IEN: The motto for HANNOVER MESSE 2013 will be "Integrated Industry". In what ways will this motto be reflected at the fair?
Frese: The choice of "Integrated Industry" as the motto for next year's HANNOVER MESSE puts the focus squarely on the growing trend towards integration in and between all areas of industry. The exhibitors at the fair will incorporate the motto into their displays and presentations and bring it to life.
"Integrated Industry" refers to technical and electronic integration. But it is more than that. It also refers to the challenge faced by all areas of industry as companies seek to cooperate across corporate and sector boundaries. Integration has the potential to shorten communication channels and make collaboration more efficient.
The motto also highlights the fact that machines, industrial equipment, work pieces and system components will soon be capable of exchanging data in real-time. This will significantly boost efficiency, safety and resource sustainability in production and logistics. The experts have dubbed this technological development the fourth industrial revolution, coming, as it does, after the steam engine, mass production and automation.
IEN: Mr. Frese, demand for wind energy plants has slowed down recently, including in China. In Europe, many suppliers in the solar energy market are in big trouble. Furthermore, there is a good variety of vertical trade shows, especially in Germany, dealing with renewables. Are these developments having a negative impact on HANNOVER MESSE?
Frese: The energy-themed shows and displays at HANNOVER MESSE have performed extremely well over the past few years, and we are confident that this dynamic growth trend will continue. The fact that the Energy tradeshow devotes equal attention to both conventional and renewable forms of energy generation, transmission, distribution, supply and storage puts it very much in a class of its own. It is the only fair in the world that showcases the entire energy value chain at the same time in one location. Next year, the WIND show will be a further boon to HANNOVER MESSE's energy-themed presentations. According to the latest forecasts by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and Greenpeace International, worldwide installed wind capacity will treble to 760,000 MW between now and 2020. This positive situation will be reflected at the WIND show in Hannover. In keeping with its steadily growing importance worldwide, the offshore wind energy segment will for the very first time have its own dedicated display area at next year's show.
IEN: Mr. Frese, the IndustrialGreenTec fair had its debut in 2012. How was the show received by the public, and what can visitors expect next year?
Frese: IndustrialGreenTec had the most successful trade fair premiere in recent HANNOVER MESSE history. It was supported by about 120 exhibitors, whose products, innovations and solutions occupied around 3,000 square meters (32,290 square feet) of display space and attracted a total of 43,000 visitors. We noticed very strong visitor and media interest in themes such as sustainable production and production technology, water and air-pollution control, no-waste re-use, recycling and recovery, and waste management. Next year's IndustrialGreenTec fair will likewise center around green technologies developed by industry for industry. In addition to the themes I just mentioned, the spotlight will be on plant and equipment for water and air-pollution protection and treatment, energy and material efficiency solutions, environmental services, consulting, certification, expert reports and opinions on environmental protection, and financing for green projects.
But that's not all. There will also be an IndustrialGreenTec Centre of Excellence that will profile existing green reference projects and individual solutions. The IndustrialGreenTec displays will be complemented by the East-European Workshop on biopolymers, raw materials and new composites on 9 April and the inaugural GreenDay conference, which will be staged on 10 April at HANNOVER MESSE's Global Business & Markets event. The GreenDay conference sessions will feature discussion and debate on technologies and solutions for optimizing industrial plant for recyclability, recovery and re-usability, energy savings, efficiency and CO2 avoidance.
IEN: Mr. Frese, sustainability in production processes is obviously a key theme for the Industrial Automation show as well. What other trends will be in the spotlight next year?
Frese: The Industrial Automation fair encompasses all automation disciplines - from process and energy automation right through to automation IT and network solutions. The big automation challenges of the coming years relate to energy and resource efficiency, sustainability, networking and mobility. Accordingly, the Industrial Automation show will put the spotlight on energy and material efficiency, intelligent production systems and technologies and resource-efficient, eco-friendly processes. Spanning seven exhibition halls, it will explore innovative applications in process and production automation and feature presentations on industrial IT and robotics. The Industrial Automation tradeshow will take a close-up look at integrated automation processes with themes like Embedded Systems and Smart Production. For instance, in the Industrial IT display area, companies will show how server and network-based IT solutions support automation and make it possible to integrate different work steps into seamless production processes and value networks. Then there's the "Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes" special presentation, which will include displays of energy metering and energy data recording products, systems and software that are essential for systematic, transparent energy management.
IEN: Mr. Frese, 2013 is an MDA year. Are you satisfied with the number of exhibitors so far, and what will be the highlights of the Motion, Drive & Automation show?
Frese: Next year, Motion, Drive & Automation (MDA), the leading trade fair for power transmission and control, will field well over 1,000 exhibitors, making it one of the mainstays of the HANNOVER MESSE lineup. The fact that the MDA exhibition halls are already nearly booked to capacity is further testimony to the fair's great importance and vitality. The international power transmission and control industry is on track for continued growth and anticipates an added boost in 2013 from MDA, its flagship event. The MDA exhibitors will be presenting their latest products and providing key information on current and future trends in electric and mechanical power transmission systems and pneumatic and hydraulic technologies. The keynote themes will include condition monitoring systems, total cost of ownership, lifecycle management, energy efficiency, and complete system solutions. The MDA Forum, which we're organizing in association with the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), will have a strong focus on knowledge transfer and important application areas for power transmission and control technology.
