ComVac, the leading international tradeshow for compressed air and vacuum technology (1–5 April 2019), is almost completely booked out. Strong demand for space exhibit space underscores the event’s importance to industry: Hall 26 has been sold out for three months, leading to the expansion of ComVac exhibitors into the southern section of the neighboring Hall 25 as well as the open-air site. Particularly companies from China, Germany and Turkey have contributed to the strong growth.

"We expect ComVac to grow 15 percent in comparison to 2017, which means visitors can look forward to numerous new developments," said Benjamin Low, Global Director ComVac at Deutsche Messe. "For example, high-pressure air simplifies complex processes in the chemical and petrochemical industries, and storage power plants use compressed air to secure the energy supply from the sun and the wind. ComVac exhibitors also benefit from the synergies they share with the neighboring power transmission and fluid technology companies."

Industrie 4.0 is the top theme at ComVac, for instance in the areas of predictive maintenance or customized complete solutions such as leasing or pay-per-unit models. Energy efficiency and resource efficiency remain important topics as well. Companies that have already signed up to exhibit include industry-leaders such as Aerzener Maschinenfabrik, Atlas Copco, Boge Kompressoren, Beko Technologies, Gardner Denver, Gebr. Becker, Kaeser Kompressoren and Leybold.

According to a study by the research firm Global Market Insights, the compressed air market will surpass a value of 11 billion US dollars by 2024, with the compound annual growth rate remaining at more than six percent. In particular, rapid growth in the Asia-Pacific region will significantly influence the market for compressed air. In China and India, for example, continuous improvements in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries will drive growth.

ComVac 2017 featured 257 exhibiting companies, 80 percent of which came from outside of Germany. Roughly 35,000 visitors participated, 43 percent of whom came from outside of Germany. In addition to ComVac in Hannover, Deutsche Messe organizes events for compressed air and vacuum technology in Chicago, Shanghai and Istanbul.