Messe Stuttgart and the German Machine Tool Builders' Association (VDW), are ready to assume responsibility for organising the event for production engineering in Hamburg, NORTEC. The announcement follows the conclusion of discussions with the previous organiser, Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH.
“For Messe Stuttgart, the future orientation of NORTEC is another important milestone in the expansion of the company's portfolio in the industrial sector,” said Roland Bleinroth, president of Messe Stuttgart. “We are pleased to be able to contribute our trade fair experiences from the successful industrial events in Stuttgart, which were successfully developed with our long- standing partner the VDW, to the expansion of NORTEC as the leading platform for industrial production technology in north Germany. This proven recipe for success will now also be implemented with total commitment in Hamburg.”
The VDW also welcomed this development: “The takeover of NORTEC by two highly competent organisers, i.e. Messe Stuttgart and the VDW, will open up new opportunities to further strengthen NORTEC and extend the platform for production engineering in north Germany. As both a long-standing organiser of trade fairs in production engineering and a trade association, we are convinced that we can make a valuable contribution to the further development of NORTEC with our expertise and our international network,” said Dr Markus Heering, managing director of the VDW.
Bernd Aufderheide, president and CEO of Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH, added: “Hamburg is one of the most important industrial regions in Europe. This industry has found an important platform with NORTEC in our exhibition halls. Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH continually examines how events can be maintained and, above all, expanded at the venue. Since Messe Stuttgart has been staging a very successful exhibition, i.e. AMB, on the same topic in its halls for many years, we believe that a large number of synergies can be exploited for NORTEC. We are very confident that the VDW and Messe Stuttgart will enhance the event with their experience, their network and their innovative capacity, and will offer everyone involved in NORTEC a first-class trade fair. NORTEC is and will remain in good hands in Hamburg. That's important.”
Lars Reeder, managing director of Hein & Oetting Feinwerktechnik and chairman of the NORTEC trade fair advisory board, also commented on the change: “As the trade fair advisory board, we have monitored and shaped NORTEC over a period of many years. The decision to hand over responsibility for NORTEC to Messe Stuttgart and the VDW was taken carefully and offers great opportunities for the further development of the trade fair. As the trade fair advisory board, we will also naturally continue to play our part.”
Messe Stuttgart and the VDW say they aim to extend the topic areas of NORTEC and enhance its profile in the medium term. The VDW is therefore bringing METAV (International Exhibition for Metal Working Technologies) into NORTEC. “A large number of exhibitors want to see consolidation on the trade fair market so that they can pool their products and services. We are very pleased to support this through the new constellation,” said Dr Heering.
The handover of NORTEC took effect on 12 July.