It was foreseeable that the Hannover Messe would not be able to take place at the end of April due to the coronavirus. However, the fact that the new date overlaps with LogiMAT was not.

Immediately after the news was announced, the editorial team launched a snap poll among users of www.materialfluss.de. The poll showed a lack of enthusiasm for the new date. The survey by no means claims to be representative, but there is no sign of approval for the new date. 81.8 percent of respondents said: "I don't like it at all, early summer is far too busy and what's more, LogiMAT and Hannover Messe are now taking place at the same time". For 15.2 percent, the new date is something to work with, and only one respondent welcomed the postponement. materialfluss will publish another, more detailed survey from the industry on this topic in the coming days.

The survey of industry experts, which we present on the following pages, paints a similar picture: companies with strong roots in intralogistics are only setting up their trade fair stands in Stuttgart this year. Three of the eight companies surveyed are represented or at least likely to be represented in both cities. It is not yet possible to give a reliable answer as to where the journey will take other intralogistics companies. For one thing, there is still some time until the end of May, and for another, the list of exhibitors for Hannover Messe 2022 was not yet available at the time this issue went to press.

Jürgen Lagler, General Sales Manager cab: "cab has been an exhibitor at both the Hannover Messe and LogiMAT for many years. We are once again looking forward to personal contact with trade visitors in Hanover and Stuttgart. The time overlap does not matter to us. Our modern stand concept can be flexibly adapted to the different requirements. On the sales side, we are broadly positioned and have highly competent contacts available at both venues. The devices and systems that we plan to show are just as successful in logistics as they are in automated production. So we don't need to do much rethinking here. Especially as in-house logistics is also increasingly based on automated solutions. Networked objects and components, flexibly provided materials and autonomous transport devices enable companies to optimize transitions between production, assembly, goods transport and logistics. We are looking forward to it!"

Fritz Mayr, Managing Director of CIM: "We will only be exhibiting at LogiMAT this year. LogiMAT is the most important trade fair for us and the industry trade fair par excellence in the logistics sector. We are delighted that it will be taking place again this year. We are not going to the Hannover Messe this year. We had planned to take part there, but with the postponement to the same period it no longer makes sense for us and we are concentrating on LogiMAT. We take a critical view of choosing the same period for two such large trade fairs and cannot understand this decision. The assumption is that the Hannover Messe wants to 'shed' the logistics section. After all, those who are interested in logistics/production logistics etc. will go to LogiMAT, and many exhibitors will also tend to opt for one trade fair."

Martin McVicar, Founder and CEO Combilift: "It was a shock to hear that the new date for Hannover Messe overlaps with LogiMAT on the same days. This will be a real challenge for companies that had planned to exhibit at both events. Doubling the number of products to be exhibited, staff in two locations and so on will certainly cause difficulties. Fortunately, we made the decision to exhibit only at LogiMAT. LogiMAT is exclusively focused on logistics and intralogistics, which we believe is our most important market focus. We have even increased our investment at LogiMAT, and our stand this year is twice as big as it was before Covid. This will give us the opportunity to showcase the new products we have launched over the last two years."

Michael Blass, Managing Director of igus e-chain systems igus: "Both the Hannover Messe and LogiMAT have a fixed place in our trade fair calendar. While we are presenting the wide variety of new motion plastics innovations in Hanover again this year, we are concentrating specifically on the intralogistics sector in Stuttgart. Due to the different focus of the two trade fairs and the different audiences, we will be exhibiting at both events. At the same time, we have seen in recent years what additional potential our igus mo-tion plastics show offers. We will therefore be offering the option of an online visit and a personal exchange at the virtual-real trade fair stand again this year. As at the in-person trade fairs, we will show how customers can improve their technology and save costs with high-performance plastics."

Heimo Robosch, Managing Director of Knapp: "LogiMAT is a top priority for us. We are very much looking forward to welcoming our customers and business partners in person again after a long break. In keeping with our tradition of recent years, we will of course be presenting major innovations again. We will not be represented at the Hannover Messe this time."

Dr. Kurt Schmalz, Managing Partner J. Schmalz: "The postponement of the Hannover Messe is a smart decision and shows that both organizers and exhibitors have learned from the past two years and have become more flexible. It gives participants and visitors planning security. Even if it will be a personnel and logistical challenge for Schmalz, we want to exhibit both at LogiMAT and probably also at the rescheduled Hannover Messe. We will not be able to say anything more concrete until we have all the details on the transfer of registration. However, I do see a danger in the overlapping dates of the two trade fairs that certain topics will cancel each other out. Even if exhibitors manage to organize both trade fair stands, visitors can only be in one place - one trade fair will lose out. On the other hand, depending on the incidence, there are limited numbers of people on the exhibition grounds and stands, aisles must be wider and social distancing rules must be observed - spreading visitors out will certainly benefit hygiene concepts. Our learning from the pandemic is that there are several promising ways to inform customers and interested parties about our news. We are therefore pushing ahead with our own hybrid event formats - our in-house trade fair SchmalzEXPO will continue to take place independently of LogiMAT and Hannover Messe. There we will present our products and innovations live and in detail with the help of videos, 360-degree views and picture galleries."

Torsten Wiecker, Vice President Brand Management Still EMEA: "The Hannover Messe and LogiMAT are key trade fair highlights for Still every year. The fact that both have now been postponed is understandable and completely correct in view of the current situation. Since the new date for LogiMAT was already announced at the end of November, we have rescheduled accordingly and firmly planned LogiMAT for 2022. The current postponement of the Hannover Messe to the same period unfortunately makes it impossible for us to participate at the same time. Of course, we hope that Still will be able to be represented at both trade fairs again in the future.

Dr. Matthias Schweizer, VP Marketing Viastore Group: "We had already decided after our participation in Hannover Messe 2019 that we would focus on LogiMAT in Stuttgart in the future. For this reason, the question of whether we would take part in both trade fairs this year did not arise for us. The fact that both trade fairs are taking place at the same time is somewhat unfortunate, because it will certainly give one or two exhibitors from the supplier sector a choice. I don't see this as a problem for visitors. Anyone interested in intralogistics will come to Stuttgart."

The article appeared in materialfluss 3/22.