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In the exchange of experiences, the topic of AI in the company was discussed from safe application to strategic implementation.

Innovative solutions for digitalized processes or business models by and for SMEs in NRW.

INNOspace Masters promotes ideas for the transfer of technology and know-how from other industries to the space sector or from the space sector to non-space sectors.

INNOspace Masters promotes ideas for the transfer of technology and know-how from other industries to the space sector or from the space sector to non-space sectors.

The innovation prize honors practical solutions to problems. This year, it went to a VDMA member for the development of an energy-saving burner, among other things.

The VDMA NRW has summarized the expectations of mechanical and plant engineering companies for a future state government in six key demands.

Exclusive series of events for research and innovation in mechanical and plant engineering. Find out which funding instruments and programs you can use for your research and innovation projects.

VDMA Startup-Machine is launching its own eNewsletter! From now on, we will provide quarterly information on exciting topics from our network, current trends and participation opportunities.

VDMA member company Hosokawa Alpine AG manufactures machines for processing bulk materials, among other things. Alexander Schmid, Vice President Sales Powder & Particle Processing, reports on the state of the industry in an interview.

British Columbia is home to 1,100 mining companies, 16 operating mines and 16 of Canada's 31 critical raw materials. This makes Canada a strategically important partner for Europe's raw material supply.

VDMA member company Fette Compacting is the global market leader for tablet presses in the pharmaceutical industry. As a participant in the VDMA special show, Tim Klingenhof, Area Sales Manager at Fette Compacting, was on hand to answer questions.

VDMA member company Masterflex offers custom-fit hoses and connection systems for industry. Sales Manager Mirko Baldus knows how important it is to present innovations at the VDMA special show.

VDMA member company Herding GmbH Filtertechnik produces customized filtration solutions. In this interview, Jörg-Armin Schulz, member of the Herding management team, reveals the opportunities offered by participating in the VDMA special show.

Production technologies are driving Germany forward as a high-tech country. The new Hightech-Agenda is heading in the right direction, but this progress is still only on paper.

At the 15th German Mechanical Engineering Summit in Berlin on September 16, 2025, we will be presenting the Startup Award to the startup that is paving the way to more efficient and intelligent production with AI technologies in robotics and automation.

Innovation starts with the right conversation: The EMO Startup Night with speed dating on September 23, 2025 brings established companies and startups together - for fresh impetus, new partnerships and real ideas for the future. Be there now!

Looking for fresh impetus for your company? Whether it's new technologies, digital innovations or sustainable solutions - at Startup Matchmaking at EMO Hannover, you can get in touch with the right partners quickly and in a targeted manner.

Not all factories are the same - some are also very special places where philosophies and life dreams are realized. It takes courageous and visionary entrepreneurs and architects - then a dream factory can be created.

KMU-innovativ supports research-intensive SMEs in the mechanical engineering sector in the development of innovative technologies. Funding is provided for innovative projects and economic potential - also in cooperation with research partners.

In our theme publication you will find facts and figures on research and development, innovations and patents in machinery and equipment manufacturing.

Whether research tax allowance, IGF or project funding - national programs support companies in turning ideas into innovations, reducing risks, strengthening cooperation and putting knowledge into practice.

Innovative solutions, smart technologies and international networking for the wood industry - a review of a successful second edition of LIGNA.FutureSquare 2025.

Around 55 specialists and managers from the fields of innovation, development, strategy and foresight accepted the invitation to the VDMA Corporate Foresight Spring Conference on May 14 and 15, 2025 at KSB SE & Co. KGaA in Frankenthal.

Shaping the future with startup power: 48 promising startups presented themselves at bauma 2025, setting new impulses for the construction machinery industry with their fresh ideas and technologies.

One third of national patent applications in Germany can be attributed to the technology field of mechanical and plant engineering. In hardly any other country is this proportion as high as in Germany.

Around 450 guests at the ICM joined in the excitement as the innovations that impressed the expert jury were officially announced on the eve of bauma in Munich. The five winners of the bauma Innovation Award 2025 have now been selected.

The Startup Area @ LIGNA.FutureSquare went into the next round. From May 26 to 30, 2025, 14 startups from four countries presented their pioneering solutions for the industry at LIGNA, the world's leading trade fair for woodworking and wood processing.

Under the title "Towards Autonomous Robot Collectives Delivering Collaborative Tasks in Dynamic, Unstructured Construction Environments", the EIC is looking for pioneering technologies for the use of autonomous robotic collectives in the construction industry.

In 2023, EMO Hannover attracted numerous company representatives from the production technology sector. It will take place again from September 22 to 26, 2025 and will further expand the focus on matchmaking between startups and corporates in the Startup Area.

Thermal process technology plays a decisive role in international competition against the backdrop of declining resources and global climate change. Innovations regarding the substitution of fossil sources are moving into focus

2025 will be a highlight year for mechanical and plant engineering companies and startups. VDMA Startup-Machine connects young companies with established players in mechanical engineering at the leading industry events.

Digitalization is driving the mechanical and plant engineering industry forward. This innovative strength is also reflected in the theses submitted by graduates from Germany and Austria.

Voodin Blades celebrates its premiere at LIGNA.FutureSquare 2025. CEO Tom Siekmann shares his goals and explains why participation is an important step for the Hessian startup.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia is awarding the NRW Innovation Prize for the year 2025.

LIGNA.FutureSquare 2023 offered startups like Strong by Form a stage to present their solutions. VDMA Startup-Machine supports young entrepreneurs who are advancing the industries with fresh ideas and new technologies.

Strategic compass for the future: The special edition of the trend radar contains around 40 new topics that will play a decisive role in the future of mechanical and plant engineering.

