aBr April aBr April 2014 | Page 84

C eM AT 201 4 Pre vie w | by Austin Gamble Smart – Integrated – Efficient CEMAT 2014 Preview Over 90 journalists from 26 countries had to be met at the airport, and shuttled to the Convention Centre at the Hannover Exhibition Centre, to attend the CeMAT Preview at 12 noon on Tuesday 18 March 2014. When this involves normal people, it is a challenge, but when it involves journalists, it is a logistics exercise of note! N ot surprisingly, despite the enormity of the task, it all went ahead smoothly, and on time, because the planning had been done by Deutsche Messe AG, organisers of the CeMAT 2014, the world’s leading fair for intralogistics. CeMAT 2014 will take place at the very same Hannover Exhibition Centre from 19 to 23 May 2014, and the lead theme and motto for this year’s CeMAT will be “Smart – Integrated – Efficient”. And that is exactly how the preview went. It was smart, integrated and efficient. A good precursor for CeMAT 2014, as it envisions the intelligent, integrated management and control of all logistics processes across the entire production and supply chain. “Achieving this level of integration requires a secure and reliable technology matrix that incorporates a growing array of microprocessors, operating elements, software solutions and control systems. All of these things need to be integrated into a harmonious, high performance and easily operated system in order to process and manage the he volumes of data will arise. The key is not to be seduced by technology for technology’s sake, but rather to harness this complexity and ensure it yields tangible benefits and advantages. This is a key challenge for the intralogistics sector and indeed for industry in general. And that is why I welcome “Smart-Integrated- Efficient” as the motto for this year’s CeMAT. It carries a message that resonates far beyond our sector. And that message is that we offer intelligent, integrated and efficient solutions that are fully developed and implementation-ready” says Dr Christoph Beumer, chairman of the CeMAT Executive Committee and managing director of BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG. With 1 025 exhibitors from 140 nations, and occupying over 120 000 m² of exhibition space, CeMAT 2104 promises to be different, for quite a few reasons. | logistics in action 82 april 2014 Firstly, the structure of the event has been designed around the visitor, with five main technology areas: Move & Lift; Store & Load; Pick & Pack; Logistics IT; and Manage & Service. Secondly, there will be six buyer focused categories: Port, Production Logistics, S pecial Logistics, Transport Logistics, Retail, and Education & Career. Add to this the CeMAT forums, and the visitor will be spoilt for choice. CeMAT forums offers something for everyone, with a five day programme jointly organised by Deutsche Messe and selected partners from the logistics industry, providing visitors with a host of interesting talks and lively discussions on a wide range of intralogistics topics. “In selecting the various themes we concentrated this year on some major client industries and markets. Together with our partners we have succeeded in putting together a high-calibre, varied programme, says Dr Andreas Gruchow, member of the Managing Board at Deutsche Messe AG. He adds that “primarily we have tradeshow visitors in focus, so we can offer them genuine added value for attending”. An added attraction will be the IFOY (International Forklift Truck of the Year) award which will be presented in five categories.