Despite the challenging economic climate ahead of the SPS anniversary exhibition, the outlook for the trade show is once again very positive and testifies to the importance of the exhibition for smart and digital automation. Some 1,650 automation technology providers from all over the world are expected as exhibitors in Nuremberg from November 26 – 28, 2019. The exhibition will showcase current products and solutions in industrial automation as well as trend-setting technologies of the future.  

Exhibition visitors will benefit from the wide range of products and services offered by national and international automation and digitalization providers, and within one day will still be able to gain a complete overview of the market. This explains why 71% of the visitors recorded by exhibition organizer Mesago to the automation trade show are day-visitors. 7% of visitors conduct their technology research over the full three days of the event. Last year, 27.6% (18,154) of the visitors came from outside of Germany. 47,546 of the previous year’s visitors came from within the country. The positive impressions from the trade show were shared by these visitors:

 
“For me, the SPS is the best trade show around – a must for anyone working in automation technology,” commented Wolfgang Lex, technology and maker project manager at Conrad Electronic SE.
 
“The SPS is the highlight of the exhibition year for me. It acts as a beacon for the automation industry. Pooling automation and IT supports the journey to digitalization. At the event we really meet all the decision- makers from automation technology. The exhibition is invaluable for us,” Lorenz Arnold, managing partner, MGA Ingenieurdienstleistungen GmbH.

Digitization is having a major impact on the automation industry. Exhibitors will therefore present not only their solutions, but also various products and example applications for digital transformation at the event. IT providers are also increasingly represented at the SPS. The appeal is the strong emphasis on presenting the IT topics in cooperation with the automation companies. Topics such as big data, cloud technology, 5G and artificial intelligence are often presented jointly with automation providers on the basis of practical examples and demos. In addition, topic-related showcases and presentations at the exhibition forums help to illustrate digital transformation in the manufacturing industry.

 
This year, the guided tours once again offer visitors from Germany and abroad the opportunity to visit innovative exhibitors for a concise overview of specific topics, including machine learning and AI, product and machine simulation, industrial security in production, cloud ecosystems and predictive maintenance. The focus of the tours is on real use cases. 
 
Attendees can also obtain extensive insights into specific topics and ask providers for advice on their particular requirements at the joint booths: 
 
“Automation meets IT”, (Hall 6) 
“AMA Center for Sensors and Measurement”, (Hall 4A) 
 
In addition, the forums to be held by the German industry associations VDMA (Hall 5) and ZVEI (Hall 6), as well as the exhibition forums (Halls 3 and 10.1), will offer high-quality, topic-specific presentations and podium discussions. There, attendees can learn more about the latest industry subjects and share their thoughts with the experts on hand. 

For anyone interested in more in-depth information about current automation topics, the Congress that accompanies the SPS and organized by WEKA Fachmedien is ideal. In practice-based sessions of 4 hours’ duration, this year will see a focus on the topics: 5G, TSN, and OPC UA in industrial environments, securely connected – from the sensor to the cloud, IoT Platforms – best practices, and flexible automation for little money – what does robotics offer? 

As of 2019, SPS IPC Drives has a new name: SPS – Smart Production Solutions. While the title of this exhibition may have changed since its inception thirty years ago, the proven concept and areas of focus will stay the same and continue into the future. In this way, event organizer Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH, is taking the digital transformation of the industry into consideration while continuing to promise relevance, expertise, and exchange on equal terms.