It is not only industrial companies that have to respond to the Industry 4.0 trend, but also industrial trade fairs such as the Hannover Messe: Companies from the drive and fluid technology sector used to be present there every two years, namely at the MDA. "However, the demands of the market have changed," says Dr. Jochen Köckler, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Messe AG. "In the age of digitalization, products are reaching market maturity faster and faster. Accordingly, companies want to showcase their innovations more regularly. A one-year trade fair cycle for exhibitors from the drive and fluid technology sector is the right answer to this."

IA and MDA will therefore be held together from 2018 under the new name 'Integrated Automation, Motion & Drives' (IAMD). In future, IAMD will present the entire spectrum of industrial automation, drive and fluid technology at Hannover Messe.

"In terms of technology, IA and MDA have already moved closer together in recent years," explains Köckler. "With the merger, we are consistently following the logic of a market that is increasingly offering and demanding cross-industry and cross-system solutions as well as networked products. At the same time, we are strengthening the position of Hannover Messe as the world's leading trade fair for Industry 4.0."

Driven by companies, VDMA and ZVEI

According to Deutsche Messe AG, the merger to form IAMD was an initiative and an express wish of leading exhibitors as well as the VDMA and ZVEI. "Drive and fluid technology supplies key components for the performance of machines," says Christian H. Kienzle, Chairman of the Executive Board of the VDMA Fluid Technology Association and Managing Director of Argo-Hytos. "With digitalization, these products are now also crucial data sources. Two years is a new eternity in times of digitalization - we must and can show our customers around the world better solutions for tomorrow more quickly."

"Automation products, systems and solutions relating to sensors, control technology and connectivity are the 'enablers' of the fourth industrial revolution," emphasizes Dr. Gunther Kegel, Chairman of the ZVEI Automation Association and Managing Director at Pepperl+Fuchs. "Together with electronic and mechanical drive systems, we can showcase the entire store floor and its integration into Industry 4.0 networking under the umbrella of the new leading trade fair IAMD."

In future, the range of exhibits at IAMD will include manufacturing, process and energy automation, robotics, industrial IT, hardware & service, production technologies and services, as well as components and systems for drive and fluid technology, pneumatics and hydraulics, plain and roller bearings, geared motors, linear technology and sealing technology. IAMD will be fulfilling its role as an innovation platform for the industry with a supporting program. This includes the Industry 4.0 Forum and the Predictive Maintenance special show.

In addition, the intralogistics trade fair CeMAT will be held at the same time as Hannover Messe every two years from 2018 - another advantage for drive and fluid technology companies, according to Deutsche Messe AG: "This means that the largest customer group for drive and fluid technology is directly on site. With mobile machines such as mobile cranes, industrial trucks and driverless transport systems, CeMAT exhibitors and their solutions for Intralogistics 4.0 represent a particularly fast-growing customer group for drive and fluid technology manufacturers."

The new trade fair will also be uniformly presented abroad as 'Integrated Automation, Motion & Drives'. "This will result in even greater opportunities in emerging countries with an increased need for automation, such as the Chinese market," Köckler explains. In addition to the existing events in China, Canada, the USA and Turkey, which will also be gradually transferred to the new structure, Deutsche Messe AG intends to establish further foreign trade fairs under the new brand.