Spotlight on key data of the record event in 2008

10.12.09

All the leading grinding technology companies will be present in Augsburg / Representative overview of innovations and trends / GrindTec Forum: complementing the trade fair / Third round of “Tool grinder of the year”

Augsburg – These are (still) hard times for the machine construction industry, but the first companies are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel. Next year things should finally start to improve again. The grinding technology sector has high hopes for the GrindTec 2010 next spring. Previous events have always achieved excellent results; GrindTec 2008 was the most successful event since the premiere in 1998, with 351 exhibitors and 11,070 visitors.

Today, three months before the opening, almost 300 companies have already registered, raising expectations that exhibitor totals will reach similar numbers to those of 2008. The amount of floor space booked by the beginning of December 2009 is also almost identical. Other key data are also comparable: the proportion of foreign companies is currently 35%. The strongest contingent among the 20 foreign countries comes, like last year, from Switzerland, followed by Italy. The greatest growth has been seen with China, which has moved up to fourth place, closely followed by France, Austria and – Israel!

However, for Project Manager Joachim Kalsdorf, the fact that all the leading grinding technology companies are represented in Augsburg is far more important than this ranking. “Whereas nowadays important suppliers sometimes opt not to participate at some major trade fairs, there is no question of them missing GrindTec. This is mainly because of the excellent quality of the visitors to the GrindTec – whoever comes to Augsburg is a professional in the field of grinding technology. And today the cost-benefit argument is more important than ever – and, in this respect, the GrindTec is already being mentioned in the same breath as the major world trade fairs, EMO and AMB.”

Visitors: GrindTec is the leading international grinding technology trade fair

The vast majority of visitors to GrindTec hold important positions in their company: according to a representative poll conducted at the GrindTec 2008 by Herbert Dirr Congress and Event Market Research, Hamburg, 61% have full or partial responsibility for decision-making and 20% are involved in an advisory capacity. Anyone looking for the most well-organised access to information about current innovations and trends in grinding technology or for the optimal sector overview, has come to the right place. For this reason, 42% of visitors now attend only the Augsburg trade fair. For 72% of visitors, the GrindTec is the leading international trade fair for their sector. The assessment of the GrindTec 2008 was correspondingly positive: 87% ranked it as “very good” and “good” and only 2% were “less satisfied”.

Exhibits and information areas of the GrindTec 2010 

• Grinding machines

• Tool grinding machines

• Abrasives

• Honing, lapping, polishing and deburring machines

• Lubrication and cooling

• Tools

• Precision tools

• Tool holders

• Measurement and test equipment

• Waste management

• Accessories etc.

GrindTec 2010: Representative overview of innovations and trends

GrindTec visitors can already look forward to a wide range of innovations and further developments. There will again be an increase in the sectors of hard metal processing and the application range of CNC controlled tool grinding machines. Electronics is playing an ever-increasing role, not only in measurement technology. Research and teaching are increasingly discovering the high-tech world of modern, computerised grinding of tools and components. In 2010, research facilities and insitutions for training and development are strongly represented. In addition to the Institute for Machine Tools and Factory Operations (IWF) at the TU Berlin, other participants will include the University of Furtwangen with its Centre of Competence for Grinding Technology and Superfinish (KSF), the Institute of Machining Technology (ISF) of the Technical University, Dortmund, the Jakob-Preh School in Bad-Neustadt and, for the first time, the Swabian Trade Corporation.

GrindTec FORUM – market for innovations and new developments at the GrindTec 2010

The lectures in the GrindTec FORUM perfectly complement the range of products offered by the exhibitors in the four exhibition halls. For four days, visitors can learn about current trends and perspectives in grinding technology. On three days (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday), the FDPW Academy will be running the forum and organising and co-ordinating the lectures, which, this time, will be largely presented by the exhibitors at the GrindTec 2010. The FDPW Academy was founded in 2007 by the Trade Association of German Precision Tool Grinders e.V. (FDPW) with the aim of promoting the trade of the cutting tool mechanic by means of practically orientated skill enhancement and maintaining this at the current state of technology.
On Thursday 18 March, there will be a presentation from the journal fertigung entitled “Training and Development”, which will outline the job profile and perspectives of the cutting tool mechanic. The range will cover specialist training in technical colleges up to the university level.

The complete programme will be available online from the beginning of February at: www.grindtec.de > Supporting Programme > Forum

Third round of the competition “Tool grinder of the year”

For the third time, the specialist journal fertigung is looking for Germany’s best cutting tool mechanics. This year, we have been able to obtain the J. Schneeberger Company AG from Switzerland as industrial partner. The competitors for the final round have to qualify by answering theoretical questions set by the Jakob-Preh School in Bad Neustadt. The exciting final will be presented live at the GrindTec 2010. The five finalists from the preliminary round will demonstrate their skills at the exhibit stand on a Schneeberger grinding machine and will craft a complex tool in front of an audience – man against man and all against the clock. Accompanying this competition, experts will give their opinions at the GrindTec Forum and examine more closely the job profile of the cutting tool mechanic, career prospects, training and development as well as future trends for this high-tech occupation.

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