New year, new challenges - ITM Poland 2019

1. The end of the year is the time to sum it up - what was the last year for us?

Joanna Kucharska: ITM Poland is the leading trade fair in Central and Eastern Europe offering a comprehensive presentation of Polish and global industry whose products and services comply with the idea of Industry 4.0.

The 2018 edition of ITM Poland was record-breaking - 1,000 exhibitors from 28 countries presented their products and services in 10 exhibition halls covering 25,000 m2 of exhibition space. Throughout the four days, the exhibition halls were visited by a total of 17,090 professionals from the industrial sector. I am confident that we will be able to achieve even better results in the new year.

2. Are we preparing anything new in the new year? Will the formula of trade fairs and industry-facing events change as compared to the previous edition?

Joanna Kucharska: The ITM Poland trade fair has for years provided an opportunity to showcase the most modern achievements of Polish and foreign manufacturers of machinery, tools and equipment for the metal industry. The exhibitors are keen to boast of new and innovative developments in the metalworking sector. The ever-increasing quality of the exhibition, as well as substantive meetings and close cooperation with exhibitors, partners and professional media ensure that the forthcoming edition of ITM Poland will see plenty of innovative solutions and will give participants access to the best industry offerings.

In 2018, the ‘Sightseeing Pathways' were well received by both visitors and exhibitors. Thanks to them, guided groups visited selected stands and got to know the subject matter of the event: Industry 4.0 and 3D print. Therefore, this project will also continue this year on a much broader scale. Obviously, we are constantly looking for ever newer solutions and topics that may be of interest to professionals. It is not without a reason that Poznań is said to have been attracting market leaders for years, thus becoming the capital of the metal industry for 4 days, while the ITM Poland Innovations-Technologies-Machines trade fair has been an indication of changes, trends and the direction of development for the industry.

3. As far as the products and services offered at ITM Poland are concerned, is the  general interest on the rise or, rather, falling? What factors can influence this?

Joanna Kucharska: The share of the industrial sector in the Polish economy totals 26.3%! This gives it a very strong position amongst the world’s best - 7th place among the EU countries. Poland is ahead of such giants as Germany, Austria, Sweden, Italy, Spain and France. As the dynamic development of the industry leads to the significant changes in enterprises, it is best to come for good practices to Poznań, at the ITM Poland INNOVATIONS-TECHNOLOGIES-MACHINES trade fair. That is why I am calm and optimistic about the future of the industry, and thus ITM Poland.

Definitely, one of the advantages of the June event is the fact that ITM Poland, Subcontracting, 3D Solutions and MODERNLOG are organized at the same time. Their purpose is to take a holistic view of industry as the branch of the economy that has a huge potential to change our reality by giving many sectors, ranging from machine manufacturing, through logistics, warehousing, incremental technologies, 3D printing and scanning, the opportunity to interact with each other.

All things considered, world-class exhibitors, professionals in the field of production automation, metallurgy and metalworking, modern machines and technologies, a wide range of accompanying events, and a unique atmosphere, all make the June ITM Poland trade fair a must-have on the calendar for companies seeking innovation and optimized solutions in line with the fourth industrial revolution.

I cordially invite you to Poznań, 4-7 June 2019!

Joanna Kucharska, Director of the ITM Poland trade fair