Public debate is currently centred on technological issues with an unprecedented intensity. Political and social movements have joined economic forces in setting strategic guidelines for industrial development.
The energy turnaround, a shift towards bio-based products, the globalisation of production networks with the accompanying requirements for IT and logistics - the process industries are on the move in more than one respect. This development brings formerly clear-cut disciplines closer together as cooperation along value chains intensifies.
"We have been asked into which additional industries ACHEMA plans to expand in 2012," says Professor Kurt Wagemann, Executive Director of DECHEMA, organizer of the triannual event. "The truth is that we are not so much expanding, but the process industries are evolving."
Biotechnology is a good example for the overlap and at least partial fusion of disciplines: In the public perception, the biotechnology industry consists mainly of small start-up enterprises active in medical biotechnology.
But biotechnological processes are widely employed in the chemical industry and biotechnology suppliers are 'traditional' equipment manufacturers as well. The same applies for the increasing overlap between process engineering, energy generation and the electronics and automotive industry.
The development of innovative technologies for energy storage for mobile applications requires the cooperation along the whole value chain, from the original energy source (like biomass, solar or wind energy) to the storage medium (such as hydrogen, methanol or as an electric charge in a battery) and the conversion into movement.
Thus, the industrial landscape is becoming ever more complex. By integrating new players and the established community, global events like ACHEMA play an even more important role in initiating new contacts and cooperations.
"A lot can be achieved by e-mail, phone conferencing and webinars, but face-to-face interaction is still necessary especially during the initial phases when possibilities for cooperation are explored and the right contacts have to be identified." says Dr. Thomas Scheuring, Head of the Exhibition-Congresses Department at DECHEMA.
ACHEMA 2012 accounts for this by introducing a partnering system where exhibitors and visitors can register well ahead of the event. They can then search the database for potential partners and send them meeting enquiries before they even set off for Frankfurt.
The intelligent combination of face-to-face meetings with supporting technologies will become even more important in the future.
However, Dr. Scheuring is convinced that one will not replace the other: "After all, the human brain is not a super computer. Our ideas are triggered by the atmosphere of a buzzling event where we gather a wealth of new impressions. I don't think this can ever be shifted to the virtual world."
ACHEMA 2012 will take place at Frankfurt Messe, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Enter √ at www.engineerlive.com/ece
Dr Kathrin Ruebberdt is with DECHEMA, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. www.dechema.de