of the Industry, Energy & Logistics Division at Deutsche Messe AG
© German Trade FairWhat can visitors to the "Hannover Messe Digital Days" on July 14 and 15 look forward to?
Together with our partners and supporting associations, we have organized a top-class and varied programme. For example, the event will kick off with a panel discussion on the topic of "Forward to the New - New Opportunities for Progress?". Klaus Helmrich, Siemens, Oliver Jung, Festo, BDI President Prof. Dieter Kempf, Friedhelm Loh, owner of the Friedhelm Loh Group, Rolf Najork, Bosch, and Thomas Saueressig, SAP SE, will take part in the discussion. The event will then continue with exciting keynotes, panel discussions, live chats, networking and innovation presentations on the latest developments in the fields of industry, energy and logistics. The special thing about the Digital Days is that almost all presentations are live and that participants can not only discuss directly with the speakers, but also network and communicate with all other participants.
The digital event is also an advantage for visitors from abroad. Will there be bilingual presentations or are you concentrating on one language variant?
We have opted for a mix. The panel discussions are in German and will be interpreted into English. However, the vast majority of sessions will be in English, as we also want to appeal to many international visitors.
What impact do you think the coronavirus pandemic will have on the trade fair landscape in Germany beyond this year? And how do you think the personal approach to trade fairs will change?
The trade fair landscape and the trade fairs themselves will change, but one thing is clear: trade fairs will continue to be an important marketing tool in the future.
We assume that more hybrid formats will become established in the future, i.e. a mix of face-to-face events and digital formats. After the Hannover Messe Digital Days, we will offer further digital formats, for example as events during the year - but also as a supplement to the Hannover Messe to serve all those visitors who for whatever reason cannot travel to the trade fair in person.
Is registration free of charge and where can visitors register?
Registration is free for participants. I look forward to welcoming many participants, even if I can only do so virtually this year. To the free registration.
Program recommendations for the Digital Days
Dr. Jochen Köckler (Deutsche Messe AG), Prof. Dieter Kempf (Federation of German Industries), Peter Altmaier (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy), Stephan Weil (Minister President, State of Lower Saxony)
© German Trade FairTips for July 14
- 10:00 a.m.: Welcome by
Dr. Jochen Köckler, Deutsche Messe AG
Prof. Dieter Kempf. Federation of German Industries
Peter Altmaier, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
Stephan Weil, Minister President, State of Lower Saxony
11:30 a.m.: WomenPower opening keynote(Microsoft)
11:30 a.m.: Digital Enterprise - Partnering for the next step(Siemens)
11:30 a.m.: Transformation of intelligent production through all-wireless factories with 5G, Wi-Fi 6 and AI(Huawei Technologies)
12:00: Start digitalization: Smart processes for control cabinet building and open ecosystem for automation(Phoenix Contact)
12:30 p.m.: ctrlX AUTOMATION - Two Steps Ahead(Bosch Rexroth)
12:30 p.m.: Open Automation(Schneider Electric)
12:30 p.m.: Digital integration of value chains(Rittal)
1:00 p.m.: Methodical digitalization of manufacturing processes with 5G Campus Edge(T-Systems International)
1:00 p.m.: Crisis is time for innovation, gain market share with EtherCAT (EtherCAT)
1:30 p.m.: Outlook on digitalized product marking(Pepperl+Fuchs)
13:30: Expert talk: The digital supply chain (GIB, ifm solutions)
13:30: Electrifying news - from short assembly times to long-lasting cables(igus)
14:00: End-to-end connectivity - from the workpiece to the cloud from Festo(Festo)
14:30: Presentation of the Hermes Award and the Hermes Startup Awardss (BmBF, Fraunhofer e.V.)
16:00: Live presentation: How can I effortlessly keep industrial networks clean and prepare them for the future? - Innovative frequency converter design without DC link(Yaskawa)
16:15: Industry 4.0: How digitalization is changing the corporate world(Beckhoff, Pepperl+Fuchs, Festo, DFKI)
17:00: Single Pair Ethernet - The Infrastructure for IIoT(Harting)
18:00: Live tour through the production of the future(DFKI)
Recommendations for July 15
- 11:30 a.m.: Traditional and next-generation automation technologies with TwinCAT from on-premise to the cloud: PC-based control (Beckhoff)
11:30 a.m.: Reliable AI Operations in Industry(Siemens)
11:30 a.m.: Tech UP, Cost DOWN. Economic savings potential and technical advantages through plastic machine elements(igus)
12:00 p.m.: Wöhner - Connecting system worlds(Wöhner)
12:00 p.m.: Digitalized Manufacturing - Start Smart and Think Big (Robert Bosch Manufacturing Solutions)
12:30 p.m.: Artificial intelligence for the production of tomorrow (it's OWL Clustermanagement)
13:00: Individualization thanks to digitalization(Harting)
13:30: From automation to autonomy: Use Industry 4.0 to build adaptive assembly lines (HP Enterprise)
13:30: Autonomous manufacturing enabled by i-Automation(Omron)
13:50: The DC Industry research project is transforming the industrial power supply (Weidmüller, Harting, ABB, Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences)
14:00: MES & AI - ready for intelligent production(GFOS)
16:00: "From data to value" - The easy way to Industrial IoT(Weidmüller)
16:00: GAIA-X: Computing power and trustworthy data sovereignty as a digital prerequisite for complex European industries(Beckhoff)
17:00: IIoT - Intelligent connectivity solutions(Lapp Holding)
17:30: Access and access only for authorized persons - safety and industrial security in practice(Pilz)
18:00: The ecosystem of industrial automation(Eplan Software & Services)
Here you can find the complete program of the Digital Days and all speakers at a glance.
WomenPower@Hannover Messe Digital Days
At the WomenPower career congress for women in industry 2019, Kenza Ait Si Abbou Lyadini, Deutsche Telekom IT, was named Enginerr Powerwoman.
© German Trade FairThe virtual WomenPower congress will kick off on July 14 as part of the Hannover Messe Digital Days with presentations and live discussions. The opening speeches will be given by Sabine Bendiek, CEO of Microsoft Germany, and Dorothee Bär, Minister of State to the Federal Chancellor and Federal Government Commissioner for Digitalization.
Afterwards, Carla Reemtsma, activist and spokesperson for the Fridays for Future initiative, will speak together with Philip Nuyken from the Federation of German Industries about ways out of the crisis: economic growth vs. climate change?
One of the highlights of the congress will be the awarding of the Engineer Powerwoman 2020 prize, which is endowed with 5,000 euros and will be presented to the winner in a virtual session. The laudators are Elke Büdenbender, patron of the Klischeefrei initiative, and Prof. Barbara Schwarze, Chairwoman of the Board of the Kompetenzzentrum Technik-Diversity-Chancengleichheit e.V..
The requirements for the award and a review of last year's winner Kenza Ait Si Abbou Lyadini, Senior Manager Robotics & Artificial Intelligence (Al) at Deutsche Telekom IT, can be read here.
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