POWTECH and PARTEC 2023: International home of powder processing and particle technology

Happy visitors to Nuremberg: For three days, POWTECH and the PARTEC Congress in Nuremberg formed the hotspot for international experts in process engineering and the elite in particle technology research. More than 9,500 trade visitors travelled to POWTECH from locations in Germany and abroad again this year, with international visitors making up about 40 percent of the total. In four exhibition halls, 553 exhibitors from 27 countries (43 percent international) presented the latest solutions in process engineering and analysis for bulk solids, powder and liquid processing. As part of the top-level supporting programme, speakers gave 55 presentations in which they discussed current challenges and specific solutions for the industry with the trade visitors. A particular highlight was the PARTEC Scientific Congress, with an impressive 509 participants and top-level lectures on the current state of particle technology. The new Chair is Dr Lutz Mädler, of the Leibniz Institute for Materials Engineering in Bremen, who succeeds Dr Arno Kwade of Braunschweig University of Technology.

Heike Slotta, Executive Director Exhibitions at NürnbergMesse, is happy: “POWTECH, this time together with PARTEC, once again shows that it is the home of powder processing and particle technology, and acts as a huge driver for the various sectors.” POWTECH recorded not only a 16 percent increase in exhibitor numbers but also a higher visitor total – more than 9,500. Marianny Eisenhofer, Director POWTECH, adds: “What makes POWTECH particularly special is its hands-on nature. Exhibitors praised the strong interest on the part of trade visitors and the high quality and proportion represented by decision-makers. Exhibitor and visitor satisfaction – that’s what counts in the end.”

One of the leading processing trade fairs, POWTECH was once again strongly international, and while its participants were mainly from Europe, the appeal of the fair extended to the key processing markets around the world. Forty-three percent of the exhibitors travelled from outside Germany, as did about 40 percent of the trade visitors. After Germany, the countries most strongly represented were Austria, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, UK, Czech Republic, China and Turkey. The main sectors represented were chemicals, food and feed, and pharmaceuticals, while machine and plant builders also formed an important part of the POWTECH community.

The POWTECH community is already looking forward to gathering again in two years, as the result of an independent survey showed: 95 percent of the visitors surveyed said they wanted to attend POWTECH again after its scheduled break. “Just like the survey results, we can rely on the data on exhibitor and visitor numbers at POWTECH,” asserts Eisenhofer. “These figures are verified by FKM – German Society for Voluntary Control of Fair and Exhibition Statistics, which quite a number of trade fair organizers opt to use. These figures count only the visitors who actually register and attend for each day of the event.”

 

A glance at the viability of the sector

“In quite difficult economic times, in particular, it is important to have a platform such as POWTECH that sets the pace and provides orientation,” says Slotta. “It offers a unique opportunity to meet with experts, learn, interact, and develop new ideas. After all, only by working together – and here I’m referring specifically to PARTEC and its scientific focus – can we tackle the challenges and set the right course for the future.”

POWTECH is also rigorously refining its goal of promoting the process engineering sector and its top user industries. Starting in 2025, the event will operate under the name POWTECH TECHNOPHARM, and with this new refinement it will provide the perfect platform for the growing pharmaceutical and life sciences industry in particular. The agreement between NürnbergMesse GmbH and the International Association for Pharmaceutical Technology (APV) was signed at POWTECH.

 

PARTEC – Particle technology research at the highest level

The current state of particle technology research forms the basis for future innovations. This year’s PARTEC, the three-day scientific congress held in parallel with POWTECH, attracted 509 participants from 25 countries. PARTEC is also part of the NürnbergMesse portfolio and is sponsored by VDI-GVC. In addition to top-level lectures and keynotes from entities such as BASF and Nestlé, along with lucrative science prize winners, award presentations and panel sessions, the poster exhibition also met with great interest. At the close of this extremely successful congress, its Chair, Dr Arno Kwade of the Institute for Particle Technology at Braunschweig University of Technology, handed over the baton to Dr Lutz Mädler of the Leibniz Institute for Materials Technology in Bremen. As the new Chair, Mädler will be responsible for supervising and refining PARTEC for the next two years.

 

Key questions and proposed solutions in the supporting programme

Strong demand for “knowledge to go”: The two ‘stagetalks’ expert forums at POWTECH drew more than 2,600 participants. In 55 presentations by top-level speakers on all three days of the event, experts discussed the latest themes relating to the automation and processing industry. The stagetalks II expert forum focused on pharmaceutical production. Other topics very much in vogue were Future Energies, Battery Production, Recycling, Sustainability and New Food.

The VDMA Special Show, jointly organized by its Air Handling Technology and Process Plant and Equipment associations for the first time, enjoyed strong popularity as a network platform and industry representative. Eleven member companies and VDMA experts gave the trade visitors some close insights into the process chain of the bulk solids industry.

The “innovation made in Germany” pavillon, the Networking Pavillon and the international Startup Pavillon, and also the POWTECH Campus Pavillon gave trade visitors and other interested visitors an opportunity to network, establish contacts and discuss new ideas. On the Student Day on the last day of the Trade Fair, a digital Guided Tour took several hundred students, including doctoral students, through the highlights of the event.

Once again this year, the impressive live explosion protection demonstrations by the REMBE Research + Technology Centre (RTC) ensured that amazed faces and lively discussions about the way protection systems function were the order of the day in the exhibition park.

Save the date!
POWTECH will take its scheduled break next year. The next event will be held from 23 to 25 September 2025, under the POWTECH TECHNOPHARM banner, once again in conjunction with PARTEC and co-located with FACHPACK at the Nuremberg exhibition venue. After that, POWTECH will be held again in September 2026.