Transformation as a challenge for the industry

The impressive space of the ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE fair covered almost all branches of industry. The offer presented in seven halls with a total area of 42,000 sq. m included: metalworking machines, tools, industrial automation, robotics, metallurgy, foundry, welding and cutting, additive technologies, software and industrial metrology. The next edition of ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE is scheduled for 4-7 June 2024.

- The current times have been very unstable for several years and the industry has been struggling with many challenges such as: the war in Ukraine, the earlier pandemic, broken supply chains or long waiting times for machine components. However, although there are voices about the upcoming crisis in the industry, these disturbing trends are not visible at the fair. We are grateful for the involvement of so many companies, institutions, clusters that created this year's edition with us. Both the offer of our exhibitors and the programme are the heart of ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE, without which there would be no success of this event. – emphasised Anna Lemańska-Kramer, Director of ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE.

Industry Next Congress for the third time

The world of industry in times of transformation – this was the motto of this year's Industry Next Congress, which for the third time accompanied the ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE fair. The opening lecture was delivered by Maciej Kawecki, PhD, technology promoter, science journalist appointed by the European Commission as Digital EU Ambassador, President of the Lem Institute. - The biggest challenge for the Polish industry is transformation! Our industry developed at a time when robotics, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence were viewed differently. Carrying out the transformation in such a way as not to replace the human factor but to use its creativity is very difficult. – he argued.

The congress emphasised not only the need for digital transformation, but also discussed the environmental approach.

- Not only aluminium is green, but so is industry, and it will be green and it will have to be green, because this is how Europe wants to shape its future – explained Andrzej Michalski-Stępkowski, President of the Polish Aluminium Association, adding that aluminium is on the one hand a material, the production of which is subject to regulations resulting from the EU climate policy, but on the other – a raw material necessary for the production of all kinds of products that allow meeting the ambitious objectives of the environmental policy. Katarzyna Błachowicz, Vice-President of the Management Board of the Waste Management and Recycling Cluster, also spoke about the need for changes towards a circular economy, support for innovative and digital transformation of enterprises, in the panel: Green Transformation of Industry: How to Do It?

- Without access to critical raw materials, there is no green transformation of Europe. According to the draft EU regulation on critical raw materials, by 2030, 10% of these raw materials should be extracted in the EU, and 15 percent is to be recycled. This will make it possible to make the EU independent of imports of raw materials, e.g. from China. This requires bold decisions to support green strategic investments. The development of the innovative potential of SMEs, including the recycling sector, is of key importance. Without the recovery of raw materials from waste, we will not close the loop and we will lose the chance to make Europe competitive – assessed Katarzyna Błachowicz.

During the three days of the Industry Next Congress, experts emphasised the need for faster industry automation, pointed to the opportunities and threats related to artificial intelligence in business, discussed how to implement robotisation and digital twins, and looked for support tools in industry transformation.

In total, several dozen debates took place as part of the ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE fair, which took place on four stages with the support of key organisations, companies and institutions related to the industrial sector.

Science and industry – a common path

An important part of the exhibition was the representation of Polish research centres under the common name SCIENCE FOR THE ECONOMY.

- We are glad that there are so many representatives of science here, because science, innovation and technology transfer are the three main mottos of the ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE fair – said Tomasz Kobierski, President of Grupa MTP during the inauguration of the fair.

The synergy of industry and science also resounded in the organised debates and conferences held during the fair. An example of such cooperation was the 16th ENGINEERING FORUM – 9TH MECHANICS DAY, which has been accompanying the industrial fair for twenty years. The organisers: the Federation of Scientific and Technical Associations of the Chief Technical Organisation (FSNT-NOT) and the Association of Polish Mechanical Engineers and Technicians take care of the successive tightening of ties between scientific and research centres and industry. This year, scientists debated the conditions of technical creativity and the possibility of implementing its results in the economy.

- We have been presenting innovations in this Forum for years, we investigate how they are implemented, but also what barriers are placed in front of them. Today we show young creators to make them aware of the problems they face in order to carry out their research – noted Ewa Mańkiewicz-Cudny, President of the Main Board of FSNT-NOT, during the Forum.

