Due to the recent rise of the Covid-19 infection figures worldwide, and the associated increase in travel restrictions, Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH has decided to hold Formnext 2020 purely virtually. The digital event will be named Formnext Connect.
Formnext 2020 was previously planned as a hybrid trade fair, that is, with the on-site event at the Frankfurt exhibition grounds plus a digital add-on component. This plan was based on the Corona Contact and Operating Restrictions Ordinance valid in the State of Hesse and a health and hygiene concept agreed upon with the City of Frankfurt am Main, the State of Hesse and Messe Frankfurt.
“The current rise of the Covid-19 infection figures in Germany, Europe and around the world have led to increasing uncertainty among exhibitors and visitors. Together with the renewed tightening of official and in-house travel restrictions, this will no longer allow the otherwise highly international Formnext to be carried out in the accustomed quality,” stated Petra Haarburger, President of Mesago Messe Frankfurt.
“We have been planning Formnext 2020 for months now. We have done this  with the highest level of protection and safety for the health of our exhibitors and visitors. Our disappointment at the end of the summer is all the greater now that we have to recognize that the course of the pandemic is destroying our efforts to make these personal encounters possible again“, explained Sascha F. Wenzler, Vice President Formnext Mesago Messe Frankfurt.
In the course of the crisis, the additive manufacturing industry has clearly demonstrated the potential that lies in flexible, diversified and decentralized production. There is no doubt that AM will be one of the leading technologies that will lead the way out of the recession. It will play a major role in the development of new products, the design of resilient supply chains and the development of sustainable business models.
Formnext Connect will be the central virtual platform for business and knowledge exchange for the global AM community, it will start as a virtual event from 10 November 2020 and will offer a wide range of digital services. These include exhibitor presentations in showrooms (products, information, videos, chat function, lead generation / lead tracking), intelligent matchmaking with all participants supported by AI, live streaming and on-demand content of the supporting program and webinars as well as the scheduling of appointments for online meetings with exhibitors.