By early March 2026, 527 companies from 34 nations had already registered as exhibitors for the world's leading trade fair for Additive Manufacturing (AM) and the next generation of modern manufacturing. This includes well-known heavyweights from the internationally leading AM companies, as well as a wide range of young, specialized, or experienced providers of solutions for the entire additive process chain.
The high level of international participation among registered exhibitors is impressive at 64.5 percent, with the main exhibiting countries alongside Germany being the United Kingdom, China, France, Italy, Spain, and the USA. "Even though the overall economic environment has become more complex, the AM world continues to grow steadily, thus still offering forward-looking business opportunities for all companies involved along the entire process chain," reports Sascha F. Wenzler, Vice President of Formnext at the organizer Mesago Messe Frankfurt.
This is not only evident in the fact that globally leading system manufacturers such as 3D Systems, AMCM, Atlix (formerly Trumpf Additive Manufacturing), BigRep, BLT, Carbon, Colibrium Additive, DMG Mori, DyeMansion, EOS, ExOne (now including Voxeljet), Farsoon, Formlabs, HBD, HP, Lithoz, Meltio, Nikon, Renishaw, Ricoh, Siemens, Sisma, Stratasys, and XJet will also use Formnext 2026 to showcase their innovations to the international professional community. The global material sales for additive manufacturing are also steadily increasing every year, reflecting the ever-growing use of additive manufacturing in numerous application industries. Not only specialized AM material providers like DWS, Headmade Materials, Höganäs, m4p, Metalpine, and Polymaker, but also large corporations like Evonik, Linde, Sandvik, or VDM Metals and many others benefit from this and will present themselves as exhibitors at Formnext 2026.
Another important growth driver of the AM industry is service providers. They play an increasingly significant role, especially where smaller companies want to utilize additive manufacturing but find that investing in their own systems is not feasible due to high certification efforts and low production volumes. The importance of service providers is also increasing at Formnext 2026; this trend is supported by specialized AM service providers such as 3D-WERK Black Forest, 3Faktur, Alphacam, FIT AG, FKM Sintertechnik, Materialise, Toolcraft, and others, as well as industrial companies like KraussMaffei, KSB, or Oerlikon, which offer their AM expertise to external users. Additionally, leading global manufacturers of desktop 3D printers such as Bambu Lab, Creality, and Prusa are showcasing their latest innovations, which are increasingly being used in industrial companies, SMEs, and print farms. The "prosumer" sector is gaining further importance as it facilitates entry into professional additive manufacturing for many users and enables the transition to large-scale, complex manufacturing solutions.
The versatility of the AM world is also highlighted by the numerous new exhibitors already registered from a total of 21 nations, including startups, corporations, and associations: The range of services offered spans from automation to software, design, and new manufacturing technologies, as well as post-processing, cleaning, and quality assurance. Several service providers can also be found among the new exhibitors.
"The versatility among the new exhibitors reflects the dynamics of the entire AM industry. It also underscores the relevance of an international flagship trade fair like Formnext, which helps these often young companies make the right contacts, gain maximum visibility, and successfully establish themselves in the industry," said Petra Haarburger, President of Mesago Messe Frankfurt.
The further growth of the AM industry is supported by Formnext this year with a focus on specific user industries such as automotive, mobility and transport, construction and architecture, as well as energy, oil, and gas. "Additive manufacturing is now indispensable in all these user industries and helps, among other things, to produce and often optimize end products, make spare parts supply and supply chains more efficient, and improve customer service," explains Christoph Stüker, Vice President of Formnext at Mesago Messe Frankfurt. "Because additive manufacturing is often complex, it usually requires the right solutions for the entire manufacturing process, including design, materials, AM production, and post-processing – which Formnext offers in a unique combination as a leading platform for additive manufacturing." Additionally, this year's partner country, the UK, will play an important role and will be prominently represented in the supporting program alongside numerous innovative AM companies.
Outlook for Formnext 2026 (As of early March 2026):
- January 17 – January 1, 2000 in Frankfurt am Main
- 527 registered exhibitors from 34 nations
- Internationality share: 64.5%
- Strong commitment of the AM industry worldwide
- New exhibitors from 21 nations present innovations across the entire AM-
Process chain
It is already clear today: Formnext 2026 will once again be a meeting point where new technologies emerge, partnerships grow, and the industrial future of the AM sector is shaped.
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