The EMO Summary This is the Conclusion for the Anniversary EMO in Hanover

Related Vendors

Verein Deutscher Werkzeug- maschinenfabriken e. V. (VDW)

FAULHABER Drive Systems

Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders' Association (TMBA)

SIMTOS (Seoul International Machine Tool Show)

For five days, Hanover was the venue for EMO (Exposition Mondiale de la Machine Outil), the world's leading trade fair for production technology. Now it has come to an end! Here is the conclusion ...

With approximately 80,000 professional visitors from around the world—more than half of them from abroad—the exhibition grounds provided important innovation impulses for boosting industrial competitiveness, according to the organizer VDW. The 50th EMO focused primarily on the topics of automation and artificial intelligence (AI), which once again established themselves as drivers for increasing production efficiency in industrial processes, as further stated. Technology, information, exchange, international networking, and cooperation characterized this special trade fair. Many innovations were presented by around 1,600 exhibitors from 45 countries. A diverse supporting program offered visitors a wealth of opportunities for modernization and enhancement of manufacturing. "Once again, EMO succeeded in bringing together the international market leaders in metalworking and addressing the new themes of industrial production," concluded Dr. Markus Heering, Managing Director of EMO organizer VDW. This has allowed the 50th edition to maintain its position as a leading world trade show and trend barometer.

Foreign Demand Is Increasing! Orders from Germany Are Declining

"Smart and impressive technical innovations are available in abundance. This EMO has convincingly demonstrated that," remarked Carl Martin Welcker, General Commissioner of EMO 2025, in retrospect. However, for them to have an impact, the investment booster must finally ignite. Many projects are at the starting line after three years of restrained investment, waiting for the go-ahead. "But uncertainty due to political framework conditions continues to hold back investments," Welcker expressed with disappointment. Abroad—particularly outside Europe—confidence is already returning. Visitors from these regions stated in the visitor survey that over 60 percent plan to invest. In Germany, however, the figure is under 50 percent. This corresponds with the current development of foreign orders in the German machine tool industry, as foreign orders rose by six percent in the first seven months of 2025 compared to the same period the previous year. Unfortunately, domestic demand in Germany plummeted by a significant 22 percent during the same period. Nevertheless, EMO exhibitors are reporting sales, as Welcker highlighted. Norbert Teeuwen, Managing Director of Okuma Europe, commented: "Open Possibilities – that’s exactly what connects EMO and Okuma. Our trade fair appearance was a complete success! Three trade fair machines were sold directly from the stand."

The Top Topic Is Automation Through Robots

The predominant topic in the industry is automation, as was again evident during the five days of EMO. Costs and a shortage of skilled workers are well-known drivers of this trend. According to the VDW survey results, 50 percent of the visitors surveyed are therefore interested in how automation can make their production more productive. "Automation is omnipresent! It makes a big difference in whether a company remains successful or not," noted Aaron Morrill, a CNC mechanic from the USA. The importance of using robots is also growing, as impressively demonstrated by the approximately 140 robot manufacturers at EMO. Klaus Winkelmann, CEO of Fanuc Europe, pointed out: "We see that robots will become increasingly important in the machine tool industry!" In this process, industrial robots will also increasingly be able to coexist with human operators. According to Winkelmann, they will represent the most efficient systems in the future.