A fully-booked bauma, the biggest construction equipment exhibition in the world, officially opened today showcasing some of the world’s most innovative machinery.
According to Stefan Rummel, co-chief executive of Messe München, the organiser of the event in Munich, Germany: Sustainability, alternative drive trains and digitalisation are the main themes of this year’s event.
It is truly an event for the future, he said in an opening presentation. More than 3,500 exhibitors from 57 countries are taking part, using 614,000m² of exhibition space - the equivalent of 86 football pitches.
A fully-booked bauma is a positive signal for the international sector’s future, said Klara Geywitz, Germany’s federal minister for housing, urban development and construction. But she acknowledged that it comes at a time of great uncertainty internationally because of the current trade wars and mounting tariff battles. She said that international trade should not be a zero-sum gain where one side’s win means an equal loss for an opposing side.
In this regard, the construction sector is truly international, she said. Specialist designers and suppliers of parts from many countries come together to produce truly international equipment. No country has a monopoly on innovation and bauma is where this exhibited to the world.
Reactions to the nascent trade war between the US and many of its main trading nations is a wait-and-see position, as noted by the head of French global manufacturer Manitou during a later corporate press conference on the company’s stand.
Around 85% of Manitou’s revenue is export-driven from manufacturing bases in Italy, India, and the United States.
