Ship&Offshore | Issue 06/2016
Strong turnout for 27th SMM in Hamburg
Review | With more than 2,200 exhibitors from all over the world, roughly 50,000 industry visitors and 93,000m2 of exhibition space, the 27th SMM (shipbuilding, machinery and marine technology) international maritime trade fair, held in Hamburg in early September, has been deemed a big success. “The overwhelming turnout is proof of a general sense of anticipation that was palpable during the four days of the fair,” said Bernd Aufderheide, president and CEO of Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH, the organiser of the fair. Considering the difficult situation that the industry is in, this was an especially encouraging fair, he added. In spite of the crisis, the number of participants reached the level of the previous SMM fair two years ago. Uwe Beckmeyer, parliamentary secretary at Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and the federal government’s coordinator for the maritime industry, underscored SMM’s importance an innovation driver. “SMM is a very special platform,” Beckmeyer said. “The world loves to gather here for this event.” Digitalisation had been chosen as one of the main topics at SMM 2016. “SMM is the first maritime trade fair globally to turn the spotlight on ‘Industry 4.0’. This theme harbours enormous potential for the shipping industry,” said Dr Alexander Nürnberg, chairman of the board of the Marine Equipment and Systems working group at the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), and managing director of MacGregor Hatlapa. Another major topic addressed by this year’s event was “green” propulsion.