Exhibitors Affirm the Successful Concept of Moulding Expo

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.

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.

Comments from industry associations:

Peter Gärtner, Information Centre in the Federal Association for Pattern and Mould Making (BVMF): "Twenty member companies and network partners presented the diversity of the pattern and mould making industry on the stand of the Federal Association for Pattern and Mould Making. With their successful presence at the trade fair, they achieved the promised benefit that Moulding Expo would focus on tool, pattern and mould makers. . Thanks to the support of the BVMF and the other promotional partners of Moulding Expo, as well as committed guides, more than 20 school classes from general education schools obtained information on four typical training occupations and were filled with enthusiasm for a career in the tool, pattern and mould making industry.“

Markus Heseding, Managing Director of the Precision Tools Association in the German Engineering Federation (VDMA): "Moulding Expo has become more attractive for visitors, especially due to the increased internationality of the exhibitors. The slight increase in the number of visitors showed us that this tool making trade fair is also well received by the visitors as an individual event. The quality of the discussions was highlighted by the exhibitors. This is especially pleasing for us as a promotional supporter. Our members are hoping that the number of visitors will increase again in 2019.“

Dr. Wilfried Schäfer, Managing Director of the German Machine Tool Builders' Association (VDW): "With this substantial increase in the number of exhibitors, Moulding Expo has become established as the leading trade fair for tool, pattern and mould making in Europe. This was also demonstrated by the large number of international joint stands. Visitors expressed a clear interest in the topic of tool and mould making. This indicates the standing of MEX.“

Prof. Dr. Thomas Seul, President of the German Tool and Mould Makers' Association (VDWF): "Moulding Expo 2017 was a fantastic event. Here at the VDWF we worked hard in the run-up to the trade fair: for weeks and months we focused on how we could again produce a great "bonus" during Moulding Expo in order to make use of this enormous opportunity to permanently create a marketplace here for the industry. We discovered that it was precisely the right path we had taken three years ago when our members voted on whether the VDWF should become a promotional supporter of Moulding Expo. Moulding Expo will be the leading trader fair in future and will also continue to develop into an international platform for tool and mould making. I am already looking forward to MEX 2019 and am certain that it will again be a total success."

Moulding Expo – International Trade Fair for Tool, Pattern and Mould Making: MOULDING EXPO focuses on tool, pattern and mould making using injection moulding tools, die cast moulding tools, casting tools, stamping tools and forming tools, as well as different pattern making and prototyping processes. The range of exhibits is rounded off by components, accessories, machine tools, processing tools, measuring equipment, special machines, software, systems and services for tool pattern and mould making. Technical forums and special shows complement the varied programme. Over 760 exhibitors and around 15,000 trade visitors came to the second Moulding Expo in Stuttgart.

Messe Stuttgart is the organiser of Moulding Expo. It is supported by the Federal Association for Pattern and Mould Making (BVMF), the German Engineering Federation (VDMA Tool Making Association), the German Tool and Mould Makers' Association (VDWF), the German Machine Tool Builders' Association (VDW) and the International Special Tooling and Machining Association (ISTMA).