More than 1,500 exhibiting firms from 29 countries will showcase their most innovative technology at BEC

This morning saw the presentation of the 32nd edition of BIEMH, the leading international trade fair for advanced manufacturing, which will run from 3 to 7 June at Bilbao Exhibition Centre. The press conference was attended by Xabier Basañez, the General Manager of BEC, Xabier Ortueta, the General Manager of AFM Cluster, José Ignacio Ortiz de Urbina, the President of AIMHE, José Pérez Berdud, the President of AFM Cluster, and Mari Carmen Gorostiza, the Event Manager of BIEMH, International Machine-Tool Biennial.

With more than 1,500 exhibiting firms from 29 countries and over 3,500 products and services, BIEMH 2024 will feature large machinery in operation and will take place in the six halls of BEC, which will be hosting, in parallel, ADDITƐD, BeDIGITAL and WORKinn Talent Hub. It will be a real industrial and technological show, with a major international presence, including countries such as Germany, Italy, Portugal, the USA, Japan, Taiwan and Turkey. The distribution is clearly broken down by sector.

The event will feature the companies concerned in the manufacture and distribution of starting and forming machines (35%), robotics and automation (20%), tools and accessories (12%), digitalisation as applied to industry (9%), mechanical components (9%), production and business services (6%), additive and 3D manufacturing (5%) and metrology (4%). A new feature this year will be a separate area for robotics, automation and digitalisation, as well as the Robot Demo area, where leading companies will be showing Cartesian, articulated, industrial, cobots, autonomous and AMR robots in action.

The data with which this edition of the BIEMH begins reflect the reality of the sector. The final figures for the turnover of the advanced manufacturing technologies and machine tools sector for the financial year 2023 not only confirm, but also improves on the provisional figures reported in January, reaching its historical record with a growth of 22.6% compared to the figures for 2022. Despite the enormous uncertainty and difficulties that have turned the year into a veritable obstacle course for investment in means of production, the good order intake accumulated over the last two years has allowed the sector to continue to grow in turnover and reach the figure of 2,157.3 million euros.

 

Major presence of buying companies, with Mexico as Guest Country

Important anchor companies from sectors such as automotive, aeronautics, aerospace, railway, energy, iron and steel and capital goods, among others, have reaffirmed their interest in closing meetings with BIEMH companies and expanding investments, after a promotional campaign run in a very positive tone. Thanks to this boost, the BIEMH has registered professional visitors from 75 major countries, including the USA, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Portugal, Turkey, Canada, India, China and Mexico.

Besides being the Guest Country of the 32nd BIEMH, Mexico is a country with a major presence at the event and a strategic market for the industry, especially after the signing of the T-MEC and the nearshoring policy it is implementing. More than 70 Mexican buyers from the automotive, aerospace, household appliances, moulding and distribution sectors, among others, will participate in the fair. These companies are also part of the Hosted Buyers’ Programme, a unique initiative among the sector’s world-leading trade fairs, which has become a major attraction of the BIEMH, and which is supported by Basque Trade & Investment and the Basque Government.

This VIP Buyer Programme is a response to requests from the exhibiting companies themselves, guaranteeing the presence of hundreds of strategic professionals with they can meet. Around 300 senior decision-makers from leading global companies are part of the programme. These data, which are truly significant, go to show that the Hosted Buyer’s Programme is a well-devised and successful commitment on the part of the organisation

 

Wide-ranging content agenda

This year’s BIEMH will be particularly dynamic and will feature a varied programme of activities, including analyses and content from international experts in the BIEMH Talks. Through conferences, keynote addresses, workshops and round tables, the BIEMH Talks will examine the current situation and projections for the future of the industry. Scheduled for 4 June, the Digital Talks will explore the latest 4.0 technologies for digital transformation, in particular those aimed at users of industrial equipment. On the 5th, the Automation & Robotics Talks will present new products and developments in robotics and automation as applied to industry. And on the 6th, the Additive Talks will focus on the challenges, development and implementation of additive technology, where speakers will offer their own experiences and present several success stories.

