Following the success of the 22nd edition last March, which closed with nearly 70,000 visitors and more than 2,000 companies participating, MECSPE 2025 will focus on the industry’s most relevant and current topics, such as new technologies to support it and talent training. See you in Bologna, 5 to 7 March 2025!
The dawn of the 5.0 era is confirming a key transformation of the Italian manufacturing industry: the continuous technological evolution that enterprises are experiencing poses a significant challenge to maintain competitiveness in a market that is the backbone of the Italian economy.
The Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy’s new Transition 5.0 Plan, which will provide incentives for the green and digital transition to supply chain enterprises, is now only around the corner, owing to €6.3 billion in NRRP funding.
Green and digital transition
Without these incentives most companies would be more reluctant to invest—as many as 6 out of 10, according to the latest MECSPE Observatory [1].
A figure that was recently presented at the inauguration of MECSPE, the benchmark exhibition for the manufacturing industry organized by Senaf, which recently concluded its 22nd edition, held March 6-8 in Bologna.
In such a crucial period for manufacturing, MECSPE, on the strength of the results achieved, with 66,906 visitors (+12% over 2023) and more than 2,000 companies present, renews the appointment again for next year at BolognaFiere from March 5 to 7, 2025.
In an industry that is always changing, the event will provide an opportunity to reflect on recent advancements in 5.0 and government incentives used by enterprises.
MECSPE’s goal is to guide and support companies by accompanying them toward more efficient and innovative solutions for their business, and it has been doing so for more than 20 years by offering a dynamic and diversified platform that connects industry players on the three main thrusts of the fair: innovation, education, and sustainability.
Thirteen exhibition halls
During the three-day event, there will be educational and interactive moments aimed at illustrating new innovative technologies, conferences attended by top industry figures, appointments with the most relevant institutions, and various networking opportunities, all distributed in 13 exhibition halls over an area of 92,000 square meters.
Every exhibiting company will benefit from the rich program of MECSPE, which is dedicated to creating a stage for companies, young people and institutions to converge in the common goal of bringing to life a new, more conscious, responsible, and human-centered manufacturing industry.
Special areas: focus on new technologies
The innovative and digital soul of MECSPE 2025 will be fully expressed in the special areas, with a focus on new technologies to serve the manufacturing industry, showing how firms may accelerate their transition and increase efficiency.
The plazas will be structured with an exhibition/demonstration area and a second area of dissemination and networking where informative and educational moments will alternate.
«We are very proud of the success of the MECSPE 2024 edition and are facing the planning of the next edition with renewed enthusiasm» says Maruska Sabato, MECSPE project manager. «In particular, next year, we will devote ample space to the theme of young people and their education: always one of the most relevant focuses for MECSPE. Through dedicated initiatives and events, we will create fertile ground to foster encounters between young people ready to enter the world of work and manufacturing companies, which are always looking for resources with new and specialized skills. In fact, the primary goal will be to reduce the mismatch between supply and demand, a goal MECSPE is committed to pursuing in each edition by trying to stimulate the liveliness of the market and the curiosity of young specialists.»
Never change a winning team!
As per tradition, the 2025 edition will open with the inaugural event during which data from the new MECSPE Observatory on the manufacturing industry for the third quarter of 2024 will be presented.
The new aspects introduced this year are also returning and evolving, beginning with MECSPE LAB – Innovation Space, the main part of the fair that is built each year around a distinctive focus, providing opportunities for meetings and demonstrations with high technological content.
There will be no shortage of MECSPE’s iconic activities, such as the Objective Sustainability Path, the Startup Factory, MECSPE Young&Career, and many more initiatives that have served to establish the event as a beacon of industry innovation throughout the years.
Facts and figures of MECSPE Bologna 2024
66,906 trade professional visitors, 92,000 square meters of exhibition space, 2,000 companies, 2,000 square metres of MECSPE LAB, – Spazio Innovazione, along with 18 special initiatives and 72 conferences.
[1] MECSPE Observatory on Manufacturing Industry conducted by GRS Research and Strategy in Q3 2023 on a sample of 731 Italian manufacturing companies.