Mar 26 2019
The inaugural edition of Formnext + PM South China will be held in Shenzhen from 9th – 11th September 2020. With the prosperous prospects for the development of additive manufacturing in China, especially in the South China region, the new fair aims to assist industry players to unlock extensive business opportunities in both the fields of advanced materials and innovative manufacturing technologies & equipment.
Formnext + PM South China will be jointly organised by Guangzhou Guangya Messe Frankfurt Co Ltd and Uniris Exhibition Shanghai Co Ltd. Scheduled to open from September 9th – 11th 2020, the fair will be held in the brand-new Shenzhen World Exhibition and Convention Center, billed as the world’s largest exhibition venue. The show is anticipated to welcome over 10,000 visitors and host more than 200 exhibitors from around the world across approximately 20,000 sqm of exhibition space. The fair will bring a brand new experience to China’s manufacturing industry, covering an array of advanced technology, equipment and products under the categories of materials, powder metallurgy, additive manufacturing, design, software and processing technologies.
To celebrate the launch of the show, a press conference was held today to indicate the magnitude of the show within the industry, and provide a glimpse of what to expect at the brand-new event. Speaking at the conference, Mr Hubert Duh, Chairman of Guangzhou Guangya Messe Frankfurt Co Ltd, said: “With the expertise from its brand name shows, Formnext in Frankfurt, Germany, and also PM China in Shanghai, the newly formed fair will be one of a kind in South China. The synergy from the two fair brands will facilitate the exchange of ideas between industry professionals and bring a positive impact to the manufacturing sector.”
In addition to Mr Hubert Duh, Ms Petra Haarburger and Mr Sascha F. Wenzler of Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH also spoke at the press conference to give the audience a clearer picture of the ideas behind the strategic collaboration between the two shows. “Mesago Messe Frankfurt as the brand owner of Formnext is proud to support the first international edition of this exceptional trade fair to be launched in Shenzhen’s perfect new venue in 2020,” stated Ms Petra Haarburger, President of Mesago. Mr Sascha F. Wenzler, Vice President and responsible for Formnext underlined: “Formnext is a unique success story in Germany and Europe, and we are sure that the combination of additive manufacturing, materials and innovative process technologies is the adequate mix for the needs of the Chinese manufacturing industry today and in the future.”
Correspondingly, Mr Xiaofeng Zhu, General Manager of Uniris Exhibition Shanghai Co Ltd expressed his excitement and expectations about the upcoming show as well: “With the firm support from the industry associations, there is no doubt that the new fair will further assist the industry to grow.” Mr Lu Bingheng, Director of National Industrial Technology Innovation Strategy Alliance of Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing) also added: “By bringing all the industry elites together in Shenzhen, the show will definitely have a strong influence on the future application of various advanced materials for additive manufacturing in China.”
Strategic collaboration and favourable location will bring immense benefits to participants
Messe Frankfurt and Uniris are veteran exhibition organisers within the industry. Specifically, both Guangzhou Guangya Messe Frankfurt and Uniris Exhibition Shanghai possess more than 10 years of experience in running related industry events locally, and have accumulated a strong visitor database throughout China. Benefiting from Messe Frankfurt’s extensive world-wide branch offices and sales network, the exposure of the new show will be heightened through extensive promotional efforts via international and domestic trade media channels, online portals and social media outlets. Likewise, Uniris’ resources in the upstream and downstream of the powder metallurgy industry will also benefit the fair’s participants.
While Shenzhen as a city is full of opportunities given the rapid development of its hi-tech industries in recent years, Guangdong Province, which the city sits in, also holds much potential. This will only become more pronounced in the coming years due to a signature central government project: the Greater Bay Area. This project aims to integrate Hong Kong and Macau with nine cities in Mainland China, including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan and Foshan. According to the Financial Times, the goal is for the Greater Bay Area to “rival San Francisco, New York and Tokyo as a powerhouse of innovation and economic growth.”
This area contains around 70 million people, and boasts a GDP of USD 1.5 trillion, around 11% of the country’s total. It is an important area in China for science and technology, financial services and manufacturing, including the automotive, electrical and electronics, mould making, and robotics and automation sectors, making Shenzhen the ideal location for a fair such as Formnext + PM South China.
Additive manufacturing industry continues to rise with strong government support
As additive manufacturing is getting progressively popular within China, more and more manufacturing industries have growing demands for intelligent solutions. The Chinese government has thus taken a more serious approach in this area by implementing policies like Internet Plus to further encourage the uptake of new technology in traditional industries. For instance, the Shenzhen government will support the set up of 10 international industrial innovation centres to help the development of the advanced materials industry in response to the central government’s direction.
According to the latest release of the ‘Action plan for additive manufacturing development of China 2017-2020’ by the Chinese government, it is estimated that domestic additive manufacturing industry sales will reach USD 2.96 billion in 2020. Thanks to the active government support, it can be foreseen that the already vigorous development of additive manufacturing in China will take it up a notch in the coming years.