POWTECH 2020: Three questions for Director Beate Fischer

Beate Fischer

From September 29 to October 1, 2020, POWTECH, the leading trade fair for mechanical process engineering, handling, and analysis of powders and bulk materials, will take place at the Nuremberg Exhibition Center. Exhibitors will present their innovations related to processes such as separation, grinding, mixing, and agglomeration, and showcase accompanying technologies, such as ventilation, explosion protection, as well as analysis and control systems. This year's trade fair will be held under special conditions. In a short interview, Beate Fischer, Head of POWTECH at NürnbergMesse, explains the current state of preparations – and how exhibitors are involved in the process.

The preparations for POWTECH 2020 are taking place during an extremely turbulent time, which, due to the Corona crisis, brings many personal and economic challenges. How are these developments affecting POWTECH 2020?

Beate Fischer: We are doing everything in our planning to make POWTECH as safe as possible while maintaining the high utility value of the trade fair. If the crisis has taught us one thing, it is this: The current challenges are best addressed together and in partnership. Therefore, we are currently engaging in intensive dialogue with the industry, both through our advisory board and through a survey of all registered exhibitors so far. We are jointly seeking the best way to restart the business relationships within the industry.

POWTECH has always been the trade fair where process engineers and production managers find concrete help and solutions for their problems, and that is how it will be in 2020 as well.

What is the current status of preparations, and what special program highlights can visitors and exhibitors expect?

In addition to the current exhibitor survey, the preparation of the technical program is an important milestone. We are working on this together with our industry partners and our umbrella organizations, the Working Group for Pharmaceutical Process Engineering (APV) and the VDI Society for Process Engineering and Chemical Engineering (VDI-GVC). The APV is developing a strong program within the framework of the Life Science Forum, specifically for the pharmaceutical and food production sectors, supplemented by its own specialist conference. The Networking Campus, which celebrated its premiere at POWTECH last year, is also taking shape again and will focus on future topics. Even before our main event in September, we will present the POWTECH Virtual Talks on the topic of digitalization on May 27, together with the APV: a first preview of the POWTECH program.

Which technical topics will have a special focus in the POWTECH environment this year?

The major drivers in the development of new or improved process engineering systems continue to be digitalization and sustainability. Better connected, intelligent, and more efficient machines help users in various industries achieve their production and sustainability goals. Although the difficult economic situation this year may prevent some interested visitors and exhibitors from participating in POWTECH, we still expect high-level networking and highly qualified trade visitors. Challenges that the crisis has brought back into focus, such as securing supply chains, remote services, and more flexible production planning, will also be discussed.

Save the date: POWTECH Virtual Talks "Digitalization"

Prior to POWTECH, a free virtual seminar on the topic of digitalization in process engineering will take place in cooperation with the APV. The seminar will be conducted in German on May 27, 2020, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM and will be repeated in English as a talk on June 17. The topics and speakers are: Digitalization in Maintenance (Dr. Johannes Krämer – CSL Behring GmbH), Design and Possibilities of a Cyber-Physical Digital Twin Model for Industry 4.0 (Gerald Mathe & Bertram Srugies – BakerHicks), Annex 15 – Regulatory Updates and Their Impact (Wolfgang Hähnel – Testo Industrial Services AG).