SPS - Smart Production Solutions was held in Nuremberg from 14 to 16 November 2023 on a total area of 128,000 m², where international exhibitors presented their latest products and solutions. The importance of this trade fair for the industry and the satisfaction of the participants were confirmed in a recent trade fair analysis. The results of the survey can be viewed free of charge.
A total of 1,229 exhibitors took the opportunity to make new customer contacts and strengthen existing business relationships with trade visitors. The satisfaction of the exhibiting companies can also be expressed in figures: 78% have already participated in the SPS several times and 99% rate the SPS as important or very important for their company. In addition, the visitor survey showed that the right contact persons were on site for exhibitors: 71% of trade visitors are involved in their company's procurement decisions.
Global automation meets in Nuremberg
"SPS in Nuremberg offers Festo the ideal platform to talk to our customers about innovative solutions for sustainable automation," summarises Dipl.-Ing. Gerhard Borho, Member of the Management Board for Information Technology and Digitalisation, Festo SE & Co. KG, summarises.
For Gerd Hoppe, Corporate Management of Beckhoff Automation GmbH & Co. KG, the participation was a complete success: "SPS 2023 has once again lived up to its reputation as the most important industry gathering in southern Germany and neighbouring European countries. With the numerous and high-quality contacts, it is and remains one of our central face-to-face events with global appeal and also the ideal complement to our own virtual information offerings. It is not for nothing that we at Beckhoff also refer to the SPS as the 'Olympics of automation', which is characterised not only by very specific project discussions with our customers, but also by the great variety of innovations."
Jan Melter, Head of Marketing at Bihl-Wiedemann GmbH, adds: "As specialists in automation and safety technology, the PLC has played a central role in our corporate strategy since 1995. We present innovative automation solutions here that help our customers to radically simplify the wiring on their machines and systems and to implement digitalisation at field level cost-effectively. The SPS is the ideal platform to get in touch with our customers and interested parties and provide them with personalised advice."
Trade visitors confirm the relevance of the trade fair
Last year, 50,081 trade visitors came to SPS to find out about the latest trends, products and practical automation solutions. How satisfied they were is reflected in the results of the visitor survey: 94% would come to the trade fair again, 95% would recommend it to colleagues and customers and overall 98% were very satisfied or satisfied with their visit. The trade visitors on site were impressed by the wide range of new products and trends, as well as the exchange of knowledge and experience at an international level.
Successful lecture programme accompanies trade fair
The lecture programme was also impressive in 2023: A total of 5,380 participants refreshed their knowledge physically and digitally in 165 forum contributions. Whether it was an exciting specialist lecture, innovative product presentation or practice-orientated panel discussion - there was something for everyone at the three trade fair forums to keep their specialist knowledge up to date.
Only 1 in 3 visitors came from Germany
Looking at the world map, 38% of exhibitors in 2023 came from abroad. After Germany, the top 5 exhibitor nations are China, Italy, the USA, 4th place is shared by Switzerland, Austria and Taiwan and in fifth place is the Netherlands. A total of 28% of visitors came from abroad. In fact, 27% more visitors from non-European countries attended SPS compared to 2022.
The analysis of the 2023 trade fair contains further detailed information on the exhibitor and visitor structure.