IEN: MDA of course has close links with other fairs at HANNOVER MESSE, such as Industrial Automation, Wind, and MobiliTec. Will there be synergies and thematic crossovers between these shows?
Frese: MDA will obviously benefit from its proximity to the shows you mentioned, and vice versa. Hall 17 is a prime example of this. As a result of next year's optimized hall layout, some of MDA's fluid power displays will be arrayed in the northern section of Hall 17, immediately adjacent to a number of pneumatic technology and automation displays. The automation technology solutions on show in this part of Hall 17 will provide a transition from the purely power transmission and control-oriented exhibits of MDA to the Industrial Automation show. And because it features new drive solutions and condition monitoring systems for wind turbines, the MDA show will also share powerful synergies with the Wind show in the neighboring Hall 27. Similarly, the involvement of many MDA exhibitors in the field of powertrain electrification will make for exciting thematic crossover with the electric vehicle powertrain technology displays at the E-Motive pavilion at the immediately adjacent MobiliTec show in Hall 25. The themes of wind energy and mobility will also be explored in the supporting MDA Forum.
IEN: Russia had already been Partner Country in 2005. What was the motivation to nominate the country again?
Frese: Since the crisis of 2008, there's been a noticeable increase in interest in the Russian market on the part of numerous European companies. That's due in part to the relative proximity of the Russian market, but also to Russia's long-term potential as a buyer of capital goods as it seeks to modernize its domestic economy. According to a survey conducted by the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce, German companies alone are planning total investments of just on 1 billion Euros in Russia in 2012.
The Russian market holds enormous potential for foreign providers, all the more so since the country's accession to the WTO in late 2011. This factor, combined with the outcome of the presidential elections in March this year, has created clarity regarding Russia's economic direction. Thanks to its buoyant raw materials exports, the Russian economy is cash rich and harbors major opportunities for European suppliers of vehicles, machines and electronics. In addition, the further gradual opening up of the Russian market in the wake of the country's WTO accession is making it easier for European companies to establish a local presence and promises exciting new opportunities for Russia and its trading partners.
IEN: When one thinks of the Russian economy, one immediately thinks of the huge potential in the natural gas energy market. But how is Russia positioned in terms of renewables?
Frese: In 2009, the Russian government set itself the target of increasing the non-hydro renewable share of Russia's overall energy mix from the then current level of one percent to 4.5 percent by 2020. In addition, the ongoing liberalization of the Russian energy market has achieved a number of key milestones along the way to creating an attractive market for renewable energy. Moreover, many regions of the Russian Federation are ideal candidates for renewables-based distributed energy systems. In short, Russia's plans to modernize its energy sector offer international companies a wealth of opportunities in the renewables space.
IEN: We know HANNOVER MESSE 2013 will comprise eleven trade shows. But what sort of supporting program can visitors expect?
Frese: HANNOVER MESSE 2013 will feature more than 1,000 forums, special events and conferences, so it's an absolute must for anyone with an interest in industry. The Global Business & Markets foreign trade platform, for instance, is an ideal platform for researching market opportunities worldwide and initiating new business with international partners. It is aimed particularly at small and medium enterprises. Then, of course, there's the Job & Career Market, which gives visitors access to exciting international job and career opportunities. Exhibitors from all sections of HANNOVER MESSE use this platform to position themselves on the labor market and recruit new employees with the right skills. Another highlight is Metropolitan Solutions, a platform for applications and infrastructure solutions for the world's big urban centers and megacities. We launched it just two years ago as part of the HANNOVER MESSE special-events program, and it's been such a runaway success that we've now decided to upgrade it to a full-fledged trade fair. Located in Hall 1, Metropolitan Solutions has for the past two years been dedicated to the themes of energy infrastructure, water/waste water, mobility and logistics, building infrastructure, urban safety and security, and waste management. Next year's new, expanded format will bring a range of new theme areas, including urban management, urban information systems and urban furniture, urban financing solutions, Green Buildings/Green Cities, climate impact management and hydraulic engineering.
IEN: Europe in particular is currently facing serious economic problems caused mostly by the financial and economic crisis affecting Southern European countries such as Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy. Even China, with its enormous economic growth rates in recent years, is slowing down a little at the moment. On the other hand, some experts say that the worldwide economy will pick up again in 2013. What do you think? What sort of economic backdrop can we expect for HANNOVER MESSE 2013?
Frese: The positive feedback we've received from exhibitors and visitors alike and the excellent registration levels augur very well for a strong HANNOVER MESSE 2013. This performance is doubly remarkable, given the short-term economic outlook. As the premier international meeting place for decision makers and investors from industry, business and government, HANNOVER MESSE has shown time and again that it has the power and influence to kick off new trends and shape future developments. The global economic situation means that enterprises are looking to next April's event to inject fresh momentum into the industrial technology market. Many firms have already registered display space. In fact, five months out from the start of HANNOVER MESSE, 70 percent of the available exhibition space at the Hannover Exhibition Center has already been booked - a level which is unprecedented at this early stage in the planning cycle.
