Drives & Controls Magazine February 2023

25 www.drivesncontrols.com February 2023 SPS REVIEW n SPS returns to its Nuremberg home T here was an almost palpable sense of relief when the SPS (Smart Production Solutions) exhibition re-opened its doors in Nuremberg, Germany for three days last November, following a Covid- enforced absence of three years. This was particularly so because of the drama of the previous year when the exhibition had to be cancelled on the Friday before it was due to open because of a surge of Covid cases in Bavaria. By that stage, most of the stands – some of them occupying complete halls – had been built, and thousands of people had already descended on Nuremberg to man the stands. In 2022, the organisers moved the event a few weeks earlier to minimise the risk of being hit by another winter surge of Covid. The shadow of the pandemic still loomed large over the show, however, with around 100 Chinese exhibitors who had been at the 2019 exhibition not being able to attend in 2022 . In the end, there were just short of 1,000 exhibitors (compared to 1,585 in 2019) and 44,000 visitors (down from 63,708). The percentage of visitors from outside Germany actually rose from 26% in 2019 to 29%. Non- German exhibitors also represented 29% of the total. In China’s absence, the top five non- German countries were Italy, the US, Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands. Fewer than 10 UK exhibitors attended (down from 17 in 2019), while more US companies were attracted because the retimed event no longer clashed with Thanksgiving. During the pandemic, the show’s organisers had launched an online version of SPS and, in 2022, people who could not attend the event in person were offered an“SPS on air”facility which allowed them to watch presentations online. More than 4,000 people watched the 120 forum talks either in-person or online. Although SPS might have been slightly smaller in 2022, a survey of visitors revealed a high level of satisfaction with the event, with 95% of visitors saying they planned to return in future, and 91% reporting that they would recommend SPS to their colleagues and customers. The exhibitors also seem to have been happy.“It feels fantastic to be back,”said Steffen Winkler, chief sales officer of Bosch Rexroth’s automation business.“The trade fair visitors as well as our team, and the other exhibitors I’ve spoken to, are incredibly enthusiastic. You can really feel the energy in the halls and it’s just a great feeling to be back here live and physically with other people from the industry.” His feelings are echoed by Marcus Bliesze, Siemens’vice-president of marketing for factory automation:“It’s a terrific feeling being back at SPS. Participants have come from all over the world, some of whomwe have not seen for the last three years.” Martin Roschkowksi, president of the organiser Messago Messe Frankfurt, adds:“It was apparent just howmuch the SPS community had missed meeting up with one another and immersing themselves in the world of automation. This exhibition will provide a springboard for many automation projects of the future.” On these pages, we sample some of the technologies that visitors to SPS 2022 could see and touch. All being well, SPS will return from 14-16 November, 2023. n After a three-year absence, the SPS automation exhibition returned to its Nuremberg venue last November. It might have been slightly smaller than before, but it still generated a lot of enthusiasm. We look at some of the technologies and developments on show.