Overseas Expo Report

The EMO expo has been held alternately in either in Hannover and Milan since 1975, and, along with Japan’s JIMTOF, America’s IMTS, and China’s CIMT, shares the distinction of being one of four major international machine tool expos. Also, one of the largest expos in the world for machine tools, EMO provides a forum for machine tool and peripheral manufacturers from around the world to showcase new products. It’s a place where the machining technologies that underpin a variety of manufacturing processes come together, and the latest production solutions, machine tools, and software are displayed in a dynamic way. But the booths are not the only dynamic part: four times larger than Tokyo’s Big Site, the venue comprises a whopping 17 halls and is so vast that participants are bussed between halls.

We flew to Germany from Japan, a 16-hour journey including domestic flights. When we arrived at Hannover airport, we were greeted by a sign that read “EMO Hannover 2023”. While many of Hannover’s historic buildings were destroyed in World War II, some have now been rebuilt. All around the city, you can find traditional wooden buildings, and the streets are paved with cobblestones that invoke nostalgia for the good old days. Also enjoying the status of a northern, industrial city with a large manufacturing sector, Hannover is the home of the international auto-parts manufacturer Continental. (The photographs below were taken around Hildesheim.)

The theme for EMO Hannover 2023 was “Innovate Manufacturing”. Held for the first time in four years, Hannover EMO 2023 showcased the products of 1,850 manufacturers from 70 countries, and was attended by some 92,000 visitors from 130 countries. More dynamic than Japanese machine tool expos like JIMTOF, the EMO venue was at the same time more relaxed, and you got the impression that the expo served as a place for the manufacturing community to meet and for exhibitors and visitors to interact.

Because VIP buyers, logistics industry representatives, and manufacturers come to EMO from all over Europe and the rest of the world, more space is allocated for business negotiations than booths. With some booths incorporating large restaurants that allow visitors to build relationships over a beer in the evening, the venue also appears to serve as a forum for setting up future business negotiations.

This marked Nissin Manufacturing’s debut at EMO Hannover 2023. Under the theme “Technology to free your time”, we showcased many world-first technologies, such as our latest honing unit, world-first vibration reducing jig, and nano-polycrystalline cBN. Our twice-daily private seminars were so popular that the area in front of that screen was completely packed, and we received many questions from the audience after the post-seminar machining demonstrations. In particular, our vibration reducing jig and nano-polycrystalline cBN which we touted as “world firsts”, received significant interest, not only from prospective customers but also from industry insiders.

Our booth also incorporated interactive content. Invoking the concept of “slashing time by three quarters”, we projected the question “Now! What shall we do with it?” on a giant screen. When visitors walked past the screen, they were shown nine different slogans, including “Discover your hidden talents”, “Be a hero to your kids”, and “Develop your business”. Participants said they loved the exhibit, and we hope that it made an impression.

Machine tool manufacturers like Nissin need to continue to support useful manufacturing technologies with products and technologies that respond to the continually changing requirements of global markets, including with respect to technological trends, the environment, and our users. To this end, we need to ensure that our honing technology continues to make advances, and, while our precision machine tools have always made contributions to a range of industries, at EMO Hannover 2023, we showcased high-speed honing solutions that incorporate technologies that can help users be more productive. We hope that these technologies will encourage further technological advancement in the honing industry, and we will tirelessly continue to strive to even greater heights.

Germany is bicycle friendly country. There are cycle lanes everywhere, traffic signals for bicycles, and roadside repair kits. Bicycles can also be taken on board trains that display bicycle symbols.

Germany is also a nation of beer drinkers. We found that many different types of beer were available, and the locals were all beer-lovers. Upon returning to the hotel after the exhibition, we would find locals enjoying their free time in a nearby town square. I don’t think I was alone in viewing this exhibition as an opportunity to try a range of beers.

Over a year of meticulous preparations went into our EMO Hannover 2023 exhibition. With this being our first European expo, we repeatedly fine-tuned our exhibit to ensure it would be suitable for a European audience and was compatible with the Nissin Manufacturing philosophy. Once we were in Hannover the time flew by, and it was a great honor that, after much trial and error, we were able to debut our products on this international stage. There is no greater compliment than having a visitor tell us, “Your technology is amazing!”. We will use the experience to further hone our expertise, as we continue to strive for excellence in manufacturing. The success of our exhibit, which was visited by a great many attendees, is credit to the help received form our many supporters, to whom we are truly grateful.

More information on the new technologies featured at EMO Hannover is available on the EMO Hannover website.

EMO Hannover website

On that note, danke schön!