SPS 2023 took place at the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg from 14 to 16 November. According to the organiser, this year was once again a complete success: only the numbers of exhibitors and trade visitors showed a significant growth of the trade fair towards pre-corona levels. According to a press release, the organiser Mesago also made a good decision to expand the exhibition space by two new halls.
Varied supporting programme around the trade fair
The doors of the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg were open to the international automation world for three days from 14 to 16 November 2023. On an exhibition area totalling 128,000 m², spread over 16 exhibition halls, trade visitors were able to experience a broad and diverse range of products, solutions and innovations from the field of smart and digital automation. The varied supporting programme and the accompanying digital platform "SPS on air" were once again very well received by participants.
A total of over 50,000 visitors attended the SPS this year. Despite the nationwide train drivers' strike at short notice and the resulting difficulties in travelling on local and long-distance Deutsche Bahn services, there was a significant increase in visitor numbers compared to the previous year. Looking back, trade visitors met the who's who of the automation industry and were able to obtain comprehensive information on everything from sensors to the cloud, from what is feasible today to trends and visions of smart automation. 1,229 exhibitors used the SPS as a presentation platform and a place for lively dialogue and inspiration to meet the challenges of today with the solutions of tomorrow.
"Networked automation technology is the key to success. We are proud to have achieved such a result with this year's SPS and the figures speak for themselves. Due to the high demand from exhibiting companies, we took account of this positive development in advance by expanding the two exhibition halls 3C and 8 and this was confirmed," explains Sylke Schulz-Metzner, Vice President SPS at Mesago Messe Frankfurt.
SPS lecture programme with an extensive range of topics
Once again this year, SPS kicked off with a programme of presentations. There was plenty to choose from both on site and online: whether cutting-edge specialist lectures, innovative product presentations or practice-oriented panel discussions - participants were able to keep their own specialist knowledge up to date, find new solutions for their everyday work and network at an international level at a total of three trade fair forums in Halls 3, 6 and 8. The variety of topics ranged from digital transformation/Industry 4.0, industrial communication, safety & security, data-driven and intelligent concepts for control and visualisation, sensor innovations to drives and sustainability through automation.
In addition to the classic automation topics of control technology, drive technology and sensor technology, the area of software & IT in particular has become increasingly important in manufacturing. As a result, the topics of artificial intelligence and IT security in the world of automation have also moved further into the foreground.
Trade fair date for 2024 has already been set
A detailed trade fair analysis with further results on SPS 2023 will be available from the beginning of 2024. Next year, the trade fair will take place in Nuremberg from 12 to 14 November 2024. In addition, the SPS community can expect a varied and year-round range of new exchange platforms from 2024. Whether as part of the SPS Technology Talks digital event series, dedicated expert newsletters or on the SPS CareerDrive career platform, where suppliers and users can network.
