"Great interest at the booth" – "Trade fair goals definitely achieved" – "Many high-quality customer contacts" – "Expectations exceeded": With highly satisfied exhibitors and 5,650 visitors (2023: 5,497), the fifth edition of the DST Turning and Machining Days Southwest ended very successfully on Friday. The three-day industry meeting at the Villingen-Schwenningen exhibition grounds was fully booked with 220 exhibitors (2023: 194). The vast majority of surveyed exhibitors have already confirmed their participation for the next DST Southwest.
"The DST Southwest is a bit like a small AMB," summarized Jörg Teichgräber, Marketing Manager of EMUGE. "I even like it a little better because it is more user-oriented. Visitors come with very specific questions to the fair. The size is right, the focus is right, many customers from the region – definitely one of the best trade fairs in Germany!" This was also confirmed by Angelique Amend from Mehytec: "Everyone that counts is here. At the same time, the DST is not as overloaded as the really big trade fairs, but much clearer and above all more family-like." For many exhibitors who previously preferred a more international trade fair setting, national and regional fairs are now in focus. They increasingly serve customers directly at their doorstep.
"Everyone is quickly here, you can also come for half a day without having to shut down operations at home completely," emphasized Manuel Lohmann from Spinner. Many customers were pleased with the trade fair appearance of the machine tool manufacturer: "Ah, you are here at the fair, then you belong! We buy from you."
A lot of optimism despite economic challenges
Numerous trade fair booths were consistently well attended, with booth staff engaged in intense discussions. New exhibitor MT EVO was very positively surprised by the many customer contacts: "The flow of visitors was very good. We had many high-quality conversations," said booth manager Ralf Bürger. There was also great interest at ARNO Tools. "The mood at the fair is significantly better than in the country currently, that's great! We sold four inventory management systems on the first day," reported sales manager Dieter Wollensack. For Sascha Gersmann, Marketing Manager of Citizen, the DST Southwest is an absolute must-attend: "We are now much more optimistic than before the fair. You simply have to be here! Many customers come with concrete projects, already have drawings and workpieces with them. We are very confident that a lot will happen afterwards too."
The concept of the joint booth "Team Future" in Hall D was well received. "Here the entire process chain is represented," said Anne Neumann from participating Paul Horn GmbH. "The customer can solve all their problems directly at one booth. Of course, we companies benefit from this as well. If a specific topic comes up, you can send the customer directly to the right contact person." At the network "AuToS" of the IHK, they were pleased with successful networking with trade visitors and exhibitors. The registration numbers for the new automotive portal rose significantly during the fair. "Moreover, we will certainly find one or two speakers for upcoming events among the other exhibitors," said Carmen Kaupp from AuTos. The Cutting Technology Cluster was also able to record numerous new memberships. The presentations in the specialist forum attracted lively interest: Exhibitors and trade visitors discussed, for example, the possibilities of using AI, digital business models for mechanical engineering, or additive manufacturing. The presentation by Jäger Engineering on the automation of machine tools with collaborative robots and "End-of-Arm-Safeguard" was particularly popular. "The specialist forum was definitely worth it for us," reported designer Friederike Schäfer. "After the presentation, people came directly to our booth. We were able to achieve very good results with both new and existing customers."
The next DST Turning and Machining Days Southwest will take place from April 7 to 9, 2027.
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