This year's SPS IPC Drives was unable to match the previous year's visitor numbers (70,264). However, compared to 2016 - also a year in which the 'Electronica' and 'Vision' trade fairs took place in the run-up to SPS IPC Drives - the 2018 trade fair performed well: Back then, over 63,000 visitors attended the trade fair. This year, 1630 exhibitors (2017: 1675, 2016: 1601) showcased their electrical automation products on 136,000^{m2 in} 17 halls.

A novelty: on the first day of the trade fair, the results of the first 'Automation Hackathon' were presented: In the run-up to the trade fair, start-ups had 48 hours to develop innovative digital ideas for smart automation. The start-up Othermo won the competition and took home the prize money of 8,000 euros with an intelligent solution for central heating systems in collaboration with Wago Kontakttechnik.

According to the trade fair organizer - Mesago Messe Frankfurt - the "Software and IT in Manufacturing" exhibition area grew once again: in addition to Hall 6, it now also occupied Hall 5 at SPS IPC Drives 2018. Trade visitors were able to find out about digital solutions for industry, cyber security, cloud services and 5G, among other things, here as well as throughout the trade fair.

First exhibitor statements on SPS IPC Drives 2018

Udo Aull, SEW-Eurodrive: "It is a strength of SPS IPC Drives not only to bring buzzwords such as Industry 4.0. and digital transformation into the exhibition halls, but also to lead the topics to concrete results in intensive discussions."

Steffen Winkler, Bosch Rexroth: "SPS IPC Drives is the world's leading trade fair for automation technology. This is where the 'who's who' of the industry meets in a unique concentration. The trade fair is still a working trade fair. This means that a high proportion of trade visitors come to the trade fair with specific questions or even projects. With a very high proportion of senior experts on the stand, we can answer a lot of questions directly or discuss project inquiries in more detail during the trade fair talks. At the same time, this is of course highly concentrated feedback from the world of automation for our employees."

In 2019, SPS IPC Drives will take place from November 26 to 28, 2019 - then under the new name 'SPS'.