MOULDING INDUSTRY
"Moulding Expo" to become Europe's leading trade fair for tool and mould making / Support from ISTMA and Cefamol / Portugal third biggest player
 Gunnar Mey, Ulrich Kromer von Baerle and Florian Niethammer (from left to right) from exhibition company Landesmesse Stuttgart are delighted at the support received for their Moulding Expo from Cefamol General Secretary, Manuel Oliveira, and ISTMA Board Member, Bob Williamson (Photo: Cefamol) |
"Potential on all counts" is how Ulrich Kromer von Baerle, manager of Landesmesse Stuttgart (Stuttgart / Germany; www.messe-stuttgart.de), sees the second edition of "Moulding Expo - International Trade Fair for Tool, Pattern and Mould Making" (www.moulding-expo.de), which is being staged in Stuttgart from 30 May to 2 June 2017. The products and services on show include mould design, prototyping, mould making, hot runner technology, materials, mould-making accessories, measurement technology and order processing, plus software for product development and mould making.
More than 650 exhibitors had already registered by the start of March, and the number is expected to rise to a good 700 companies. Now that the trade fair is better known and attracting more exhibitors, and has also been the focus of numerous international marketing activities, Kromer is hoping for “almost 20,000 visitors” and is setting out to make “Moulding Expo into Europe’s leading trade fair for tool and mould making." The first trade fair in May 2015 attracted 619 exhibitors and just under 15,000 visitors. Eleven percent of those present came from outside Germany, and the aim is for a notable increase in this figure.
Kromer does not see the trade fair as being in competition with “Formnext” (www.formnext.de), for additive manufacturing technologies, which was launched in Frankfurt at virtually the same time. Within a period of two years, both trade fairs have developed their own distinct profiles, with just a minimal overlap, and appeal to different but growing and attractive target groups, he explained when talking to Plasteurope.com.
Messe Stuttgart has obtained support for its event not only from the German tool, pattern and mould making associations VDWF (www.vdwf.de), VDW (www.vdw.de), VDMA Die & Mould (http://pwz.vdma.org/wzb) and MF (www.modell-formenbau.eu), but also from the International Special Tooling & Machining Association (ISTMA; www.istma.org). With the 19 associations organised in ISTMA and their 8,000 member companies, Portugal – Europe’s third biggest mould making nation after Germany and Italy – is also represented here as a country of particular significance.
Portuguese association Cefamol (www.cefamol.pt) with its 152 member companies represents the interests of some 90% of the Portuguese industry’s output. With an export share of 90%, an export volume of EUR 625m, and a 78% increase in sales and 92% rise in exports since 2010, the Portuguese deliver to 80 destination countries. And although Spain (22% share) overtook Germany (20%) for the first time in 2016 as the biggest sales market, interest in the German market and the German automotive industry continues unabated. The export statistics show France, Poland, the Czech Republic, Mexico, the UK, the USA and Slovakia as coming next in rank order.
Injection moulds for thermoplastics account for the lion’s share of Portugal’s die and mould exports. In terms of value, 74% are intended for automotive components, 10% for packaging, 6% for other technical components and 4% for E&E applications. Cefamol secretary general, Manuel Oliveira, says that its members’ particularly high competitiveness when it comes to moulds for big vehicle components explains why the automotive industry accounts for the overwhelming share of customers. Diversification is, however, the prime strategic aim of most of the mould making companies. And, since the majority of them wish to expand their value chain, a large number will be presenting the services they offer at the Stuttgart trade fair.
More than 650 exhibitors had already registered by the start of March, and the number is expected to rise to a good 700 companies. Now that the trade fair is better known and attracting more exhibitors, and has also been the focus of numerous international marketing activities, Kromer is hoping for “almost 20,000 visitors” and is setting out to make “Moulding Expo into Europe’s leading trade fair for tool and mould making." The first trade fair in May 2015 attracted 619 exhibitors and just under 15,000 visitors. Eleven percent of those present came from outside Germany, and the aim is for a notable increase in this figure.
Kromer does not see the trade fair as being in competition with “Formnext” (www.formnext.de), for additive manufacturing technologies, which was launched in Frankfurt at virtually the same time. Within a period of two years, both trade fairs have developed their own distinct profiles, with just a minimal overlap, and appeal to different but growing and attractive target groups, he explained when talking to Plasteurope.com.
Messe Stuttgart has obtained support for its event not only from the German tool, pattern and mould making associations VDWF (www.vdwf.de), VDW (www.vdw.de), VDMA Die & Mould (http://pwz.vdma.org/wzb) and MF (www.modell-formenbau.eu), but also from the International Special Tooling & Machining Association (ISTMA; www.istma.org). With the 19 associations organised in ISTMA and their 8,000 member companies, Portugal – Europe’s third biggest mould making nation after Germany and Italy – is also represented here as a country of particular significance.
Portuguese association Cefamol (www.cefamol.pt) with its 152 member companies represents the interests of some 90% of the Portuguese industry’s output. With an export share of 90%, an export volume of EUR 625m, and a 78% increase in sales and 92% rise in exports since 2010, the Portuguese deliver to 80 destination countries. And although Spain (22% share) overtook Germany (20%) for the first time in 2016 as the biggest sales market, interest in the German market and the German automotive industry continues unabated. The export statistics show France, Poland, the Czech Republic, Mexico, the UK, the USA and Slovakia as coming next in rank order.
Injection moulds for thermoplastics account for the lion’s share of Portugal’s die and mould exports. In terms of value, 74% are intended for automotive components, 10% for packaging, 6% for other technical components and 4% for E&E applications. Cefamol secretary general, Manuel Oliveira, says that its members’ particularly high competitiveness when it comes to moulds for big vehicle components explains why the automotive industry accounts for the overwhelming share of customers. Diversification is, however, the prime strategic aim of most of the mould making companies. And, since the majority of them wish to expand their value chain, a large number will be presenting the services they offer at the Stuttgart trade fair.
27.03.2017 Plasteurope.com [236444-0]
Published on 27.03.2017