AMB 2016 Germany: Packed exhibition halls

Smiling faces all around and a very positive atmosphere are clear signs of a successful show. That was also the case for Stuttgart's metalworking show AMB 2016, held from 13 - 17 September.

In some of the fully-booked halls it was nearly impossible to walk as interested visitors were flocking to the showgrounds. Thursday marked the most visited AMB day ever recorded, Ulrich Kromer, Managing Director of Messe Stuttgart said, which was also confirmed by the 1469 exhibitors. Overall, nearly 90,000 trade visitors came to see what's new, 16% came from abroad. Besides delegations from Iran and China, a group of 170 visitors even chartered a flight from Linz, Austria.

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Gallery with 19 images

The mood during the show confirmed what VDW (German Machine Tool Builders' Association) and VDMA (German Engineering Federation) predicted at the opening press conference on 13 September. Dr Wilfried Schäfer, executive director of VDW said: "AMB is one of the most important trade fairs and met our members' expectations from day one. Full exhibition halls, a high quality of visitors in terms of decision-making authority and a willingness to invest, as well as the consistently positive mood among exhibitors and visitors boost our expectations for a continued positive trend within the German machine tool building industry. We therefore assume that our forecast of 2% growth in 2016 will be confirmed."

Messe Stuttgart

AMB – International exhibition for metal working

Positive forecasts

The Precision Tools Association in the German Engineering Federation is also expecting another boost for their industry and even anticipates a new production record in 2016. Managing Director Markus Heseding said that his members were expecting good inquiries from the show. He is also confident that the precision tool industry's production will remain positive in 2016.

"We still assume that the German precision tool industry will increase its overall production by around 4%," he said. "Despite a weak first half of the year in cutting and clamping tools, the forecast for the entire precision tools industry seems to be confirmed, even if it is an ambitious target."

Association forecasts are, of course, always only average values, but some companies confirm the forecast. Iscar Germany, for instance, said that growth in turnover is currently satisfactory with the exception of the original equipment business and the negative development in the oil and gas industry."

More information about AMB and Messe Stuttgart can be found here.

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