Advanced Factories concluded its 2nd edition on March 15, 2018. A second edition managed to exceed all expectations with 12,314 congressmen and professional visitors who spent 3 days at the fair discovering the latest innovations in machine tools, automation, robotics, software and other solutions for the digital transformation of the industrial sector. With Germany as a guest country, Advanced Factories 2018 had an economic impact of more than 22 million euros in the city of Barcelona.

Some of the highlights of AF2018 came from the hand of Mario Buisan, General Director of Industry of the Ministry of Economy, who during the conference ‘Policies to encourage innovation in industry 4.0’, stated that “Digitization is the fundamental priority. We talk about industrial policy, and that is not understood without the digital transformation”.

At a round table together with officials from other world industrial regions, he added “In Spain, we have managed to get on the train at the right time, as evidenced by this appointment of Advanced Factories”.

For his part, Magdalene Häberle, the representative of the German region of Baden-Württemberg, said that the success of the innovation strategy of his region is based on the combination
of two elements: “intensify networking between industrial and technological companies; and generate dialogue between stakeholders and employees to improve the competitiveness of both parties”.

In a week in which more than 300 industrial innovations were presented, such as the 3D printer with additive colour manufacturing from HP, Jaume Homs, Sales Director for Spain and Portugal of the 3D Division of HP, affirmed that “The Advanced Factories 2018 fair has exceeded all our expectations and we have been impressed by its great capacity to attract exhibitors, sponsors and visitors. This fair in particular is for us an example of where we believe that the fairs of the 21st century have to evolve: dynamic, digitized and with high content value”.

Viola Erlenmaier, CMO at Trumpf, said “The experience at the fair has been very satisfactory. We have noticed a very high quality in the profile of the visitor, and there has been more than last year”.

From Amada, They are also proud of the results of these days. José Maria Lopez, Sales Manager, ensures that “they have managed to consolidate the position of their brand and consolidate the standard client type, as well as receiving visits from other profiles that are not so common that allow opening a range of new opportunities”.

In the words of Juan Bachiller, General Director of Sales of ABB in Spain, who has presented his ABB Ability digital platform, Advanced Factories is consolidating itself as one of the
key points of encounter for the actors involved in the so-called fourth industrial revolution, not only at the local level but within the European context.

Advanced Factories hosted in its second edition numerous parallel events such as the Industry Start-up Forum or the Factories of the Future Awards, among other events organized by the participating companies, taking advantage of the facilities that Barcelona offers.