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Lightweight technology will be one of the newest and most important topics at Hannover Messe 2019. At the exhibition, it will be possible to see what lightweight has to offer industrial manufacturing and other disciplines and why it is such a key technology for the future. As well as profiling new materials whose amazing properties and applications will be news to many industries, the show will feature a high-level conference for leaders from government, R&D and industry, and plenty more besides. Hannover Messe will present concrete applications of lightweight solutions and explore strategies to raise awareness of this important multidisciplinary technology.
Lightweight construction is fundamental because it reduces product weight, saves on materials and reduces production costs. But what most people don't know is that that's just the beginning – and therein lies the challenge. Because the real point of lightweight is that it makes products and components better by enhancing durability, improving efficiency and paving the way to better design. What's more, it makes for more efficient use of resources and materials and reduces energy consumption and hence emissions. All of which increases competitiveness while helping to combat climate change. "Lightweight construction will be a very important topic at Hannover Messe 2019," commented Olaf Daebler, Deutsche Messe's Global Director Industrial Supply for Hannover Messe. "Users from all industries will find experts who will show them how they can use lightweight construction to enhance their products." With numerous companies and industry associations showcasing intelligent lightweight solutions at all sections of Hannover Messe, there will certainly be no shortage of quality information on offer. And the central headquarters of it all will be Hall 5 at the Industrial Supply show.
"Rapid growth in urban infrastructure, digitization, increasing mobility and burgeoning industrial production are all putting enormous pressure on finite natural resources," says Dr. Elmar Witten, CEO of Germany's Federation of Reinforced Plastics (AVK). "So, to conserve these resources and safeguard our energy supply, we need to find new approaches. Fiber-reinforced plastics/composites offer excellent solutions for many of these challenges, because, as construction materials, they differ fundamentally from unreinforced and metallic materials. Unfortunately, it still tends to be only materials specialists who know about them. That is why we are again partnering with Hannover Messe – to raise awareness of these outstanding materials."
At the upcoming Hannover Messe, technology users will be able to gain a quick yet impressively comprehensive overview of the many lightweight material groups and applications available to them. This includes both general and tailored information. The following Hannover Messe events and group presentations will deal with lightweight construction this April:
Lightweighting Summit
In 2019, the German Economics Ministry is organizing Hannover Messe's first-ever summit on lightweight construction. The summit for political, industry and R&D leaders, which will be held on 2 April, will look at lightweight design and construction as a competitive factor and explore strategies for fostering it as a key enabling technology. Germany's Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Peter Altmaier, will give the opening address.
Integrated Lightweight Plaza and forum
Located in Hall 5, the Integrated Lightweight Plaza is Hannover Messe's central information hub and marketplace for lightweight solutions across all materials, processes and industries. For companies, business networks, industry associations and research institutions, the plaza is a chance to demonstrate that developing effective lightweight solutions requires interdisciplinary cooperation on materials, design and production technologies. The Integrated Lightweight Plaza comprises an exhibition, a speaker's corner, a ‘Lightweight Café' and a demonstration area. And in an exciting new development, next year's plaza will be run with support from the German Engineering Federation (VDMA). The federation's Working Group on Hybrid Lightweight Technologies, which is tasked with facilitating dialogue between users, suppliers and R&D, is organizing a special showcase at the plaza that will be themed "Lightweight as an Enabler of Tomorrow's Mobility" and which will feature lightweight demonstration displays. The working group is also organizing a companion lightweight-themed program that will run on 2 April 2019 at the Industrial Supply Forum.
"Lightweighting in Baden-Württemberg" pavilion
At the "Lightweighting in Baden-Württemberg" group pavilion, companies from the German state of Baden-Württemberg will showcase their know-how and solutions in a range of areas, including lightweight core materials for sandwich-construction components, precision cogwheels and gear components made of plastics, and innovative combinations of hand forging and 3D metal printing. The participating companies belong to a local lightweight network named "Leichtbau BW". The highlights of the pavilion include a special exhibition of the ILO 1 lightweight concept car. The companies in the "Leichtbau BW" network jointly developed the vehicle from start to finish in the space of just four months, a feat made possible by a web-based PLM system that enabled them to efficiently allocate and coordinate all the various production, development and engineering design tasks involved. The ILO 1 is also jam-packed with lightweight tech. It had to be: in order to keep its rating as a L7e lightweight electric vehicle, the whole unit, minus battery, had to weigh no more than 450 kg. "For visitors, the ILO 1 is a tangible embodiment of the two main theme areas that intersect in Hall 5 – Lightweight Construction and Digital Factory," commented Leichtbau BW GmbH CEO Dr. Wolfgang Seeliger.
Group pavilion by Landshut Cluster for Lightweight Design
Transitioning business ideas into market-ready products and services is very much a matter of collaboration, particularly when the companies in question are at the SME end of the size spectrum. The Cluster for Lightweight Design is a prime example of this. It is a network of SMEs, service providers and research institutions, spearheaded by Landshut University of Applied Sciences. And 2019 will be the ninth year in a row that the cluster has run a group pavilion at Hannover Messe. "Within Hannover Messe, the Lightweight Construction display area gives visitors access to an unparalleled concentration of expertise for their lightweight technology projects," said Marc Bicker, Commercial and Organisational Director of the Landshut Cluster for Lightweight Design. "At the group pavilion, representatives of companies and universities will present and discuss the latest developments in the highly innovative and interdisciplinary field of lightweight design."
In 2019, the organizers of Hannover Messe will again also be putting out a Lightweight Construction Guide – a publication that helps visitors find each of many organizations dotted throughout the venue that offer solutions for or relating to lightweight construction. There will also be a daily Guided Tour of Hannover Messe themed "Lightweight Technologies in Industrial Applications". The tour is new to the trade show's lightweight line-up.
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