LogiMAT 2023 trade show will see a vast collection of products and services from more than 1,500 exhibitors from around the world, supplemented by a diverse program focused on key trends and solutions in intralogistics, offering international industry professionals a complete overview of the latest systems for efficient, future-proof warehousing processes and flexibility in challenging times.
LogiMAT 2023, the International Trade Show for Intralogistics Solutions and Process Management, opens its doors at the Messe Stuttgart convention centre in just a few weeks. This year’s theme of “Hands-On Innovation: Connecting Smart Networks!” brings together the global intralogistics community in ten packed exhibit halls and the open space between Halls 8 and 10 in an event running April 25–27, 2023. More than 1,500 exhibitors from Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Africa will present their current portfolios of products, systems, and solutions for efficient intralogistics processes to an international industry audience across 125,000 square meters of the fully booked exhibition centre—7% more exhibit space than last year. “Every trusting business relationship begins with a personal conversation,” notes Exhibition Director Michael Ruchty of event organizer EUROEXPO Messe- und Kongress-GmbH in Munich, explaining the event’s theme. “LogiMAT is back in April 2023 with another excellent opportunity to network, forge important strategic alliances, and have face-to-face meetings with key national and international players from a wide range of industry sectors.”
As the largest logistics trade show in the world, LogiMAT has established a durable brand as a leading information and communication platform and a place where the intralogistics industry comes to do business. Exhibitors from around the globe active in Central Europe know LogiMAT as the number-one forum for showcasing their new ideas and innovations. Digital transformation, automation, flexibility, sustainability, and the efficient use of resources: These are the defining themes shaping intralogistics today—not just among system developers and equipment manufacturers but also from the perspective of businesses in the industrial, commercial, and service sectors. The demand for intralogistics investments mirrors these trends. “Intralogistics experts operating in a volatile environment prepare for the future by embracing resilient, flexible, efficient solutions,” acknowledges Markus Schlotter, Managing Director for Central Europe at Exotec GmbH (Hall 5, Booth 5D71). “The demand for smart, scalable solutions is growing. The orders are pouring in, and the industry as a whole is busy.”
Growth from Asia, Africa, and South America
Investments are flowing into state-of-the-art industrial trucks, process automation, IT upgrades, and sustainability concepts with the aim of achieving more flexible system designs and automation solutions in a volatile market. The latest product and system innovations that exhibitors from around the world are bringing to LogiMAT 2023 highlight the industry’s adaptability in the face of tremendous global economic challenges—a validation of the innovative power of the industry and its potential for further optimization.
The percentage of exhibitors coming to this year’s LogiMAT from outside Germany has risen to nearly a third, reflecting the event’s increasingly international profile amid the current global economic climate. This trend is especially pronounced among the 200 first-time exhibitors, nearly 70 percent of which are based outside of Germany. “We have 25 first-time exhibitors from Asia alone, including 20 from China. Overseas companies now account for 25 percent of our exhibitors,” Ruchty confirms. “We’re also pleased to see a few more exhibitors from Africa and South America. These latest figures really underscore the growing international importance of LogiMAT for companies beyond Europe. The successful LogiMAT offshoots in China and Thailand are also critical in supporting this trend.”
LogiMAT is upholding its reputation as an event that is “easy on the feet” by once again grouping exhibitors by product category within the ten exhibit halls, with an improved layout this year. The largest exhibitor contingent is systems integrators and machinery and equipment manufacturers, who will present their latest products and solutions for moving goods efficiently in Halls 1 (including the Gallery), 3, 5, and 7. The products, systems, and solutions on display there meet the demands of today’s marketplace. “As prices rise, material flow and logistics professionals are also focusing their attention more closely on energy efficiency,” Ruchty observes. “Exhibitors across all ten halls are showing how sustainability and the efficient use of resources can be successfully reconciled through sound investments in state-of-the-art products and solutions—either by modernizing and optimizing existing systems or by acquiring new technology.”
