At the end of April, we attended the industrial fair in Hannover with the Wenture team. For those who haven’t heard of this major event before, Hannover Messe is the world’s largest B2B industrial fair, where Estonia is represented annually with the support of Enterprise Estonia (EAS).
Photo: Estonian representation at Hannover Messe
Overview of industry trends
Hannover Messe has specific themes each year that provide a good overview of future directions. This year’s theme naturally focused on trends such as AI and machine learning, Industry 4.0, carbon-neutral manufacturing, energy, hydrogen, and fuel cells.
The Wenture team saw firsthand at the fair that automation is undoubtedly the future. Most companies focused on finding solutions that reduce the need for expensive labor and increase the proportion of automated tasks. Surprisingly, the topic of autonomous vehicles, or automobility, was also dominant. It was fascinating to observe, especially since it’s still a largely unregulated area. Nevertheless, we see hope that autonomous vehicles are moving into the near future.
For Wenture’s own business directions, it was also good to see the activities of competitors and partners. For example, our team was particularly impressed by the software developer HoloLight, which offers XR technology to industrial companies (XR is a collective term for virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR)). HoloLight’s XR can be used to create virtual prototypes, which is significantly cheaper than building physical prototypes.
While today this technology might still seem like a toy, we predict that in 10 years, such solutions will become everyday work tools. We hope that XR will soon reach the construction sector from the industrial sector, as history has shown that the machinery industry always takes a step ahead of the construction world.
We can be proud of the Estonian stand
The Estonian national marketing stand was located in the Automation, Motion & Drives area, alongside remarkable companies such as 5.0 Robotics, GlobalReader, Energiatehnika OÜ, OPTIMO Robotics, ElectroAir, Eliko Location Technologies, RADIUS Machining, Incap, and Inspirators!. In addition to several international delegations, we were also visited by the Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs, Tiit Riisalo, and his team, who shared inspiring words with us.
At the fair, we successfully showcased two products: a product configurator and a product information management (PIM) system. As we discovered during the event, the configurator has many more applications than we initially anticipated—for example, in configuring agricultural products. It was also clear that there is a significant need in industrial companies for a comprehensive PIM system to help centralize and organize product information.
We also found several collaboration opportunities with other Estonian companies, as our expertise in BIM models and their integration with ERP software complemented the work of colleagues in other technology fields.
We encourage other companies to apply to become representatives of Estonia
We want to encourage other companies to participate in the Hannover fair. The companies that attended the fair were determined and had a broad worldview, making attending such an event extremely inspiring. It provides an overview of the latest global trends and creates important contacts for successful business.
We attended the fair with the support of Enterprise Estonia (EAS), who had also set up a nice stand – their work deserves praise. It’s not worth missing out on the fair, as it brings together the true leaders of the world. Therefore, we recommend representing Estonia with a good plan and preparation. The Wenture team had done thorough preparation, but there is always room for improvement. See you in the coming years!
