The 12th International Fluid Power Conference (12th IFK) will take place at the International Congress Center in Dresden, Germany, from October 12-14 2020, representing one of the most important international exchange platform of science, research and industry in the field of fluid power drives. The organizing team around Prof. Jürgen Weber, co-organizers and partners have successfully mastered the organizational challenges caused by the postponement and took the chance to enhance the conference program and exhibition.

More than 12 eventful weeks have passed since the IFK team around Prof. Jürgen Weber decided to postpone the 12th IFK to October 12–14. Restrictions on contact and business activities as well as countless other measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 have dictated and continue to dictate our everyday life and professional life. The impact of the virus was not foreseeable at the time of the postponement decision, yet it confirmed the organizers’ actions with the benefit of hindsight.

The IFK organizing team scheduled the program with more than 100 international technical papers on current developments and novel applications in the field of fluid power. Moreover, the authors have explicitly been given all the freedom to expand their articles with additional findings that have been generated in the meantime. This is a great benefit and will help the participants to gain a deeper insight into the ongoing developments.

Alongside the conference, the trade remains a great possibility to get informed about the latest innovative products, system solutions and developments of different exhibitors. Exhibitors who are potentially interested can still register for a booth.

Many participants will be eager for networking after the virus-induced low. Under consideration of protective measures issued by health authorities, all three days of the conference feature evening events in the ambience of Dresden's old town and the test facilities of the organizing institute.

"The last few months have been a completely new experience for all of us, and in some cases were full of hardships. This applies both privately and professionally," says Prof. Jürgen Weber. "But we see the postponement of the IFK as an opportunity that offers all of us a real chance to present ourselves, at a time when everyone is keen to share new developments and insights and finally break out of the vacuum that we have gone through. I’m therefore convinced that the event in October will be a huge success for all participants."