Industrial Supply 2016 is set to make a big splash at next year’s HANNOVER MESSE, thanks to a sizeable contingent of lightweight design exhibits and a strong focus on material and resource efficiency. As the world’s leading platform for innovative industrial subcontracting solutions, Industrial Supply will once again be showcasing the full range and diversity of competing and complementary industrial processes and materials. Key players, such as ContiTech, Salzgitter, F. REYHER Nchfg. and UFT Produktion, have already booked stand space at next year’s event. Each year, users from around the world visit the Industrial Supply to broaden their horizons and find the best possible solutions for their individual needs. Industrial Supply is HANNOVER MESSE’s go-to showcase for key manufacturing trends, such as lightweight design. And next year, the fair will attract even more visitors, thanks to a new partnership with the Swedish industrial subcontracting show Elmia Subcontractor, which will pull in additional users from northern Europe.

"Today, six out of ten industrial innovations come from the subcontracting industry," said Marc Siemering, Deutsche Messe’s Senior Vice President responsible for HANNOVER MESSE. "And as more and more parts of production processes get outsourced to subcontractors, the importance of this industry will only grow further. Subcontractors have gotten very good at developing individual solutions in partnership with their customers. At next year’s Industrial Supply show, they will once again demonstrate their critical importance as the innovative backbone of industry." This is also true for integrated industry, a fast evolving phenomenon in the global manufacturing sector and the lead theme of HANNOVER MESSE 2016. As the world’s only subcontracting show staged as part of a major industrial technology trade fair, Industrial Supply has its finger on the pulse of the key themes shaping the manufacturing sector and offers industrial users unparalleled opportunities for interdisciplinary global sourcing. Industrial Supply features a wealth of sourcing solutions along the entire value chain and across all industry sectors – from materials expertise, research and development, construction and processes to parts, components and entire systems.

In 2015, over 1,600 subcontractors from just on 50 nations showcased their know-how and capabilities to trade visitors in the Industrial Supply halls (4, 5 and 6) the Hannover Exhibition Center. The level of international participation at the show is unparalleled, with around 75 and 40 percent of its exhibitors and visitors, respectively, coming from outside Germany in 2015. The biggest exhibiting nation, after Germany, was China, with 3,900 square meters (about 42,000 sq. ft.) of exhibition space, followed by Turkey, with around 2,380 square meters (25,600 sq. ft.). Italy was third, with over 2,300 square meters (over 24,700 sq. ft.), the Netherlands came fourth with over 2000 square meters, and India came in at number five with just on 1,500 square meters.

As might be expected, the makeup of the trade visitor turnout at Industrial Supply roughly corresponds to the main user industries. Represented most prominently are the automotive manufacturing industries (vehicles, rail and aviation), the mechanical engineering industry, the electrical engineering and electronics industries, the wholesale trade and medical technology industries, and other key manufacturing industries, such as the metalworking, steel, plastics/rubber and chemicals industries. The fair also features all key processes for metal casting, forging, and sheet-metal working, and for producing machined parts and components, nonmetal products and joining and fastening products.

The full spectrum of lightweight construction solutions

While new materials and manufacturing processes are giving rise to ever lighter assemblies in unprecedented quality, lightweight design is itself a key enabling technology – and not just in the automotive and aviation sectors. The multitude of new materials, processes and construction methods are spawning new products in practically every industry. These trends will be a big focus of the upcoming Industrial Supply show. There, individual exhibitors and group pavilions will present the state of the art in efficient lightweight design. In the Solutions Area at the Lightweight Construction presentation, large-scale exhibits of real-life products, process technologies and live demonstrations will cover the full spectrum of applications of lightweight construction technology. At the Materials and Lightweight Construction Forum, experts will demonstrate the latest user-centric solutions.

Carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) are lightweight materials with a big future, and they will have a commensurately big presence at HANNOVER MESSE 2016. The benefits of CFRP and the industries in which they have major potential applications will be writ large this coming April at a group pavilion spearheaded by CFK Valley (CFK is German for CFRP), an internationally recognized CFRP association based in the German city of Stade. Other key exhibitors of lightweight solutions include the German development agency Leichtbau BW, Aluminium Centrum, the German Federation of Reinforced Plastics (AVK), Carbon Composites, the Institute for Materials Science at Leibniz University Hannover, and the TU Dresden Institute for Lightweight Construction and Plastics. The German Forging Industry Association (IMU) will also be there with a showcase on its Solid Lightweight Design Initiative, a special program that analyses potential weight savings in various classes of vehicle.

Program highlights

Adhesive bonding is another key focus of next year’s Industrial Supply show. The Adhesive Bonding Technology display will showcase the technology leadership of Germany’s adhesives industry as well as the critical importance of adhesives when it comes to realizing lightweight design. The latest materials will also be in the spotlight. Hall 6 will once again be home to exhibits of innovative materials, including the German Foundry Industry Federation’s "Gegossene Technik" (casting technology) pavilion, a display by the German Forging Industry Association, and the Technical Ceramics showcase, which will feature high-strength valves and abrasion-resistant cutting ceramics. At the SystemPartner group pavilion, Dutch and German companies will join forces to demonstrate the technological and service capabilities of high-tech subcontractors, while ContiTech and its value-adding partners will illustrate the close integration of subcontractors and manufacturers. Apart from the exhibits, the Industrial Supply show will once again serve as an all-important networking platform for the tightly knit community of manufacturers and their suppliers. Each year, exhibitors and visitors alike use the fair to share knowledge and experiences. The Suppliers Convention will be the central dialogue hub for subcontractors and users. At the Materials and Lightweight Construction Forum, experts will present user-centric solutions for intelligent lightweight design.

Partnership with Sweden’s Elmia Subcontractor show

As part of its drive to continually expand Industrial Supply’s reach among key target groups, Deutsche Messe, the fair’s organizer, is continually building its international networks. As of this summer, Deutsche Messe is partnering with Swedish trade fair company Elmia, which owns the Elmia Subcontractor fair. Under the partnership, Elmia and Deutsche Messe will help each other promote their respective shows to visitors and exhibitors.