After CastForge opened its doors in Stuttgart for the first time in June 2018, the trade fair for cast and forged parts and their machining is now entering its second round. An important success factor of the trade fair is the close cooperation with the industry associations - both nationally and internationally. Together with the Industrieverband Massivumformung e. V., the Bundesverband der Deutschen Gießerei-Industrie e. V. (BDG) and FUNDIGEX, the Spanish association of foundry exporters, Messe Stuttgart welcomed the media partners at the opening press conference on Tuesday, 21 June, the first day of the trade fair.
"After 153 exhibitors in one hall in 2018, we are pleased to welcome over 320 exhibitors in two halls this year," says Roland Bleinroth, Managing Director of Messe Stuttgart. "We hope that we may also experience such a positive response from visitors." A total of 104 national and 219 international exhibitors will fill the two exhibition halls. "This is an impressive level of international interest in the trade fair," says Gunnar Mey, Director of Trade Fairs & Events at Messe Stuttgart. "By the way, we also find the high loyalty of our exhibitors equally impressive and above all appreciative." In exhibition halls 3 (Jacques Lanners Hall) and 5 on the north side of the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre, cast and forged parts and the machinists will be presented in a new dimension on a net area of around 6,000 square metres.
Casting and forging have high relevance for all industries
"Nothing works without cast iron. The casting industry accounts for only one percent of Germany's economic power. However, the other 99 percent does not run without it", Max Schumacher, General Manager of the German Foundry Industry Association (BDG), underlines the relevance of the sector for Germany as an industrial location. Schumacher also emphasises the importance of CastForge for the industry: "The experience of the last edition was that exactly the right customers are to be found at CastForge. The trade fair is an important hotspot for us."
The forging industry is used in a wide variety of industries and it is impossible to imagine life without it. Electric vehicles, for example, are inconceivable without solid-formed components, and aviation is not possible. "Every day, everyone uses at least one forged part," says Tobias Hain, Managing Director of Industrieverband Massivumformung e. V., underlining the cross-sectoral importance of forging. "CastForge stands for a trade fair that compactly gives an insight into two industries over three days. It is characterised by its internationality and its down-to-earth approach, which fits the industry perfectly," adds Hain.
Marina Giacopinelli underlines the importance of exports for foundries, not only in Spain. There, Giacopinelli is Managing Director of the export association FUNDIGEX. "Spanish foundries export around 72 per cent of their products. The main challenges for us are also the current rising energy prices and the shortage of raw materials," says Giacopinelli. "CastForge found and filled a gap in 2018. After the great first event, we are looking forward to the new edition."
"The industry is behind the trade fair and we notice that," were the concluding words of Gunnar Mey, Director of Trade Fairs & Events at Messe Stuttgart. CastForge in Stuttgart is still the meeting place for the casting and forging industry until Thursday. Together with the partners, an attractive supporting programme has been put together. Practical and impulse lectures by exhibitors and some professional sponsors, guided tours by the BDGuss, the annual conference of the Industrieverband Massivumformung, the GlobalFlow and the buyers' day of the Bundesverband Materialeinkauf und Logistik (BME) round off the trade fair.
