The SPS trade fair is taking place for the 30th time and is giving itself a makeover. What can exhibitors and visitors expect this year?

Sylke Schulz-Metzner: Nothing has changed in the concept with the new look. The new name simply illustrates the development that the industry, and therefore the trade fair, has undergone in recent years. The increasing convergence of IT and production has been reflected in the trade fair for some time. Ultimately, we thought about which areas of operational technology, i.e. production and IT, we should cover. This resulted in the new name: SPS - Smart Production Solutions.

What was your personal highlight at past trade fairs?

Sylke Schulz-Metzner: As I have been attending the trade fair for almost 30 years, it is difficult for me to name a highlight looking back. Last year, the absolute highlight for me was the iPad artist at our exhibitor evening. He put on a fascinating show! And the performance also showed the possibilities that technological progress and modern communication technologies open up for all areas of our lives - including magic!

The SPS opens its doors today. What are you personally looking forward to the most?

Sylke Schulz-Metzner: It's the same moment every year: Tuesday morning, 9 a.m., the doors open and the fair gets underway! It's like clapping your hands and the crowds are right in the halls! I really enjoy this feeling, which is why I'm always in the door area when the fair starts. From the very first moment you experience what our trade fair is all about: visitors and exhibitors put their heads together, discuss and struggle together to find the best solution. And it is the awareness that the future of our industrial nation is also taking place during these three days in Nuremberg. That's great!

More voices on the anniversary

The SPS in Nuremberg marks the end of the trade fair year. The industry get-together for automation technology provides important investment impulses as well as an outlook on the upcoming trends in smart production.

M&M Software was one of the first exhibitors at the start in Sindelfingen 29 years ago. The company looks back fondly on that time, as the trade fair is closely linked to its own history. "It is exciting for us to look back at the beginnings of SPS in 1990. Back then, it was a manageable trade fair in Sindelfingen with a single exhibition hall and a lot of local charm. Our company was just three years old and still carried by the initial euphoria, a good deal of idealism and the goal of growing and becoming internationally successful. Now, 30 years later, SPS is one of the largest international trade fairs for automation technology in Nuremberg and covers 17 exhibition halls - and M&M Software has become an internationally successful company with over 200 employees, developing innovative software solutions almost around the clock. Our conclusion: "We, SPS and M&M, have done pretty much everything right over the past 30 years," says Klaus Hübschle, CTO at M&M Software.

Vipa was also one of the first exhibitors. The company is now part of Yaskawa, but the example of the Japanese company demonstrates the importance of the SPS, as Armin Schlenk, Director Marketing Europe at Yaskawa Europe, knows: "Many new developments and product releases at Yaskawa were and are timed to coincide with the SPS. This meant that there was always positive pressure to ensure that market preparations were actually completed on time. We 'Europeans' in the Japanese Yaskawa Group have even presented some innovations at SPS as world premieres, most recently the GA700 frequency inverter and the Sigma-7 servo drive, for example. This demonstrates the importance of the trade fair for our colleagues in Asia and worldwide."

For Pilz, an exhibitor from the very beginning, the trade fair has a special significance. Managing Partner Susanne Kunschert: "For me, SPS is the technology trade fair par excellence; a trade fair where innovations take top priority and where technical discussions with experts and customers play a very special role. You go into the depths of technology - that's a valuable exchange."

A number of traditions have developed over the years. Martin Rostan, Head of Technology Marketing at Beckhoff in Nuremberg: "The SPS was and is a trade fair in the best sense of the word and for 25 years the last week before Advent has also been a must-attend event for me personally. As a Nuremberg resident by choice, I was naturally delighted that the SPS moved here from Sindelfingen, and I started hosting the Beckhoff stand crew at our home on the Monday evening before the trade fair. Unfortunately, our living room did not keep up with the growth of the trade fair - and that of Beckhoff - and so this mini-tradition soon had to be discontinued ..."

The importance of the trade fair for the industry is unbroken. The history of some companies is closely linked to the success of the SPS. Heiko Füller, Head of Market Management at SEW-Eurodrive, is well aware of this: "SEW-Eurodrive has been a loyal exhibitor at SPS since 1996. Today, we are showcasing practice-oriented solutions on 1620 m², from smart components to intelligent machine automation and digital cloud applications. SPS - Smart Product Solutions is and will therefore remain the most important trade fair for industrial automation for us."