End-of-show report Industrial Automation 2009

Industrial Automaton embraces  INTERKAMA⁺  (processing technology), Factory Automation and Industrial Building Automation. The 1,125 exhibitors presented a comprehensive international spectrum of industrial automation technology. Key themes in 2009 were sensors, actuators and control systems designed to minimize the input of energy and raw materials. A further "hot topic" was industrial IT and virtualization - i.e. the implementation of various software functions on a single hardware platform. The spotlight was also on RFID and communication solutions based on GSM, UMTS, Bluetooth, ZigBee, WLAN und WirelessHART.

Although some of their target industries are currently facing a significant drop in orders, the Factory Automation exhibitors were nonetheless optimistic about the future. In many cases the lull in business provides companies with an opportunity to realize long-planned improvements. This was confirmed by Dr. Eberhard Veit, CEO of Festo AG: "The number of visitors to our stand was comparable with 2007. But the customers have less time and demand specific information. Hence HANNOVER MESSE 2009 has been a very efficient event. Solutions are being developed for the time after the crisis. What we sow in 2009 we will harvest in 2010." Angela Josephs, press spokeswoman of Phoenix Contact, drew a similar conclusion: "Despite the travel restrictions affecting our overseas visitors, we had a lot of high-level discussions and generated new contacts. The mood in the exhibition halls was very constructive and positive.