International
© Messe Essen GmbH
02.03.2025

SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN 2025: "We Must Embrace the Challenge"

Digitization and communication key topics

Digitization and communication are the key topics of SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN (September 15 through 19, 2025 in Essen, Germany). A highlight will be the first-ever presentation of the IF Digital Award, which is jointly organized by the IndustryFusion Foundation (IFF), Messe Essen, and DVS – German Welding Society. Christina Kleinpaß, project manager of SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN, Igor Mikulina, president of the IFF Foundation Council, and Jens Jerzembeck, head of research and technology at DVS, discuss an award at the right time, new highlights of the world's leading trade fair and how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can cope with the digital transformation.

Ms. Kleinpaß, why this award now and why is participation worthwhile?

Kleinpaß: We have wanted to introduce an award at SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN for a long time, and of course, digitization was a key topic at the fair two years ago, which we addressed through a rally. The benefit of the award from the participants’ perspective lies in the media support across all channels. We have developed a unique logo that directs visitors both at the fair grounds and on our digital platforms specifically to the participants. Voting will also be done digitally. The value of the award is further increased by the fact that we have intentionally designed the IF Digital Award as a public prize. After all, who could judge better than the SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN visitors whether a solution truly provides practical benefits?

Mr. Jerzembeck, why is DVS involved in the IF Digital Award?

Jerzembeck: The question of how our industry uses digitization has been on our minds at DVS for quite some time. What it is really about is leveraging all the networks, data and data flows connected to the specific process chain of joining technology – whether for process control, quality assessment, documentation, parts ordering and much more. Our impression is that the industry is taking a cautious approach to digitization, but despite all the surveys and networking formats, we can’t yet fully answer the question of who is doing what. Is this about individual solutions from companies? Do they represent complete production chains? The IF Digital Award is a valuable indicator for us to better understand innovation paths and identify areas where we as an association can offer support.

Mr. Mikulina, the IndustryFusion Foundation (IFF) that you founded is a flagship project in this regard. Where did the idea come from and how does it fit with the times?

Mikulina: We currently face three major challenges: energy prices, missing orders and most importantly, digitization. We need new technologies and SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN has always shown us the way in this regard. At the same time, over the past decade, we've unfortunately seen that each market participant has tried to implement their own solutions. What was missing was a globally available infrastructure that could be used by all companies to truly represent intelligently networked production – highly secure, decentralized and designed to add value to the industry. This is what the IFF aims to achieve.

© Messe Essen GmbH
f. l. t. r.: Christina Kleinpaß, project manager of SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN, Igor Mikulina, president of the IFF Foundation Council, and Jens Jerzembeck, head of research and technology at DVS © Messe Essen GmbH
How much progress have you made with the implementation?

Mikulina: We’ve reached a milestone by convincing major players from the IT sector of the potential for collaboration. Representatives from prominent IT companies such as Intel, Dell or Ionos visited SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN 2023 and were impressed by the potential. We are now close to realizing the IndustryFusion-X platform, with the help of these and other IT companies, where data sovereignty remains with each participating company. The platform will be plug-and-play, so easy to use for SMEs without dedicated IT expertise to access. The problem with otherwise brilliant concepts like Gaia-X or Manufacturing-X is that SMEs often cannot afford to implement this technology. This is exactly what this is about: not only building the infrastructure but implementing it in practice together.

Can DVS member companies benefit from this even without membership in the IFF?

Mikulina: Yes, absolutely. For example, we are now able to use blockchain technology to uniquely identify a component throughout its entire lifecycle, even without a chip. For this Digital Product Passport, we are offering a test phase for a non-profit platform called Industry Fusion Register for Identification (IFFRIC) to DVS member companies. The principle is similar to what ICANN has done for URL addresses. While this may sound abstract at first, IFFRIC is a crucial tool in the fight against product piracy. The next step we will present at the Open Source Summit at SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN is IndustryFusion-X: a Data Space 4.0 that also enables large business models. Its computational power also allows the use of AI models – a huge breakthrough. I will only mention key terms like Equipment as a Service or Shared Production.

Mr. Jerzembeck, is such an approach suitable to eliminate the barriers that are currently hindering DVS member companies in terms of digitization?

Jerzembeck: I believe so. What are the barriers? For our more than 17,000 member companies, which are mostly SMEs, the challenges in adopting digitization solutions are mainly that the success of such implementations is not immediately measurable. So, investments in IT and employees with the necessary expertise are required upfront, without knowing how this step will pay off in monetary terms or in terms of competitiveness. There’s also the concern of our Hidden Champions – and there are many – about sharing data that may be exclusive process or product know-how. In some cases, companies can also hinder their own development by not realizing new business models for their proprietary knowledge. All these barriers can be overcome with an open-source solution like that of the IndustryFusion Foundation. We certainly must embrace the challenge of digitization, because without it, our companies will no longer be competitive internationally.

Kleinpaß: We also have to face the issue of competitiveness at the fair itself. SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN is the world's leading trade fair, and we aim to keep it that way. To achieve that, we need to evolve with the industry, especially as we observe the fair’s once strong focus on orders shifting more towards innovation and communication. The fact that the Open Source Summit by the IndustryFusion Foundation is taking place for the first time as part of the fair highlights this shift. Right on the first day of the fair, all information about digitization will be shared with the public, with the option for visitors to gather more detailed information from the companies at their booths in the following days – offering a true value add.

What else are you looking forward to at the SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN programme?

Kleinpaß: Personally, I’m especially looking forward to the Future Hub. It’s a new communication space right in the middle of the fair with various formats: from panel discussions to meet-and-greets to speaker slots for exhibitors. We have content creators like Igor Welder and other influencers, a talk with female leadership figures, discussions on CO2 reduction and cybersecurity – so really a comprehensive look at many topics that are important to the industry.

Jerzembeck: On the technical side, two topics particularly interest me: First, we’ve recently focused on validating methods for testing weld seams in the research projects we fund through DVS Forschung (Research). These quality assessments, adapted directly to the welding process, occur in real-time, automatically, online or inline. This is also an area closely linked to digitization and the use of AI. It will be interesting to see what products have emerged from these projects. The second topic concerns regulatory requirements that will be groundbreaking for the industry. Whenever the EU-wide limit for welding fumes goes into effect, and it will, there is an urgent need for action. I’m very curious to see what solutions we will see for reducing welding fumes. One key to success will also be process management with the relevant documentation. And that brings us back to digitization.

Mikulina: I believe we can present the connection between mechanical engineering and IT much better at this year’s Open Source Summit than at the premiere. And even though many programmes are digital, personal presentation and communication are simply much more efficient than self-study on the internet.

Kleinpaß: Exactly! That is also why SCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDEN 2025 is under the motto "Join the Future."

(Source: Messe Essen GmbH)

Schlagworte

CuttingDigitalizationDigitizationEventFairJoiningSCHWEISSEN & SCHNEIDENSurfacingWelding

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