Questioning the status quo, deliberately "producing accidents", deliberately turning existing conventions on their head - finding innovative solutions with new methods.

VDMA bundles its activities in the area of "Research and Innovation" and establishes a new joint office. Research and innovation processes can thus be further optimized. Dr. Eric Maiser and Martin Nitsche take over from Dietmar Goericke.

VDMA Startup-Machine and prototype.club are promoting innovation in mechanical engineering with a new innovation format. Find out more about successful projects and how you can benefit from them as a member company.

Research secures value creation and jobs in Germany and Europe. Politicians must create innovation-friendly framework conditions. Openness to technology is essential.

The ninth future study examines the role of carbon management as the key to achieving climate targets. It outlines opportunities and hurdles for industry and society and presents four future scenarios for 2035 and beyond.

For the Berlin startup AdaptX Systems, participation in the EMO Hannover Startup Area 2023 was worthwhile. Tim Bornemann, Co-Founder, shares his experiences with us and why an early trade fair presence is worthwhile for startups.

Addressing price-sensitive customers and markets with tailor-made quality products. This is the subject of the new study "Frugal innovations in mechanical and plant engineering" by the IMPULS Foundation of the VDMA.

Data is the blood of the complex organism of product development. The results report "Digital Product Development" by the WZL of RWTH Aachen University and the VDMA compactly shows how the many pieces of information can be effectively linked.

Since 2012, spending on R&D by the manufacturing sector in Germany has increased by more than a third. The machinery and equipment manufacturing industry has seen above-average develeopment.

Discover startup contacts and trends for mechanical engineering worldwide? The digital startup search platform helps you get started with startup scouting and find suitable partners.

Tracking down startup trends and contacts for mechanical engineering worldwide - this is the mission we pursue with our startup scouting services. This is made possible by the Startup Radar project. Find out here how we can help you keep an eye on international startup activity and identify suitable partners.

"Collective intelligence" and interdisciplinary collaboration for a heterogeneous industry: Around 50 colleagues support the Competence Center Future Business with their specialist expertise.

Two days of future power in Friedrichshafen: at the invitation of Rolls-Royce Power Systems more than 50 participants met on June 06-07,2023 to exchange ideas on increasing complexity in future management.

Israel is a source of innovation and a startup hotbed for the mechanical engineering industry. The VDMA Innovation Tour Israel project introduces VDMA members to the Israeli innovation ecosystem.

This year, the Innovation Award for Climate and Environment 2022 was presented to three partners of the VDMA sustainability initiative Blue Competence, among others. One of these three is Grundfos GmbH from Erkrath. The company received the award in the category "Process innovations for climate protection".

This year, the Innovation Award for Climate and Environment 2022 was presented to three partners of the VDMA sustainability initiative Blue Competence, among others. One of these three is Kurtz GmbH & Co KG from Kreuzwertheim. The company received the award in the "Environmentally friendly technologies" category.

Gaining inspiration and starting points for startup innovation, building networks and exchanging ideas: That was the Ecosystem Journey "Startup Innovation" 2021 in Munich.

Almost every company in the mechanical and plant engineering sector has R&D projects and ideas. Public funding is available for them. You can find an overview here.

The Competence Center Future Business was founded by the VDMA Executive Board in 2015. Clear benefit for members: identify trends and disruptions at an early stage and prepare for change.

Startups looking for access to the unique European mechanical engineering network have come to the right place at VDMA. As a platform, we support young companies in gaining a foothold in mechanical and plant engineering.

Start-up methods and collaboration - we work closely with mechanical engineering companies and start-ups to find out how it's done. We offer various support services for knowledge transfer: from hands-on workshops, studies and best-practice reports to innovation tours.

Diving into the ocean of trends: a brief introduction to categories and dimensions of trend analysis, how we lower hurdles for companies, and current examples - from AI to the circular economy.

More than 28,000 volunteers developed solutions to Covid-19 challenges in 48 h at the federal government's virtual hackathon - and these are also relevant to mechanical engineering.

Mechanical engineering and start-ups are working together more and more frequently - and with success: three out of five collaborations are successful in the long term. But the potential is far from exhausted.

The 360-degree view: trends and disruptions that could become relevant for the machinery and equipment industry in the coming years and decades, concisely presented as trend cards for download.

Study on the battery production market and process engineering challenges essential for the industrial production of Li-ion batteries for electromobility and stationary storage.

The Industrial Cooperative Research (IGF) represents a unique innovation platform for small and medium-sized enterprises. As an open-topic and industry-driven programme, the IGF is an important building block in pre-competitive research for mechanical and plant engineering.

Future study shows: Digitalization can become the decisive instrument for spreading and accelerating the circular economy and lead to opportunities through new business models.

A good 71 percent of the companies see digitization as one of the central strategic priorities, but only 27 percent of the companies are satisfied with the current status of digitization activities - almost 25 percent even see considerable need for improvement.

Hardly any area of our lives would function without mobile machines. At the heart of these machines are powerful, economical and environmentally friendly engines.

Where answers count and expertise is required: At VDMA Photovoltaik Equipment, you receive all the services the industry needs in Germany. Professional and reliable, we are the drive and backing for your company. We catch the top themes and create values for you.

New materials have always fueled progress and are crucial for products and production. A look into the future - from lightweight construction and 3D printing to digitalization and sustainability.

From self-organization of production to self-learning systems: Machine learning, a sub-area of artificial intelligence, will take Industry 4.0 to a new level.

Managing the future is a core topic in strategy and innovation processes, especially in the machinery industry. VDMA Corporate Foresight has been offering help since 2006, from methods to best practices.