This year's SPS IPC Drives - with more than 1600 exhibitors expected - is once again regarded as the visitor magnet for the electrical automation technology industry. In the run-up to the trade fair, Martin Roschkowski, Managing Director of trade fair organizer Mesago since February, emphasizes the successful development of the trade fair over the past ten years: Compared to 2006, the trade fair now records around 50 % more visitors, 40 % more exhibitors and a 75 % increase in exhibitor space. The participation of foreign companies in particular has also increased enormously in recent years: Of the more than 1600 exhibitors expected this year, more than 530 are based outside Germany.

The Industry 4.0 Area

Despite the down-to-earth nature of the trade fair, SPS IPC Drives cannot avoid the topic of Industry 4.0: "So far, the Industry 4.0 wave has tended to move in the spheres of pilot projects and abstraction. Now the question is becoming more and more urgent: How do I translate this abstraction into real products and projects," explains Sylke Schulz-Metzner, Head of Division at SPS IPC Drives. In this context, Schulz-Metzner refers to the Industry 4.0 Area, which, like last year, is located in Hall 3A: "In the Industry 4.0 Area, the use cases have been carefully selected so that the evolutionary steps towards Industry 4.0 are recognizable - this in particular should help application-oriented machine builders." The area will once again feature the 'Automation meets IT' forum and the joint stand of the same name. At the Cyber-Security stand - also in the 'Industry 4.0 Area' - Airbus Defense and Space, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and Kaspersky will be presenting IT security methods for the first time.

The accompanying congress

© WEKA Trade Media

The 'Big Data Analytics Summit', which was organized by the WEKA FACHMEDIEN editorial team for the first time last year alongside the trade fair, will be continued this year under the title 'Automation 4.0 Summit'. On the first day of the trade fair, the two-day specialist congress will deal with the topics of safety, security and energy-optimized production. On the second day of the trade fair, industry experts will speak about big data analytics and sensor technology for Industry 4.0.

The forums

As in previous years, the forums of the ZVEI (in Hall 2) and VDMA (in Hall 3) associations will offer specialist presentations and panel discussions on current industry topics. The joint stands 'AMA Center for Sensor, Measuring and Testing Technology' (in Hall 4A) and 'wireless in automation' in Hall 10 are also an integral part of the trade fair.