High complexity, greater accountability and comprehensive expertise are all required of the supplier industry today. How to meet the rising expectations in a globalizing economy is the topic of the Suppliers Convention, the international supplier forum at HANNOVER MESSE 2012.

Each day of the Suppliers Convention is devoted to a specific topic:

On Monday China and its industrialized economy have the stage. Once China was primarily important as a production line, but today the country has become a strategically important market for many European companies. Chinese suppliers are also more frequently taking over foreign companies to improve their competitive positioning.

On Tuesday discussions will cover the vehicle construction and casting technology sectors that drive technological change.

Legally mandated reductions in consumption and in CO2 emissions are pushing automobile industry suppliers to use new materials and processing methods. The foundry industry is increasingly producing intelligent, functionally integrated components with ever more complex forms using energy-efficient processes. High-tensile steels and fiber-reinforced plastics ensure lower weights and better security.

Wednesday's topic is bulk forming: product and process innovations/system supply. The trend towards lightweight construction demands innovative construction and processing engineering solutions from the bulk forming industry. New materials and processing methods must be integrated. And those who want to succeed globally must reduce their costs – perhaps in system partnerships.

On Thursday, supply trends in mechanical and facilities engineering is the focus. Here again, energy efficiency and flexible and comprehensive manufacturing processes help lower costs and ensure a technological advance.

Finally, on Friday composites technology/lightweight construction is on the Suppliers Convention program. New materials, reduced thicknesses and multi-material structures are increasingly in use in lightweight construction, and pose challenges for jointing technology. In major sectors such as aircraft and automobile manufacturing, renewable energies and mechanical engineering, adhesive technology is gaining importance.

Suppliers and users meet daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Hall 4 at the Suppliers Convention. Forum partners include Industrieanzeiger and the ArGeZ supplier industry association, which represents some 10,000 companies in Germany.