LASYS – the new international trade fair for system solutions in laser materials processing – is currently the only laser materials processing trade fair to showcase both systems and processes and to have comprehensive coverage of materials and all industry sectors. As a result, it will no longer be necessary for providers to exhibit at isolated trade fairs. Now they will have the opportunity to address customers from all areas of the capital goods industry at a single event. Visitors will also have the benefit of experiencing all the systems and processes employed in laser material processing – in a concentrated format and covering all materials – at a single fair. LASYS is a fast-channel event for everyone.
The trade fair opens its doors for the first time from 4 to 6 March 2008 and is set to become one of the most prominent international platforms for providers of laser materials processing systems. Staged every two years, LASYS will supply the answers to questions on the use of laser systems in industrial manufacturing. Which systems and processes with associated components are suited to which materials and substances? What can be used to the greatest advantage, and in what sector?
Stuttgart is the capital of Baden-Wuerttemberg, a region that boasts a superb concentration of companies from the automotive and associated industries; mechanical engineering and plant construction; metal-working and metal-processing; medical engineering; and precision engineering. Stuttgart is truly the place to be for laser technology. In the medium term, the plan is for a progressive expansion of visitor target groups. The applications of laser technology are inexhaustible across all sectors and are nowhere close to reaching their limits. Our intention at LASYS is to present concrete applications – with less emphasis on components – for the sectors listed above. Components will be covered but they will not be the main attraction. This is the key difference between LASYS and other fairs.
Another asset is the transport infrastructure of the new Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre. It boasts direct links to Stuttgart Airport and the A8 motorway, which connects to Munich and Frankfurt. Such an infrastructure is unique and has been acknowledged with great enthusiasm by exhibitors and visitors alike. The same applies to the new exhibition halls, with their refined, clear and bright architecture. Such levels of enthusiasm are certain to filter through to exhibitors and visitors to LASYS 2008 when it opens its doors in Hall 4, in March 2008.
But we should not forget that LASYS is much more than an exhibition of laser applications. It also offers an application-oriented, high-quality programme of supporting events centred on laser technology. The ‘Stuttgart Laser Days (SLT) 2008’, which run in parallel to LASYS 2008, are one of the industry’s primary events. The Stuttgart Laser Days are organised by the Forschungsgesellschaft für Strahlwerkzeuge (FGSW) in Stuttgart, and are also staged every two years. They present innovations from the world of laser technology and its application in material processing, and examine the feasibility of technology transfer to practical production processes. Traditionally the Stuttgart Laser Days, which are already an institution throughout Europe, have taken place in the autumn. The organiser FGSW has taken the step of moving the event to the spring of 2008 in order to benefit from synergy with LASYS. This is a testament to the high regard in which LASYS is held in the industry.
Around 130 exhibitors and 4,000 trade visitors from home and abroad are expected at the first LASYS trade fair. Alongside Germany will be representatives from Switzerland, Italy, France, Great Britain and Austria – some of the key nations in both exhibitor and visitor terms. USA, Japan and China are also important markets for us. We are particularly pleased that we have received the support of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and its Industrial Laser Community (ILC). The SME is very positive about the unique concept of the LASYS and it will be setting up a US Pavilion in Stuttgart for its members. The link to Stuttgart Airport is a great advantage here, because it represents an unsurpassed saving in terms of time and money for exhibitors and visitors from abroad. It is now feasible to visit Messe Stuttgart from many major European cities in a single day. We look forward to welcoming the readers of Electro Optics to LASYS in March 2008.
