EMO 2025 Economic Forum: Metalworking Industry Trends and Prospects

EMO 2025 Economic Forum EMO in dialogue with customers from the metalworking sector

2025-08-01 Source: VDW 3 min Reading Time

Between challenges and new momentum: At the EMO 2025 Economic Forum, industry leaders and customers from the metalworking sector will discuss investment trends, technological breakthroughs, and global market prospects.

The EMO 2025 Economic Forum discusses developments in important customer industries.(Source: VDW) — The EMO 2025 Economic Forum discusses developments in important customer industries.
(Source: VDW)

The industry is facing numerous challenges, which it is tackling with technical innovations and globally oriented strategies. In the run-up to the EMO 2025, there are signs that the general conditions are improving again. “The current business situation is certainly difficult, but the expectations and general mood among companies in Germany and Europe are improving,” says Dr. Markus Heering, Executive Director of VDW, event organizer of the EMO. New policy settings, federal government spending programs, support for investment, the resolution of the trade dispute with the USA and technological trends such as digitalization and automation are having a positive impact on the investment climate. The machine tool industry is positioning itself confidently in this environment. German Wankmiller, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of Grob-Werke in Mindelheim, for example, says: “Innovation, quality, and reliability are what set us apart from the global competition.” EMO 2025, the world's leading trade fair for production technology, from September 22 to 26 in Hanover, Germany, will provide guidance on how this is being received by international customers.

At the EMO Economic Forum Made for Tomorrow — Discover what drives the future of manufacturing, representatives of key customer industries of the metalworking sector will be discussing their prospects for the near future. On the one hand, the development and integration of new technologies opens up additional markets. Roland Sommer, Head of Shared Service Production at machine manufacturer Krones AG in Neutraubling, Germany, says: “The intelligent use of automation and digitalization in discrete manufacturing is more important than ever in today's world. Added value can only be generated through the right interaction between the machine tool, the employees, the data and the networking of processes.” And Dr. Kamilla König-Urban, Vice President Global Manufacturing Engineering & Opex at medical technology manufacturer Karl Storz in Tuttlingen, adds: "Medical technology is on the threshold of a new era. Innovations such as robot-assisted, digital surgery open up previously unimagined possibilities, but also require highly precise, flexible production technologies that meet regulatory requirements."

Please log in or register and read this article. To be able to read this article in full, you must be registered. Free registration gives you access to exclusive specialist information.

Create My Free Account

Already registered? Log in here

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

Business E-mail

Please enter a valid mailadress.

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. The consent declaration relates, among other things, to the sending of editorial newsletters by email and to data matching for marketing purposes with selected advertising partners (e.g., LinkedIn, Google, Meta)

Date: 08.12.2025

Naturally, we always handle your personal data responsibly. Any personal data we receive from you is processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. For detailed information please see our privacy policy.

Consent to the use of data for promotional purposes

I hereby consent to Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Str. 7-9, 97082 Würzburg including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: Vogel Communications Group) using my e-mail address to send editorial newsletters. A list of all affiliated companies can be found here

Newsletter content may include all products and services of any companies mentioned above, including for example specialist journals and books, events and fairs as well as event-related products and services, print and digital media offers and services such as additional (editorial) newsletters, raffles, lead campaigns, market research both online and offline, specialist webportals and e-learning offers. In case my personal telephone number has also been collected, it may be used for offers of aforementioned products, for services of the companies mentioned above, and market research purposes.

Additionally, my consent also includes the processing of my email address and telephone number for data matching for marketing purposes with select advertising partners such as LinkedIn, Google, and Meta. For this, Vogel Communications Group may transmit said data in hashed form to the advertising partners who then use said data to determine whether I am also a member of the mentioned advertising partner portals. Vogel Communications Group uses this feature for the purposes of re-targeting (up-selling, cross-selling, and customer loyalty), generating so-called look-alike audiences for acquisition of new customers, and as basis for exclusion for on-going advertising campaigns. Further information can be found in section “data matching for marketing purposes”.

In case I access protected data on Internet portals of Vogel Communications Group including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG, I need to provide further data in order to register for the access to such content. In return for this free access to editorial content, my data may be used in accordance with this consent for the purposes stated here. This does not apply to data matching for marketing purposes.

Right of revocation

I understand that I can revoke my consent at will. My revocation does not change the lawfulness of data processing that was conducted based on my consent leading up to my revocation. One option to declare my revocation is to use the contact form found at https://contact.vogel.de. In case I no longer wish to receive certain newsletters, I have subscribed to, I can also click on the unsubscribe link included at the end of a newsletter. Further information regarding my right of revocation and the implementation of it as well as the consequences of my revocation can be found in the data protection declaration, section editorial newsletter.