The international trade fair for innovative supplier solutions was presenting the whole range of competing and mutually beneficial materials and processes in halls 4, 5 and 6. Visitors took a voyage of discovery through myriad industrial applications, and also found suppliers who see themselves as development partners keen on collaborating with OEMs to create best-fit solutions.

Component suppliers are natural innovators, this was also apparent at the HANNOVER MESSE 2016 in Hannover, Germany (25–29 April). At Industrial Supply – the leading international trade fair for innovative subcontracting solutions and lightweight construction, held under the umbrella of HANNOVER MESSE – over 1,650 exhibitors from the subcontracting sector were showing why they are known as "the backbone of industry". They produce new ideas, which lead directly to better products and processes.

The Industrial Supply show at HANNOVER MESSE confirmed that Industrie 4.0 is also becoming a routine requirement for today’s industrial suppliers. Other key themes in this category included new materials and lightweight design. Trade visitors were treated to a wide range of design ideas and lightweight design components made out of plastic, composites or steel.