DeburringEXPO impresses with quality and high-quality contacts

The visitors arrived with specific tasks for DeburringEXPO, allowing for intensive technical discussions that promise good post-trade fair business.

A sector that was highlighted for the first time at this year's leading trade fair was the post-processing of additively manufactured components.

Numerous exhibitors used the leading trade fair to showcase new and further developed solutions, including a robot system for deburring with ultrasound.

49 percent of visitors gathered information in the expert forum about trends, current developments, and solution offers for process optimization. (Image source: DeburringEXPO)

Deburring and the production of precision surfaces are very specialized manufacturing topics that are becoming increasingly important for companies. This was evident at the third DeburringEXPO from October 8 to 10, 2019: Almost every one of the approximately 2,100 visitors arrived with a specific task in the form of sample parts or drawings for the trade fair. For the 183 exhibitors, this resulted in excellent contacts and direct entry into solution discussions with the chance of high-quality projects. The bilingual expert forum also recorded high demand, with 49 percent of visitors seeking knowledge and solution offers for process optimization.

That specialized trade fairs can also succeed in an economic environment shaped by dampened expectations and uncertainty was demonstrated by DeburringEXPO from October 8 to 10, 2019. With 2,082 visitors from 27 countries, the third leading trade fair for deburring technologies and precision surfaces continued the success of the 2017 event. The proportion of foreign trade visitors was 20 percent. The most represented visitor countries after Germany were Switzerland, France, Austria, and Italy. In terms of industry distribution, it was shown that the automotive and supplier industries were less represented than in previous years, while the share of visitors from other sectors such as machinery and plant engineering, metal processing, medical technology, tool and mold making, aerospace, electronics/electrical, and pharmaceuticals/cosmetics increased.

A good mood among the majority of the 183 exhibitors (a 20 percent increase compared to 2017) from 14 countries was ensured by the concrete problems and projects that the trade visitors had come to the fair with. "The quality of the conversations is very good. While at other, larger fairs, you have a lot of visitors who only want to gather general information, here we only had visitors with real tasks at the booth, for which they are seeking solutions," reports Christian Höhn, Product Management Mass Finishing at Rösl­er Surface Technology GmbH.

Visitors with high qualification and willingness to invest

Maria Loula, Managing Director of Perfect Finishing GmbH, was also enthusiastic about the high qualification of visitors: "For us, DeburringEXPO is one of the most important trade fairs. From about 40 percent of the contacts from the last two events, we have been able to generate orders and acquire new customers, which is a very good rate. Additionally, trials are still ongoing with various companies. This year, we were again able to make many high-quality contacts involving precise applications. This is also reflected in the fact that around 90 percent of visitors came to us with components or drawings." The high decision-making competence and willingness to invest of the visitors is also confirmed by the visitor survey: Over 94 percent are involved in operational procurement decisions. This contributes significantly to the exhibitors achieving their trade fair goals, as Stefano De Antoni, CCO of the Italian Dan Technology, Dan di De Antoni S.r.l., confirms: "The trade fair is very specialized, and we get very substantial contacts here. Visitors come with problems for which they are seeking solutions, and we were able to schedule a visit to a company in the trade fair region for the day after the event." Thoms Magnussen, Head of Sales & Marketing at SHL AG, also expressed great satisfaction with his first appearance at DeburringEXPO: "We decided to exhibit here only shortly before the fair, and everything from organization to project handling to booth construction worked wonderfully. But the best thing about this trade fair is the audience. They are visitors who know exactly what they want and often brought sample parts. As a result, we were able to generate a multitude of contacts with companies previously unknown to us. The price/performance ratio is right here, and I assume we will participate again in two years." Similarly, René Kehl, New Business Development Manager at Swiss Heule AG, summarized: "We have been exhibiting since the first fair in 2015. This year, we doubled the size of our booth and increased the team to six people, which was the right decision. We also observed that the market penetration, both industry-wise and internationally, has continued to advance based on the visitors at our booth. We will definitely be there again in 2021."

Increasing importance and new application fields

The trend toward higher requirements in deburring and surface quality was also confirmed in the exhibitors' discussions. Part cleanliness plays a role here. "Unlike other fairs, DeburringEXPO also attracts visitors who are specifically looking for a combined process for deburring and cleaning. For such tasks, we can offer solutions for various applications. We not only made interesting contacts here but also directly agreed on some sample part treatments, including for the removal of powder residues on additively manufactured parts," explains Mirijam Maier, Inside Sales, acp systems AG. For post-processing of AM parts, the Dutch company Leering Hengelo also presented solutions: "Visitors came to us with high knowledge and great interest. Overall, the trade fair went well for us," says owner André Gaalman.

DeburringEXPO also addressed challenges arising in the automotive industry due to new drive technologies. "We are participating for the third time and know that it’s not about quantity but quality. The visitors who mainly come from the automotive and supplier industries approached us with very precise tasks. Among other things, we are handling two specific inquiries from the e-mobility sector," reports Stephan von Schneyder, Managing Partner of WMS-engineering Werkzeugmaschinen-Systeme GmbH. Ralf Krieger, authorized signatory and Regional Sales Manager Europe at Extrude Hone GmbH, also reports on applications indicating a move into new drive technologies: "DeburringEXPO is a very important trade fair for us, where we conduct intensive discussions with potential customers from various sectors, such as medical technology, inert gas technology, and the supplier industry. This year, it also involved new projects related to parts for alternative drive technologies."

Knowledge is also in demand

One of the highlights of this year's event was the expert forum, which offered practical know-how on various topics related to deburring and surface finishing through 29 presentations simultaneously translated (German <> English). During the three days of the fair, around 1,000 visitors took advantage of this opportunity to deepen their knowledge and exchange experiences. For over a quarter of the trade visitors, the program of the expert forum influenced their day at the trade fair.

The next DeburringEXPO will take place from October 12 to 14, 2021, at the Karlsruhe exhibition grounds.