You could also hear about the interpenetration of the world of science and industry at the Industry 4.0 Forum, organised under the auspices of the Polish Academy of Sciences. – Industry 4.0 is a phenomenon on a global scale. This is a concept that was created 12 years ago and now it is difficult to find a place in the world where industry 4.0 is not mentioned – said one of the initiators of the project Andrzej Soldaty from the Centre of Industry 4.0 of the Silesian University of Technology at the inauguration of the Forum.

The conference was hosted on the largest Tech Stage in Poland, in a special innovation space for factories of the future initiated by DBR77.

- If we do not start with education, we will not reach the factory of the future and the efficiency that will give us competitiveness. What does it mean? It's not only that we lack engineers or programmers, but we want to educate at every level, but above all where decisions are made. The Industry 4.0 Forum is a great place, a meeting of producers, non-governmental organisations and scientific institutions that can thus jointly find a method of education on a mass scale – emphasised Piotr Wiśniewski, PhD, – founder and CEO of DBR77.

Gold Medals awarded!

Business successes are also innovative products, and the exhibitors present at the ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE fair create the future of the world of industry. An example of products that create trends in the industry are the winners of MTP Gold Medal that were honoued during the opening ceremony of the fair. Fifteen gold medals were awarded. The best products of the ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE fair were: CNC longitudinal lathe SD-26 (RANDS Ryżewscy Spółka komandytowa – applicant, STAR MICRONICS AG – producer), Mechatronic ladder (METALKAS S.A. – applicant and producer), ENKi System (GG TECH POLSKA Sp. z o. o. Sp. K. – applicant and producer), 3D 3 GEN head (Ajan Polska – applicant, Ajan Elektronic Serwis SAN – producer), FSW head (TECHNIKA SPAWALNICZA Sp. z o.o. – applicant, Stirweld – producer), IPOsystem (UIBS Teamwork Skowron Fiegler sp. k. – applicant and producer), Laser Regius 3015 AJ 6KW (AMADA Sp. z o. o. – applicant and producer), TruMatic 6000 (K05) laser punching machine, TruFlow 2700 W CO2 resonator (TRUMPF POLSKA Spółka z o. o. sp.k. – applicant and producer), Industrial line (TENTE Sp. z o.o. – applicant and producer), Microset VIO 20|50 linear (HAIMER GmbH – applicant and producer), M2 vertical machining centre (DMG MORI Polska Sp. z o.o. – applicant, FAMOT Pleszew Sp. z produc – producer), CNC lathe T1 (DMG MORI Polska Sp. z oo – applicant, FAMOT Pleszew Sp. z oo – manufacturer), TruLaser 5030 fiber (L76) laser cutting machine with TruDisk 24001 W resonator (TRUMPF POLAND Limited Liability Company Sp. k. – applicant and producer).

Two Gold Medals were also presented to MODERNLOG representatives. The best were: Intuitive Completion Assistant (KARDEX POLSKA Sp. z o.o. – applicant and producer) and Synaptic Platform (Institute of Programming Studies S.A. – applicant and producer). The Gold Medal of Consumers' Choice award went to AJAN POLSKA.

And exhibitors who showed a particular vision of arranging their exhibition space received the Acanthus Aureus statuette.  Acanthus Aureus statuettes are awarded to appreciate stands that are best designed and prepared to implement the company's marketing strategy during the fair. This year the award went to: DMG MORI Polska Sp. z o. o., RoTec POLAND SCHENCK RoTec GmbH, Schwaebische Werkzeugmaschinen Polska Sp. z o. o., DEMATEC POLSKA Sp. z o. o., MAZAK – YAMAZAKI MAZAK CENTRAL EUROPE Sp. z o. o. Branch in Poland, HSG LASER CO.,LTD., ŁUKASIEWICZ RESEARCH NETWORK, TRUMPF POLSKA Sp. z o. o. Sp.k., JET SYSTEM Sp. z o.o. Sp.k., EROWA TECHNOLOGY Sp. z o. o., and MODERNLOG exhibitors: KARDEX POLSKA Sp. z o. o., SEALED AIR POLSKA Sp. z o. o., NEWLAND EUROPE B.V.