The agenda also includes for the first time BIEMH Tours; they are guided tours that will give visitors an insight into the current state of the industry. They will be classified into three categories: Big Machines Tour, Automation & Robotics Tour and Innovation Tour. Each of them, in their speciality, will offer a direct and highly technological vision through a 45-minute tour of eight companies. Moreover, on 3, 4 and 5 June, BIEMH TV will broadcast from Hall 4 more than 50 live interviews, testimonials from professionals, daily summaries and the day’s agenda.

In an open and dynamic format, the BeDIGITAL Innovation Workshops will showcase the most important digital advances. And research and innovation projects will be presented and talks will be held on 3, 4 and 5 June in the Innotech area of the Basque Innovation Agency-Innobasque.

Once again, PWN has organised the Leaders’ Summit Women In Industry, with conferences, round tables and open spaces for debate, to make women’s work in the industrial and technological sector visible, and proposing lines of work that accelerate the cultural transformation of the industry towards greater levels of diversity and parity. Likewise, the US will occupy its own space in the programme. So as to facilitate Basque companies’ adaptation to the US commercial ecosystem, Basque Trade & Investment has organised a conference for Wednesday, 5 June.

Likewise, to facilitate the relationship between exhibitors and visitors, there will be networking spaces and social gatherings such as a Welcome Get Together for exhibitors, and BIEMH Fest, open to the public, along with other initiatives to enrich the exhibition experience.

The official opening of the BIEMH will take place on 3 June, at 12 noon, and will be presided over by the Basque Prime Minister, Iñigo Urkullu.

BIEMH is supported by the Basque Innovation Agency-Innobasque as Innovation Partner and SPRI-Basque Government as Institutional Partner, and is organised by AFM, Machine Tool Manufacturers; AIMHE, Machine Tools Importers and Bilbao Exhibition Centre.

 

A global platform with parallel events: ADDITƐD, BeDIGITAL and WORKinn Talent Hub

The tour of Advanced Manufacturing presented by BIEMH encompasses all areas of industry. At the same time as BIEMH, three other events aimed at the industry will be held. New technologies, new markets and new opportunities will be the inputs of the 8th edition of ADDITƐD, a space of reference in Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing. Besides the Additive Talks, more than 120 companies will be presenting new technological developments in systems and machinery, industrial applications, raw materials for additive manufacturing, consumables, software projects and 3D scanning scanners and services.

BeDIGITAL Transforming Industry will hold its 6th edition as a forum focused on the industrial application of digital technologies, with more than 80 companies in its exhibition area. These companies belong to sectors such as software development, big data, AI, cybersecurity, augmented reality, IoT, Blockchain, hardware, software engineering, telecommunications and 5G, information technology and robotics, among others. Besides this space, the Digital Talks and the Innovation Workshops, BeDIGITAL will feature the Startup Village area, a dynamic enclave for presenting and exchanging proposals.

WORKinn Talent Hub, finally, will offer a comprehensive meeting point to connect talent and industry in what will be its 8th edition. The event will bring together leading companies with students and professionals actively seeking employment, and will combine an employment forum with more than 300 job offers with the Inspire Zone which is dedicated to showcasing career opportunities in manufacturing. Those present will learn about the day-to-day business of the various sectors and will be able to talk directly with the companies. More than 30 companies will participate in this forum, which since its inception in 2016 is presented annually as the only event in the state aimed exclusively at the industrial field.

 

Erronka Garbia Seal

 As a reflection of the BIEMH’s commitment to the sector and the environment, the BIEMH team is working to achieve the Erronka Garbia seal, awarded by Ihobe-Public Society for Environmental Management of the Basque Government, which accredits sustainable events. To achieve this certification, an impact reduction and awareness plan has been designed that includes six main lines of action: mobility, energy, water, procurement, infrastructure and waste.

WORKinn Talent Hub also enjoys the sponsorship of Jobbe-Evolus Group, and has the Provincial Council of Biscay and Lanbide, Basque Employment Service, as Institutional Partners. BeDIGITAL is also supported by Digitalentu, Kaizen Institute and MathWorks as Gold Sponsors; FI Group, Irontec, Kuik! and Oreka i.t. as Silver Sponsors; Gaia, Association of Knowledge and Technology Industries of the Basque Country, as Collaborator and the Provincial Council of Biscay as Institutional Sponsor. And ADDITƐD with Air Liquide as Gold Sponsor.