Interview with Friedrich-Georg Kehrer, Global Portfolio Director Metals and Flow Technologies, in the run-up to the international trade fairs wire and Tube, which will be held at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre again from 16 to 20 April 2018 

Let’s see if you are prepared: what is the fifth fair in the world? And what is the fifth largest power exporter in the world of machine tools? And, above all, what is the nation that expects an increase in exports of 20% by the end of 2017? All right, you’re prepared: it’s Taiwan. A country where the supply chain is not short, but very short: all the sub-suppliers of a flourishing machine tool industry are located in just over 60 kilometers. This is why the Taiwanese can boast reduced production times and competitive prices: for them logistics is practically an option.

What to say about the EMO? Even in the Hanover edition, the judgment remains suspended, largely interlocutory. Beyond the very positive numbers expressed by the organization, both in terms of companies present and visitors, it remains the impression that, especially as regards the tube sector, and companies that are merely engaged in this field, the opportunities offered from the fair in Lower Saxony they are not immediately obvious.