 During ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE visitors had an opportunity to visit the exhibition of the Modernlog Trade Fair of Logistics, Transport and Storage, the Subcontracting Industrial Cooperation Fair, and the Work Safety in Industry Exhibition.

The capital of modern logistics

Poznań became the capital of modern logistics for four days thanks to the MODERNLOG Logistics, Storage and Transport Fair – the most important industry event in the country. This year's exhibition was very diverse, and the exhibitors presented both innovative warehouse automation solutions and internal transport technologies, logistics services, software, as well as packaging and identification systems. In the very centre of the hall, logistics shows in the In4Log zone were held every day, which, as every year, attracted the attention of trade fair visitors. Medialog Publishing House together with its partners – AIUT, Mosca, Fronius, Craemer, AnterSystem, Continental, RedSteel, PolPlan, LGS Maximal, Agroma Polsad, LineLaser – prepared dynamic presentations of state-of-the-art intralogistics solutions. MODERNLOG was also a place of debate and exchange of experience and knowledge – as many as 3 industry conferences were held as part of the fair. The development of Polish and global logistics in connection with technological and socio-economic changes was discussed by the speakers of the meeting 'Towards the Zone of Modern Logistics' organised by K-SSSE and PSI Wielkopolska. And the Polish Association of Warehouse Technology, during the Shelving Conference, dealt with issues related to storage systems. Smart Warehouse is a conference already well known in the logistics industry, and this year it was held for the fourth time and was attended by over 600 participants. 29 speakers from 26 well-known brands could be heard from the stage during 5 discussion panels: #Human vs robotics, how to make friends with a robot in a warehouse, #Mechanisation and automation of warehouse processes, #AGV robots, #Fulfillment – logistics for e-commerce, #IoT digitisation. As part of the conference, there were also 5 speeches in the Partner Stage series and a networking zone organised with 9 partner companies.

SUBCONTRACTING – the Superpower of Networking

As part of the Subcontracting Industrial Cooperation Fair, 62 companies from 6 countries (Finland, Spain, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Ukraine) presented their latest subcontracting offer, while as many as 100 participants from 15 countries discovered the super powers of networking during Subcontracting Meetings. Crowds in the halls showed the power of live meetings. The key element for visitors to the SUBCONTRACTING fair were the international cooperation negotiations Subcontracting Meetings, prepared in cooperation with the Poznań Science and Technology Park. The event is held under the auspices of the European Enterprise Network. In total, 95 b2b meetings were held with nearly 100 representatives of companies from 15 countries:

Conferences from the SUBCONTRACTING – I'M BUYING IT series attracted large numbers of specialists from the purchasing industry to the Industry Trends Stage in Hall 5A. Interesting topics related to improvements in the area of supply chain management and expert speeches provided the participants with a huge dose of practical knowledge. The events prepared by the representatives of the Metal Processing Cluster – the National Key Cluster were also very popular.

Health and safety exhibition – in the service of security

The Occupational Safety in Industry Exhibition, held every two years, is an event that provides an opportunity to meet experts, providing the participants information about occupational safety in the industrial sector, and the latest products and solutions in the field of occupational safety and security.

Exhibitors – 21 companies from 4 countries (Belgium, Germany, Poland, Switzerland) presented: personal and collective protection equipment, first aid measures and equipment, solutions for safe work in the warehouse, protective and working clothing, workplace equipment / ergonomics, marking and safety signs. On the first day, a conference was held prepared by the National Labour Inspectorate and the National Association of Occupational Health and Safety Service Employees entitled 'PROFESSIONAL OHS SERVICE AS THE FOUNDATION OF SAFE WORKING CONDITIONS. Challenges of Modern Technologies.' The conference attracted crowds of specialists representing the labour protection industry who want to improve their knowledge and skills, and thus – to care for the creation of a safety culture in Polish workplaces.