formnext 2016: event affirms reputation as worldwide platform for AM
November 20, 2016
The second event in the formnext powered by TCT series, formnext 2016, took place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, from 15 –18 November. In 2015 the very first formnext event firmly established itself as a leading international gathering for the AM industry and this second event built on this success, attracting visitors from across the globe to discover a diverse array of ground-breaking developments and world premieres. The organisers stated that the exhibition featured 307 exhibitors from 28 countries and attracted 13,384 attendees.
Sascha F. Wenzler, Vice President of formnext at event organiser Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH, commented, “formnext 2016 sends a clear statement. Already with the second edition it established a fixed place in the event calendars of the related industries. This success is underlined by a 50% increase in exhibitors and a 49% increase in trade visitors.”
One contributing factor to the success of formnext 2016 was its international flavour, with 44% of visitors attending from outside of Germany. They included representatives from global OEMs and leading companies from a wide range of industries. The high level of visitor traffic and excellent overall atmosphere resulted in very positive feedback from exhibitors. Uri Resnik, CEO at OR Laser, Dieburg, Germany, stated, “During the first days our booth was completely crowded with international qualified visitors, among them representatives from OEMs such as Bosch and BMW.
Overall an extremely positive trade show experience.” In cooperation with tct, the formnext conference took a closer look at the future of Additive Manufacturing over all four days of the exhibition. Prominent speakers included German Paralympic champion Denise Schindler and numerous world-renowned experts from the field of Additive Manufacturing. The conference attracted a total of 647 participants from 25 countries.
Two competitions organised as part of formnext, the Start-up Challenge and the Purmundus Challenge, also attracted considerable interest. The organisers stated, “The creative ideas submitted to these events from the world of Additive Manufacturing allowed attendees a glimpse of the future possibilities in additive production. In the Start-up Area, visitors also had the opportunity to marvel at exhibits of the year’s winning entries from young entrepreneurs.” The next formnext powered by tct will take place from November 14–17, 2017.
