"We are currently experiencing a slowdown in automation and digitalization investments are also being slowed down somewhat in companies," says Christian Wolf, Turck managing director and chairman of the exhibitor advisory board, reflecting the mood in the industry. However, Wolf does not believe that the mood and declining willingness to invest could affect this year's SPS. On the contrary: "Especially in weaker phases, companies take the opportunity to think about new concepts." From his point of view, however, it is important "that day visitors find their way around the trade fair, especially in times of reduced budgets."

Sylke Schulz-Metzner, Head of SPS, is also optimistic: "With around 1,650 suppliers of automation technology from all over the world, we are even expecting slightly more exhibitors than last year."

According to her, visitors to the trade fair will benefit from the comprehensive range of national and international automation and digitalization providers and will still be able to gain a complete overview of the market within one day. The trade fair organizer Mesago recorded 71% day visitors at the automation trade fair. Only 7% of visitors make use of all three days of the trade fair for their technology research.

Focus on digital change

Delighted with the new trade fair name (from left): Martin Roschkowski (President Mesago Messe Frankfurt), Sylke Schulz-Metzner (Vice President SPS) and Christian Wolf (Chairman of the Exhibitor Advisory Board).

© Computers&AUTOMATION

Digitalization is having an enormous impact on the automation industry. Numerous exhibitors will therefore be showcasing their solutions as well as various products and application examples relating to digital transformation. IT providers are now also increasingly represented at SPS. The charm here is: IT topics are presented in a very strong and focused way in conjunction with automation specialists. Topics such as big data, cloud technology, 5G and artificial intelligence are often presented in a practical way in joint activities and demos together with automation providers. Thematic special display areas and presentations at the trade fair forums do the rest to illustrate the digital transformation in the manufacturing industry.

As part of the Guided Tours, visitors from Germany and abroad will once again be given the opportunity to visit innovative exhibitors on individual topics in guided tours. This will give participants a compact overview of the topics of machine learning and AI, product and machine simulation, industrial security in manufacturing, cloud ecosystems and predictive maintenance. The focus of the tours is on real use cases.

Joint stands, forums and accompanying congress

Visitors to the joint stands will receive comprehensive insights into specific topics and the opportunity to obtain advice from suppliers on individual requirements:

• "Automation meets IT" in Hall 6
• "AMA Center for Sensor, Measuring and Testing Technology" in Hall 4A.

The forums of the associations VDMA in Hall 5 and ZVEI in Hall 6 as well as the trade fair forums in Halls 3 and 10.1 offer specialist presentations and panel discussions. Here, visitors can find out about current industry topics and engage in personal dialog with experts.

The accompanying 'Automation 4.0 Summit' congress organized by WEKA Fachmedien is ideal for all those who want to find out more about current automation topics. In 4-hour sessions this year, the topics

• 5G, TSN and OPC UA in the industry
• Securely connected - from the sensor to the cloud
• IOT platforms - best practices
• Flexible automation for little money - what can robotics do?

with a focus on practical aspects.