Staged under the slogan of “Sustainability in Logistics”, the five-day, Hannover-based event featured a rich array of exhibitor innovations. “The record participation from abroad impressively highlighted the profile of CeMAT in Hannover as the foremost international business platform for the intralogistics sector,” declared Dr. Andreas Gruchow, Managing Board member at Deutsche Messe in charge of CeMAT.

A comprehensive display portfolio included hybrid-drive, automated guided transport systems, series-produced industrial trucks with lithium ion batteries, space and energy-saving packaging machines and new cloud computing software. “CeMAT has again demonstrated it is the global innovations fair for the intralogistics sector. Intralogistics is clearly a critical link in the fast-growing global transport chain, which is indispensable to today’s rapidly globalizing world. Intralogistics also brings opportunities for considerable savings in time, costs and energy, making it a key factor for successful competition in the international marketplace,” Gruchow continued.

CeMAT 2011 attracted 1,084 companies from 38 different nations, including 548 – roughly half of all exhibitors – from abroad. “This means that CeMAT 2011 even outperformed the last CeMAT, which took place in May 2008, before the economic crisis,” Gruchow noted.

Participating enterprises were delighted with the run of the show: “This year’s CeMAT swept aside any remaining doubts that the intralogistics sector has overcome the crisis. It clearly exceeded our expectations, which were already high. We generated about 25 percent more leads at our stand this year than at CeMAT 2008, our previous record. The high percentage of visitors from abroad provided proof positive of CeMAT’s status as the leading global trade fair in its sector. Every second visitor to our stand was from outside Germany. The quality of our leads was even better than in 2008, with many of them linked to new investment projects. This is a boost both for our business and for the industry as a whole, as well as for Germany as a leading intralogistics location,” remarked Christoph Hahn-Woernle, Managing Partner of viastore systems GmbH and spokesperson for the Intralogistics Forum as well as Chairman of the Baden-Württemberg section of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA).

Dr. Christoph Beumer, Managing Partner of the BEUMER Group GmbH and Chairman of the CeMAT Executive Committee, was also impressed with the results: “This has been the best-ever CeMAT for our enterprise. We received two major orders we were not expecting, and had more visitors at our stand than ever before – with particularly strong interest from abroad. The quality of our trade discussions was also up compared with 2008, which had been our most successful CeMAT up to then. For the first time, we at the BEUMER Group were able to present our three brands, BEUMER, Crisplant and Koch Holding, at the same trade fair – an ideal way to launch our new campaign.”

Industrial trucks, hoisting gear, cranes and access platforms, port handling and distribution logistics all figured prominently on the high-traffic open-air site as well as in the adjacent halls and pavilions. Across the entire show, there was a notable emphasis on innovative drive systems designed for sustainability.

Halls 13 and 27 featured complete plant and logistics systems. A forum organized by the Research Association for Engineering Logistics (WGTL) put the spotlight on relevant R&D findings, providing a comprehensive overview of current intralogistics trends, including a multifaceted program of presentations and panel discussions.

Hall 27 also featured displays of logistics software, auto-ID systems and eLogistics concepts, along with logistics services to cover every need. In Hall 13, warehousing systems and factory equipment were a major focus.

Right next door in Hall 12, innovative order picking and packaging solutions were in the spotlight, along with transport services, loading equipment, contract logistics, telematics, finance and logistics real estate. The Auto ID and Packaging Logistics showcase enlightened visitors about high-tech ways of meeting today’s packaging challenges.

Hall 12 also served as the venue for the International CeMAT Forum, organized by the German Logistics Association (BVL), featuring international experts and a program covering a wide range of important intralogistics topics. The main focus this year was on the BRIC nations (i.e. Brazil, Russia, India and China).

Exhibitors at CeMAT were delighted at the highly international mix of the approximately 58,000 visitors in attendance, some 35 percent of whom came from abroad. More than 75 percent of these foreign visitors were from other parts of Europe, while 11 percent were from Asia and 7 percent from America. Looking at overall attendance, the major countries of origin were Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Poland, Spain, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Around 40 percent of CeMAT attendees reported being top executives. “This is an excellent figure in the international tradeshow business. And the majority of our visitors came to Hannover armed with concrete investment plans and major projects,” commented Gruchow. Investment volumes were up 20 percent on average over CeMAT 2008.

90 percent of all attendees gave CeMAT top marks in terms of its comprehensive coverage of industry themes. Many exhibitors indicated having generated more business leads this time, attributing that mainly to a large percentage of first-time attendees. 27 percent of visitors indicated they attend no other relevant tradeshows, relying solely on CeMAT as a way of updating themselves on the industry’s latest advances.

Vendors serving the wholesale/retail sector, the construction industry and the energy industry experienced major gains at the show. Logistics solutions for the wholesale/retail sector were in particularly great demand, stimulated by an unflagging upsurge in online shopping and the concomitant strong demand on turnaround and delivery times. This means that wholesale and retail logistics operations are looking to boost the speed and flexibility of their order picking and distribution processes. “Online shopping is a major driver of innovation and investment for the intralogistics sector,” Gruchow confirmed.

In response to strong demand from the industry, CeMAT 2011 also made a valuable contribution to recruiting future intralogistics professionals. The TectoYou and Campus Intralogistics initiatives attracted some 6,000 potential candidates for future employment.

The next CeMAT is scheduled for 19 to 23 May 2014.