The proportion of international exhibitors was 34 %. “Lasys has fared well in a strong market environment with many major events in May and June of this year. With its clear focus on laser material processing, Lasys provided an attractive market platform to interested trade visitors,” says Roland Bleinroth, president of Messe Stuttgart.

Dr Sven Breitung, managing director of the VDMA Laser and Laser Systems for Materials Processing Working Group gave the following summary: “We and our members felt very comfortable at Lasys. It was great to finally be able to meet and exchange ideas in person again. Beyond the networking opportunities, the high percentage of visitors from abroad was very pleasing, as was noted by our members on their stands.”

Exhibitors report high-quality conversations

“Compact. Focused. Practical. This year, every second stand on average featured a laser in action – a major benefit of Lasys. Our exhibitors fed back on their experiences with highly qualified trade visitors and in-depth discussions at the trade fair, although there were, as expected, fewer attendees than the previous event. We are now developing the concept for the next Lasys. The subject of battery production will play a key role in the future,” says Gunnar Mey, director of exhibitions and events at Messe Stuttgart.

The exhibitors at Lasys also came to a predominantly positive conclusion. Markus Forytta, head of corporate communication at the Fraunhofer Institute for Materials and Beam Technology IWS, was satisfied at the end of the trade fair: “For us, the event went very well due to the high-quality discussions we held. We are also enthused by the synergy effects as a result of holding CastForge and SurfaceTechnology in parallel with Lasys. It allowed us to introduce laser material processing to trade fair visitors who had not yet come into contact with this topic.”

Steven Glover, COO, Laser Institute of America (LIA) also spoke in glowing terms: “For us as an international members’ association, Lasys was an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas in person with numerous members and to make new contacts. That was very important after the last few years.”

Nikolas Meyer, head of the sales and application business unit at EMAG LaserTec, agrees with the positive feedback: “We used our presence at Lasys to boost awareness of our company as a manufacturer of laser machines with extended applications for laser material processing. These applications include laser hardening or laser metal forming, for example, of coated brake discs. We achieved this goal and held high-quality discussions at our stand, which always focused on specific applications and enquiries. We are therefore pleased to be anticipating an intensive follow-up period to the trade show.”

A professionally qualified audience

This year’s Lasys trade visitors once again came with a high degree of decision-making authority. Around one fifth were from business/corporate and operational management. A similar number are actively involved in development, with around 16 % from manufacturing, production and quality assurance. A very large proportion – 81 % – are decisive, co-decisive or consultative in their institution’s purchasing decisions. Three quarters of them have a specific intention to invest or purchase, and 25 % of those future buyers plan to invest more than 200,000 euros.

Just under three quarters of the trade audience came from industry and already use lasers or laser systems in their own company – i.e. they use Lasys as a platform to keep up to date with developments in their systems and other application possibilities. The most prominent industries among visitors included mechanical engineering, automotive engineering, plant and apparatus engineering, the metal and manufacturing industry, and the optical industry. The trade audience was interested in all relevant applications and laser systems (for surface finishing, separation, labelling and marking, and joining). Laser systems for additive manufacturing and beam sources were also in focus. Overall, the visitors agreed: with a rating of 2.3, Lasys was rated good on average. 85 % of trade visitors are already planning to visit again in 2024.

Attractive accompanying programme proves very popular

The trade audience also benefited from Lasys’ accompanying programme: Complementing exhibitors’ offerings, it gave visitors the opportunity for in-depth sharing of expertise across all three days. As is tradition, this included the Stuttgart Laser Days, which took place on 21 and 22 June. Prof Dr Thomas Graf, Director of the Institut für Strahlwerkzeuge (IFSW) der Universität Stuttgart and organizer of the conference, said: “The 11th Stuttgart Laser Days have ended on a very successful note. The exciting conference programme together with the pleasant ambience of Lasys offered the approximately 180 conference participants from research, development and industry both the appropriate framework and the necessary space for active and successful networking – not least at the traditional SLT evening event held at the Institut für Strahlwerkzeuge an der Universität Stuttgart.”

Other pertinent examples were the EPIC meeting on beam shaping, the expert presentations from the Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft Lasertechnik eV (WLT) and the Solution Center with six participating laser institutions, which all offered great opportunities to transfer knowledge between the worlds of research and industry. The accompanying programme was rounded off by the very practice-oriented technical forum ‘Lasers in Action’, held in the central trade fair hall, and several subject-specific workshops and seminars.

In the framework of a long-standing cooperation PhotonicsViews issue 3/2022 (June / July) featured a special section with exclusive contributions from SLT presenters and Lasys exhibitors.

The next Lasys will take place June 4 – 6, 2024 at Messe Stuttgart.

Further reading: Laser industry 2022: development and challenges – VDMA presents survey results at Lasys press conference • “The universal laser machine” – Review Stuttgart Laser Technology Forum 2022, wileyindustrynews.com, 09 August 2022