Sinsheim, 27th September 2005 - The right location is a hotly discussed issue at many companies. However, the topic could often be dismissed as irrelevant, if the rationalisation potential which is still lying fallow at many companies would just be taken advantage of consistently enough. This applies above all to the field of assembly technology, which is currently subject to significant change as a result of increasing numbers of variants and declining manufacturing lot sizes, as well as tougher competition from the low-wage countries. Studies substantiate the fact that alone due to partial automation of individual work steps and the optimisation of work sequences at manual assembly workstations, productivity increases of up to 15% can be achieved. Innovation cycles which result in significant technological advancements in periods of 2 to 3 years also help to increase productivity by 15% per year. These facts by themselves are reason enough to gather the most up-to-date technical information each year at the MOTEK international trade fair for handling and assembly technology, and to put it into practice as quickly as possible. MOTEK is, and will remain, the most important technical event for the manufacturing industries, and has been boasting increasing numbers of exhibitors and expert visitors for years.

Pointing the Way to the Future
When asked how much importance they place upon MOTEK, all exhibitors responded unanimously that they hold this unique platform in high esteem as an ideal interface between system suppliers, suppliers and customers. With roughly 1000 exhibiting companies from 17 countries, the MOTEK sold out this year. 16% of the exhibitors come from outside of Germany. All 6 pavilions of the Sinsheim Exhibition Centre, as well as one additional temporary pavilion, are full. On the one hand, interest in MOTEK strong enough that we’ve been able to meet the exhibitors’ demands for expanded booth floor space. On the other hand, 50 companies are still on the waiting list.

Far-reaching decisions have thus become necessary in order to secure our competitive edge. Within this context, we have also examined the issue of location, and have decided to move MOTEK to the new Stuttgart Exhibition Centre as of the year 2007. We announced this decision, which is strictly of a business nature, several weeks ago, and elucidated it once again at MOTEK’s opening press conference, causing quite a media stir. But we’ve committed ourselves. As of 2007, the leading trade fair for handling and assembly technology, namely MOTEK, will take place at the new Stuttgart Exhibition Centre. This venue will open up Europe’s most attractive markets for successful customer relationships to MOTEK exhibitors and visitors at the most innovative exhibition centre in Germany, if not throughout all of Europe. Due to the fact that we’re dealing with very rapidly developing processes in the field of automation technology, and because Germany has a lot of catching up to do in this area, MOTEK’s annual schedule is quite important – and this will remain unchanged in Stuttgart. With regard to our entire spectrum of events, Schall trade fairs will only survive in the future if the legitimate interests of the exhibitors are supported actively, many of whom have been expressing their desire to move away from Sinsheim for years due to a lack of sufficient floor space and an inadequate infrastructure. MOTEK 2007 will be the first trade fair we organise in Stuttgart as so-called guest promoters. In 2008, all of our technical trade fairs and public exhibitions will successively be moved to the new location. As you will certainly see, the slogan People Meet at MOTEK will prove that it’s fit for the future, next year in Sinsheim and in Stuttgart as of 2007.

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