“EUROGUSS is the No. 1 gathering place when it comes to diecasting.”

Mr Boss, you could almost describe 2018 as the international year of die casting for EUROGUSS and the entire product family. What do you think? Are you satisfied by how the trade fairs are performing?

Christopher Boss: “I am very satisfied, because we can look back at an extremely successful year for the international die casting industry. The global market is currently very stable and is developing positively despite slight uncertainty in the sector. There is strong demand for die casting; some companies are at the limits of their production capacity and are expanding into growth markets. But it was also a very good year for EUROGUSS and its international offshoots. It kicked off with EUROGUSS in Nuremberg, followed by CHINA DIECASTING in Shanghai. Responding to requests from the industry, we held EUROGUSS Mexico and EUROGUSS Asia Pacific in Thailand for the first time in 2018 and in doing so were able to add strategically important markets to the EUROGUSS family. The year then closed with ALUCAST in India. We are extremely pleased about how these events went and are looking proudly at the steady growth of our EUROGUSS Family.”

The last EUROGUSS broke records with 641 exhibitors, 18,758 m² display area and 15,354 visitors. How are preparations going for this year’s event?

Christopher Boss: “EUROGUSS 2018 exceeded our expectations by far and was the biggest and most successful EUROGUSS ever. We had more exhibitors, more display area and almost 30% more visitors, a fantastic result that is certainly not commonplace. But crucially, and from my perspective almost even more important, is that the trade visitors are of the right calibre. A poll showed that 97% of exhibitors were satisfied with the quality of visitors and were able to reach their target groups. More than half of the visitors held leading roles with decision-making authority. Visitors too were extremely satisfied with what was on offer at the trade fair and were able to successfully realise their objectives. This means that we can demonstrate a high level of satisfaction overall with EUROGUSS. I am pleased about that and it confirms that we are on the right track with our concept. And we are also noticing this in the course of our preparations. We are not noticing any impact at all on EUROGUSS from the uncertainty in the market in some areas. On the contrary, things are going really well. More than 80% of the stand area has already been booked, so exhibitors who still want to take part need to hurry. This shows us that EUROGUSS has become established as an international gathering place for the die casting industry.”

What segments and countries do the exhibitors come from?

Christopher Boss: “The largest proportion of exhibitors continues to come from Europe, mostly from Germany and Italy. The international exhibitor contingent is more than 50 percent and is poised to grow, but again there is a strong focus on Europe. EUROGUSS is the only event that covers the entire die casting process chain, so naturally it covers a broad range of topics. Most exhibitors are foundries, but there are also numerous exhibitors from the product categories die casting moulds and accessories, after-treatment of castings, die casting machines, surface technology and R&D.

The last two categories also have their own dedicated display areas. In 2020 we will be organising the Surface Technology Pavilion in cooperation with our partner fairXperts, which has a very good industry network, especially for deburring technology. The special show “Research for Knowledge” is designed for universities, higher education establishments and research institutes. Research plays an important role at EUROGUSS because it determines the future of the industry. Another objective is the international networking of research institutes, while the topic of recruiting is also important. Companies are finding it more and more difficult to find suitable skilled workers, so we want to help companies attract attention to themselves and find suitable candidates.”

What’s new at EUROGUSS 2020 and are there special highlights and focus topics?

Christopher Boss: “Apart from the above-mentioned special display areas, the special show “Additive Manufacturing” will make its debut at EUROGUSS 2020, because 3D printing is also becoming increasingly important in the die casting segment. Large foundries are already using these manufacturing processes, for example to produce prototypes. In addition, the process offers interesting solutions for toolmaking and mould fabrication. The aim is to represent the entire value creation chain so that interested parties can gain good insights into the opportunities offered by additive manufacturing. Another new feature is the “Innovation made in Germany” pavilion, which is subsidised by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) to help innovative young companies take part in the exhibition. In this context, we hope above all to appeal to companies that are not operating exclusively in the die casting sector but for which this industry is interesting. Participants can get as much as 60% of their stand hire costs reimbursed under the scheme.

For EUROGUSS 2020 we have also done some work on the hall configuration, which in turn gives us more flexibility. We have room for more exhibitors or can also accommodate requests to enlarge stands. Some exhibitors have even doubled their stand area. However, the new hall configuration also offers yet another advantage: we can use a second entrance with direct access to the underground railway. This is good because more and more visitors are using public transport meanwhile to travel to the event.

Another thing I’d like to mention is the Die Casting Congress. Although it is not new, it has proven very successful and is very much appreciated in the industry as a knowledge-platform. Moreover, we are planning further presentation sessions on the special topics surface treatment and deburring or additive manufacturing. And as we traditionally do, the winners of the die casting competitions will also be announced.”

What kind of competitions are these and who will receive an award?

Christopher Boss: “The contests are held for the most important casting materials aluminium, zinc and magnesium and are conducted by the respective professional associations. They are designed to showcase the high quality, diverse areas of application and potential of die casting. The aim is to boost interest in light metals and demonstrate the capacity of the participating foundries.”

Why should companies visit EUROGUSS 2020?

Christopher Boss: “EUROGUSS is the No. 1 gathering for the die casting industry, a sector that is generally often not very visible to the public, although I am sure that everyone uses die cast products in their everyday lives. The materials aluminium, magnesium and zinc can be used flexibly for a wide range of applications. We therefore also want to win over visitors from companies that have not used die casting before and persuade them of the benefits of this manufacturing process. We offer companies the right platform in Europe and through our EUROGUSS Family in other parts of the world too, and our range of events is growing constantly. EUROGUSS is more than just a trade fair, it is the trade fair for die casting and the entire supply chain. It presents the latest trends, developments, new approaches and innovative products and solutions. It is the first port of call when it comes to die casting. It’s where the experts gather and network, and we want to keep it that way. This is why we are constantly working on fine-tuning the concept and responding to the needs of the industry.”