After a successful premiere four years ago, CastForge has already firmly established itself with foundries and forges with its second edition. Messe Stuttgart was thus able to more than double the number of exhibitors compared to the first event. A total of 323 companies exhibited in two exhibition halls, with 68 percent of them coming from abroad.
"CastForge has developed impressively after the first event and the difficult break. Under the general conditions with rising energy prices, supply chain bottlenecks and the war in Ukraine, we are all the more pleased with the popularity of the exhibitors. Just like the fact that they have remained loyal to us over this long period of time," says Roland Bleinroth, Managing Director of Messe Stuttgart
Over the past three days, Jacques Lanners Hall 3 and Hall 5 at the Stuttgart exhibition center have been the meeting place for castings and forgings with machining. The trade visitors were drawn to Stuttgart from all over Europe. About one third came from abroad. A total of 40 nations were registered, most frequently represented - after Germany - were Italy, France, Turkey, Austria and Switzerland. The majority of the trade visitors work in purchasing and procurement, and also in business/corporate and plant management, in manufacturing, production or quality control, as well as in sales and distribution. The quality of the trade visitors was correspondingly high: 73 percent are decisive or co-decisive in purchasing decisions in the company. In addition, 78 percent of the decision-makers present plan to invest in the near future.
"Three days, two halls, one clear opinion: CastForge has arrived and, with its focused range of cast and forged parts and the associated machining, represents exactly what was missing in the trade fair market. Thank you for the trust and support of the exhibiting companies and for the encouragement of the visitors," summarizes Gunnar Mey, Director of Trade Fairs & Events at Messe Stuttgart
Excellent mood among exhibitors at the international trade fair
The vast majority of exhibitors reported qualified discussions and a trade fair precisely geared to the target group. Many new contacts were made and business relationships established. The mechanical engineering, plant engineering, pump and compressor construction, drive technology and commercial vehicle construction sectors were particularly well represented among the visitors. Around 71 percent of the trade visitors were interested in castings, and around 53 percent in forgings. Just under half - 48 percent - are interested in the machining of castings and forgings.
Marc Paul, Sales, Schmiedewerke Stooss GmbH, emphasizes above all the target group-specific orientation of CastForge: "No other trade fair covers the requirements of our target group so precisely. We already registered more than 40 promising contacts on the first two days at CastForge; we often don't generate that many at other trade shows over the entire event period."
Ralf Faul, Key Account Manager, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, is also very satisfied with the outcome: "Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG with its Industry business unit took part in 2022 for the first time. As a technology provider for everything to do with casting and mechanical processing for high-end products, our expectations of CastForge 2022 were met in full. Thanks to the clear focus on the casting and forging industry and the excellent organization of the trade show, targeted contacts were made and deals were closed. CastForge will therefore continue to be part of Heidelberg's trade show calendar in the future."
National and international partner associations are highly satisfied
Another key to the success of CastForge is the close partnership with the numerous associations at home and abroad. All contributors here, like the exhibitors, come to a positive conclusion about the trade fair.
Martin Rölke, Head of the Raw Materials Department of the German Foundry Industry Association (BDG): "The second edition of CastForge was also a complete success for our exhibiting members. Thereby, the expectations were already very high after the successful premiere in 2018, but they were fully met. Our members reported that they were able to hold good discussions on all three days of the trade show, the range of which extended from maintaining contacts to establishing new contacts to concrete deals."
Tobias Hain, Managing Director of Industrieverband Massivumformung e.V.: "We received outstanding feedback on CastForge from our members. Above all, they praised the high-quality, substantive discussions with the expert audience, during which concrete projects were also initiated. For us as an association, CastForge was also a good opportunity to maintain existing contacts and make new ones. Numerous trade fair visitors took advantage of our booth as a point of contact to obtain recommendations for their upcoming challenges. In our estimation, the compact format of this show will help establish it as a fixture within our industry after only its second appearance."
Marina Giacopinelli, Managing Director of the Export Association of Spanish Foundries FUNDIGEX: "As an export association, we participate in more than 10 international fairs around the world, representing the Spanish foundry sector. We attended the first edition of CastForge in 2018 and the results were very positive. CastForge has found and filled a gap. It is the platform for us to establish contacts with foundries in Germany and initiate projects. No other trade show addresses foundries so specifically and therefore it is already indispensable for our industry. We will certainly be back in 2024 with an even stronger representation of Spanish exhibitors."
Josef Hlavinka, Managing Director of the Czech Foundry Association Svaz Slevaren: "From the point of view of Czech exhibitors, we again assess the trade show very positively. With its orientation, CastForge opens up space for buyers from all over Europe. Compared to other fairs we have visited, this fair is unique in its specialization. Czech exhibitors also appreciate the professional level of visitors. The vast majority were buyers of castings for downstream industrial production. For the representatives of foundries from the Czech Republic, participation in CastForge will be beneficial in the coming years as well."
Andrea Redaelli, President of Unione Italiana Stampatori Acciaio (UNISA): "We were at CastForge for the first time and are very satisfied. With its compact format, the trade show addresses exactly our target group with its needs. This is also confirmed by our exhibiting members, who praised the high quality of visitors and held very concrete discussions with their interested parties."
Dr. Frithjof Kilp, Division Manager of the German Association of Materials Management, Purchasing and Logistics (BME): "CastForge exceeded our expectations. The trade fair concept fits the target group 100 percent, we had up to 70 participants at our presentations - a remarkable number. From corporate groups to medium-sized companies, purchasing managers and supply chain managers sat in the auditorium. We as BME are looking forward to further cooperation with Messe Stuttgart and are already looking forward with anticipation to the next CastForge 2024."
CastForge now looks ahead
Trade visitors gave the trade fair an overall grade of 1.9. 80 percent of the public praised the breadth of the CastForge range and considered it to be complete. After the successful second edition, Messe Stuttgart is now developing the CastForge concept further together with the industry - on a good basis. The next CastForge will take place from 04 to 06 June 2024.
About the CastForge
As a trade fair, CastForge focuses on cast and forged parts and their processing. The industry meets every two years at the Stuttgart trade fair center to present its range of services. International manufacturers of cast and forged parts as well as highly specialized machining companies present themselves to industrial buyers from the mechanical and plant engineering, drive technology, pump and hydraulics industries and commercial vehicle construction.
For more information, visit www.castforge.de
