Participation at Hannover Messe Digital Edition April 12-16, 2021

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2021 edition of Hannover Messe took place digitally. The organiser declared its satisfaction with the results: 1,800 exhibitors presented 10,500 products and innovations to 90,000 registered visitors. Despite these impressive figures, Hannover Messe CEO Jochen Köckler, acknowledged that ‘a digital event cannot capture the magic of a real event’ referring to the trust established through face to face contact, the ability to see products at first hand during sales negotiations at the stands, to the chance meetings which can give rise to new commercial partnerships.  (press release 16 April 2021).

In our view, a digital-only fairs cannot compare this tool with the physical event when it comes to offering opportunities and results for a manufacturer in the mechanical subcontracting industry.  We naturelly understand the difficulties posed by Covid and we greatly appreciate the huge technological effort of the Hannover Messe organiser in creating a complex digital platformfrom scratch in a few months. And these first steps are needed to help the organiser to understand whether it make sense to include the mechanical subcontracting sector in the big world of Hannover Messe. Nonetheless, we found the live-streamed conferences very interesting especially for manufacturers of technology, components and finished products; the innovative content of these sessions made them the most successful part of the fair. And doubtless valuable lessons were learned as to how to integrate physical and digital experiences of the fair in future.

Yet, we eagerly await the return of the physical event. Despite a huge effort, we made very few contacts and saw very few opportunities – and even fewer of them precipitated into something concrete. The paltry number of European registered buyers that consented to having their details published played a significant role here. For all of these reasons, we look forward to the next physical edition of Hannover Messe on 25 – 29 April 2022.