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Hannover (dpa) - The Hannover Messe, otherwise the largest industrial show in the world, runs this year as a purely digital format due to the persistently difficult corona situation.
With online presentations and live streams from the exhibitors, video conferences and a new networking tool, the foundations for a “hybrid model” should also be laid in the post-pandemic period from April 12 to 16, said Exhibition Director Jochen Köckler at the presentation of the Program.
"We moved the slider to digital."
But he is convinced that there will be face-to-face events again in the further course of the year - some of them will then be planned as a hybrid of a classic trade fair and exchange via the network.
"This is a format that is much better than if we simply canceled," said Köckler of Deutsche Messe AG's new approach.
In coordination with the partner industries, the company decided that a presence fair in spring 2021 is not yet possible.
It is now expected that there will be up to 1000 exhibitors for the digital edition.
These include the Chinese telecommunications supplier Huawei, the robot manufacturer Kuka, the software group SAP, the cloud giant Amazon Web Services and the automation technology provider Festo.
Further registrations are ongoing.
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In 2020, the Hannover Messe was canceled in the swelling first corona wave.
Entry restrictions, contact bans and a decree by the Hanover region had ultimately made the organization impossible - the exhibition company had only tried to counter this with a tightened hygiene concept and postponement to summer.
The forced break was also a heavy blow for hoteliers and restaurateurs.
Around 6,000 exhibitors from 70 countries were announced at the last edition - but these figures are now difficult to compare with the situation after the reorganization.
The main topics in April include technologies related to renewable energies, digitization and networking in production (“Industry 4.0”), climate-neutral production and new logistics and supply chain concepts.
These are also reflected in the conference program: After the online opening by Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) on April 12 and economic policy rounds, the following days will be about specialist lectures and panel discussions.
The “Women Power” career congress is planned for April 16.
Companies and associations present themselves and their products in the core area "Expo".
Inquiries are also possible via the exhibitor database.
Networking at the fair is also to be promoted with the help of a «dashboard», which every visitor can use to exchange ideas with exhibitors and other visitors, depending on their interests.
"We are excited to see how it will be received," said Köckler.
"We can expand that with a hybrid format."
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The regular exhibitor Kuka, whose robots are used in many companies in the mechanical engineering and automotive industries, was confident about the digital concept.
"It's a new experience for us too - let's make the best of it," said company spokesman Wolfgang Meisen.
He believes that further "push" is possible.
The partner country of the fair is Indonesia.
Jakarta's ambassador in Berlin, Arif Havas Oegroseno, said that his country had also slipped into recession in the Corona year 2020.
However, the digital sector has recently grown, and the healthcare industry in particular still offers a lot of potential.
He therefore hopes for more investors from Germany.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210203-99-286348 / 2
Digital program for the Hannover Messe 2021