Holistic view of sustainability and resource efficiency
The logistics and intralogistics industry is often at the vanguard when it comes to solutions to reduce energy consumption and use resources more efficiently. This includes being a “trailblazer of the circular economy” in the words of Dr. Johannes Fottner, Full Professor for Logistics Engineering at the Technical University of Munich, in the title of his presentation as part of the accompanying program at LogiMAT 2023. The industry took a holistic view of sustainability and resource efficiency even before the current shortage of skilled workers emerged or new local and international regulations on the designation of industrial and logistics sites took effect. The spectrum of solutions ranges from recycling, retrofitting, circular systems and energy conservation to optimizing personnel and space utilization. Examples include compact warehouse and picking solutions with an energy recovery system, sleep mode when order volumes are low, and lightweight construction for reduced energy consumption. The use of supercapacitor technology improves the energy efficiency of shuttle robots, and nearly all manufacturers now offer energy recovery systems and high-frequency charging technology in their industrial trucks. New lower-consumption identification solutions and the integration of sensor technology and AI-supported industrial image processing increase visibility and deliver more efficient processes with less resources required. Manufacturers at LogiMAT 2023 will also present the latest developments in the integration of alternative powertrains such as lithium-ion and hydrogen/fuel-cell technology.
The exhibitors at LogiMAT 2023 are coming to the Messe Stuttgart convention centre to unveil a wide array of innovations offering different approaches to meet the market’s need for more high-tech automation and flexibility through sustainability and efficiency. Several equipment manufacturers and suppliers are presenting new compact storage systems, warehouse robots, and robot-assisted picking and peripheral equipment for established systems. Others are putting automation, flexibility, and digital transformation front and centre, exhibiting new sorter solutions and electric floor conveyors, modular drive and automation technology, mobile handling and transport systems, and modular, customizable material carrier systems designed to support the deployment of re-use/recycling systems.
Cloud-based apps and AI-powered tech
Hall 7 brings together systems integrators, industrial machinery and equipment manufacturers, and exhibitors with peripheral products and innovations from the fields of handling, cranes, fire safety and security, loading technology, and gates. Visitors can learn all about the latest crane sets, turnkey systems, transfer cars and floor lifts, lifting and handling systems for a wide variety of loads, and drive systems for unidirectional, bidirectional or omnidirectional manoeuvrability.
In Halls 9 and 10 on the opposite southern axis of the convention centre grounds and the open space between Halls 10 and 8, industrial truck manufacturers from around the world are presenting their latest innovations and forward-looking concept studies. Nearly all the world’s leading manufacturers are coming to Stuttgart once again this year. The innovations on display range from the latest forklifts, order picking vehicles, and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) with the latest features such as innovative alternatives to the steering wheel. You can also experience the latest developments in driver assistance and fleet management systems, “green performance” and alternative drive technologies, and battery and energy management. Exhibitors have announced plans to unveil never-before-exhibited reach trucks, electric counterbalance and multi-directional forklifts, vertical order pickers, narrow aisle trucks, low-lift pallet trucks, and much more.
Information technology enables the data analytics and control needed to modernize and automate warehouse processes. Suppliers of software solutions for intralogistics, the second-largest contingent of exhibitors at LogiMAT 2023, are presenting a wide range of innovations in warehouse and transportation management systems in Hall 8. Visitors can also marvel at powerful new material flow computers, analytics modules for business and performance data, an EDI portal solution for exchanging documents without an ERP system, new cloud-based apps, and AI-powered tech for real-time imaging analysis.
10,500 square meters of floorspace for AGVs and robots
LogiMAT 2023 is also breaking new ground in the area of AGVs and robotics. “This segment is developing so rapidly that we expanded its exhibition area to meet the demand,” explains Exhibition Director Ruchty. “We moved this segment to Hall 6, where we’ll have a total of 10,500 square meters available for the mobile materials handling equipment and robots, more than double last year’s space.” The products on display will include the latest stationary and mobile picking robots and cobots with AI-powered imaging and the first fully autonomous AGVs for both indoor and outdoor applications.
The East Entrance will also once again host the exhibit area for innovative start-ups sponsored by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. LogiMAT 2023 also comes alive with an extensive and engaging accompanying program of presentations by experts from the business and academic communities, informative exhibitor presentations, live events on cargo securement and the Tracking & Tracing Theatre presented by AIM-D. “All in all, LogiMAT 2023 offers a breadth of products and information on current trends and solutions not available to industry professionals anywhere else,” concludes Exhibition Director Ruchty. “We look forward to once again showcasing the international intralogistics industry in Stuttgart in late April, and we hope all exhibitors and visitors will enjoy stimulating and informative conversations.”
