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Moulding Expo 2017: View of Hall 5.
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Even the première two years ago was a total success. And shortly after the end of the trade fair, it was clear that the second edition of the International Trade Fair for Tool, Pattern and Model Making at the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre had made an impression on the over 760 exhibitors and around 15,000 visitors from Germany, Europe and many other countries in the world.
I have never experienced a trade fair which has become established so quickly and at such a high level among exhibitors. I had the impression that the visitors wanted to really absorb the programme items. We have given the tool, pattern and mould making industry a home," enthused Ulrich Kromer von Baerle, President of Messe Stuttgart.
Intensive exchanges in the exhibition halls
Exhibitors at Moulding Expo 2017 praised, in particular, the quality and the unusually long duration of the discussions - which often lasted more than one hour. Internationality was another advantage: the visitors came from a total of 52 countries, primarily Austria (16%), Switzerland (12%), Italy (10%), Turkey (8%), the Czech Republic (6%), France and Portugal (5% each). Compared with the première of Moulding Expo, the proportion of international visitors rose from 11% to 15%.
The around 15,000 trade visitors represented every major branch of industry: automobile and automotive component supply industry (42%), tool and mould making (28%), mechanical engineering and plant construction (23%), plastics processing industry and production (16%), pattern making and prototyping (11%) plus various user industries.
The Buyers' Forum of the Federal Association of Materials Management, Purchasing and Logistics (BME) was also held concurrently with Moulding Expo at the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre. The exhibitors responded positively to the two guided tours of different exhibition stands for the Forum participants.
Other figures from the trade fair survey: 76% of visitors said that they were solely responsible, jointly responsible or acted in an advisory capacity in regard to purchasing and procurement in their company. 83% of visitors said they would recommend the trade fair to other people.
Live high-tech experience
The accompanying programme containing special shows on trend topics, international technical forums with first-class speakers and extensive career information for young people in the industry underlined the concept of Moulding Expo "from the industry for the industry“. In particular, the opportunity to experience the many different subject areas live and at close quarters went down very well with visitors. The trade fair give-aways produced live from high-tech moulds proved to be real hits: over 11,000 units of the eating cutlery "3-2-eat!“, which were injection moulded on the spot by students from Reutlingen University, were given to visitors. The "Polyman" learning component, which was also produced during the trade fair, also made a lasting impression.
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Winfried Kretschmann, Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg, visits the stand of the German Tool and Mould Makers' Association.
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High-ranking politicians as visitors
The visit by Winfried Kretschmann, Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg, was a clear indication of how important Moulding Expo has become in the political landscape in Baden-Württemberg. After his tour through the trade fair, he said he was very impressed with the quality of the event.
Katrin Schülz, State Secretary in the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economics, Labour and Housing, spent two days at the trade fair. The Minister-President and the State Secretary were especially interested in the large number of programme items for young people and school classes.
"The positive response from all participants and the visibly positive mood in the industry are reason enough for Messe Stuttgart to start looking forward to the third edition of Moulding Expo in May/June 2019," said Ulrich Kromer von Baerle.
