International Shipbuilding, Machinery and Marine Technology Exhibition SMM Hamburg: last year results

The next SMM will take place from 8 to 11 September 2020 in Hamburg.

The trade fair brought together around 50 000 industry visitors from more than 120 countries, once again highlighting its importance as the leading international maritime trade fair. Under the motto "Trends in SMMart Shipping", the fair focused on digitalisation and ‘green shipping’ this year. Featuring a total of 2 289 exhibitors from 69 nations, and five accompanying conferences, SMM more than met the industry's high expectations, setting new standards for internationality and innovation.

 Thirteen halls covering a total of 93 000 m2 exhibition floor: SMM has again demonstrated in impressive ways that it is rightly called the biggest and most important trade fair of the global maritime sector. 

Bernd Aufderheide, President and CEO of Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH, is highly pleased with the outcome of the four-day event: “SMM 2018 was a full success, not only for us as the organizers but also, and especially so, for the exhibitors and visitors. We again welcomed the Who's Who of the maritime world to our exhibition halls this year, and we have seen again that there is nothing that can replace the person-to-person interaction between the key players of the sector. We successfully addressed the shipping community’s most pressing issues, delivering fresh impetus for the future." 

SMM reflects the entire value chain of the maritime industry: From lube oil filters offered by the specialist Bollfilter to the signal horn by Zollner through to Furuno's radar system and a ship engine manufactured by the global market leader, MAN Energy Solutions, the diversity of exhibits was breath-taking. The fair's roughly 50 000 visitors were able to choose Theme Routes guiding them to specific exhibitors, including the new Cruise & Ferry Route.

Interior design for ships, and in particular, cruise ship cabin design, was especially popular this year: “Being here is extremely valuable for us. We had countless great conversations with partners from around the world," reports Thomas Topfer, CEO of RReinhold & Mahla.

New business contacts, new products, new strategies

The opportunity to network is something both, exhibitors and industry visitors appreciate particularly at SMM: "Attending this fair every two years is a must for us since it is here we can meet up with all our partners and customers in one place," said Jan-Christoph Lotzsch, Director After Sales & Service at Raytheon Anschutz.

New products, new people, new strategies — SMM was once again the industry's top platform for presenting novelties to the world and negotiating deals. 

"Rolls-Royce Power Systems, with its core brand MTU, is developing at an aggressive pace, transforming from an engine manufacture into a provider of integrated solutions. There is no better platform two showcase that than SMM, the leading trade fair of the maritime sector," said CEO Andreas Schell.

As always, many great business deals were finalized at SMM. For example, GEA announced an order from P&O Cruises for its innovative industrial refrigeration technology. Other exhibitors likewise expressed their satisfaction about major new orders. For example, the classification society DNV GL reported having been contracted to supervise and classify a 2 750-TEU containership newbuilding project at the Chinese shipyard Huangpu-Wenchong (HPWS), and the ship propeller manufacturer MMG seized the day to deliver the world's biggest containership propeller on occasion of SMM.

Successful debuts

An event that received plenty of attention was the "Maritime 3D-Printing Show Area”, something that had never been seen at a maritime trade fair before.

"3D printing is a technology that really catches on, and our conversations have been going very well," summarized Lina Harms who represented the Maritime Cluster Norddeutschland, one of the partners of SMM. 

SMM was again complemented by high-profile conferences covering specific topics such as digitalization (Maritime Future Summit), environment protection (Global Marine Environmental Congress), ocean research (Offshore Dialogue) as well as security and defence (Maritime Security & Defence). With an attendance of more than 500 guests, the response was excellent.

Another grand premiere at SMM 2018 was the TradeWinds Shipowners Forum, which had prepared a multifaceted program featuring renowned speakers.

There is a great demand for young talents and skilled experts in the maritime sector. This is why SMM hosts the Maritime Career Market (MCM) as a job exchange and a platform highlighting career and training opportunities within the industry. The Career Forum, a series of presentations about maritime professions and careers, was another first at this SMM.

The text/image source: official exhibition website SMM Hamburg 2020