The first E2 Forum Frankfurt attracted around 420 experts from the elevator and escalator industry, as well as planners, installation specialists and operators of buildings and infrastructures, to the conference and exhibition in Frankfurt am Main. Both participants and organisers were pleased with the content of the two-day conference and the contacts made during the accompanying industry exhibition.
Speaking on behalf of the 85 German plant and components manufacturers organised in the VDMA Elevators and Escalators Association, Albert Schenk, association chairman, said, “Our member companies came to the E2 Forum in Frankfurt with high expectations and are now returning home full of optimism with new contacts and perspectives. The themes, location, organisation and the central location here in Frankfurt were given top marks by our members. We look forward to the next edition of the E2 Forum in Frankfurt.”
“The dialogue between the elevator and escalator industry, as well as planners, installation specialists and operators has begun – and done so with great success. The conference generated valuable impulses and initiated numerous discussions while the exhibition provided the ideal setting for further discourse. The degree of expertise, the number of participants and their level of satisfaction exceeded expectations”, said Wolfgang Marzin, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Messe Frankfurt, summarising the results of the two-day event.
The participants from the building-planning and operating segment also said they were extremely pleased with the event. They praised the first-class opportunities for making contacts and, in particular, the quality and thematic spectrum covered by the conference.
Among the manufacturers of elevators, escalators, components and software exhibiting at the first E2 Forum Frankfurt were leading companies, such as Bosch Service Solutions, Cedes (Switzerland), Gebhardt, Kleemann, Kollmorgen Steuerungstechnik, Kone, Meiller Aufzugtüren, OSMA, Otis, RLS Wacon, Schindler Deutschland, Serapid, Siemens, Thyssenkrupp and Wittur. Moreover, the 35 exhibitors from Germany, Greece, Austria, Switzerland and the People’s Republic of China included several start-ups, which presented their future-oriented solutions for vertical and horizontal conveyance.
Expert visions for buildings and infrastructure
Under the motto ‘Innovation, digitalisation and sustainability in tomorrow’s buildings’, the 42 speakers at the conference discussed future-oriented subjects revolving around the digital integration of elevator and escalator systems in buildings and urban infrastructures. The key-note address was given by internationally renowned engineer and architect, Professor Werner Sobek. He formulated the chances of tower blocks over the coming decades and, in view of global demographic changes, called on participants to develop sustainable and purposeful solutions for the “built-up homeland” of the future: beginning with emission-optimised energy generation without the use of fossil fuels, via building materials with maximum recyclability and lightness for greater material and energy efficiency, to the question of sensible building heights and density in urban agglomerations.
Elevators in building planning, digitalisation concepts and IoT-based solutions were the main subjects on the first day of the conference. On the second day, the expert speakers focused on digitalisation, urbanisation and sustainability, as well as the integration of vertical-horizontal mobility in and between tomorrow’s buildings. The speakers’ visionary concepts were accompanied by the relevant planning details. The emphasis of the lectures was on practical aspects of the interfaces to building law and the regulations covering the commissioning and operation of plant.
The conference lectures were recognised as professional-development measures by the chambers of architects in six German states: Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein.
Cooperation between Messe Frankfurt and VDMA
The next E2 Forum Frankfurt in September 2020 will be held in Frankfurt am Main again. The Cooperation Partner is VDMA Elevators and Escalators Association, which is also responsible for the conference contents.
As part of the Messe Frankfurt portfolio of events, the E2 Forum Frankfurt is the third event for the elevator and escalator sector alongside IEE Expo in Mumbai, India, and the E2 Forum Milan in Italy. The E2 Forum Frankfurt is a biennial innovation forum. E2 stands for elevators and escalators.
Note for journalists:
Impressions of the conference lectures will soon be available on the conference news site at www.e2forum.com.
Press releases & images:
On the internet:
www.twitter.com/e2forum; #e2forum; @e2forum
Background information about the Elevators and Escalators Division of the VDMA
The Elevators and Escalators Division of the VDMA (Association of German Machine and Plant Manufacturers) represents approx. 90 per cent of the German market for lifts, escalators and moving pavements. There are currently 750,000 elevator systems installed in Germany, of which some 640,000 are for carrying people. For escalators, the current figure is around 36,000 installed units. Turnover in the sector, which employs approximately 17,000 people, amounts to more than two billion euros.
Further information is available at: https://auf.vdma.org
Background information on Messe Frankfurt
Messe Frankfurt is the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiser with its own exhibition grounds. With more than 2,400 employees at 30 locations, the company generates annual sales of around €669 million. Thanks to its far-reaching ties with the relevant sectors and to its international sales network, the Group looks after the business interests of its customers effectively. A comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services. With its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent).
For more information, please visit our website at:
www.messefrankfurt.com | www.congressfrankfurt.de | www.festhalle.de
