The countdown has officially started for bauma, leading trade fair for construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines and construction vehicles and equipment. The event, which will be in Munich from April 7-13, 2025, kicked things off with a livestreamed press conference on YouTube highlighting some of the main themes of the event and what they're emphasizing.
Stefan Rummel, CEO, Messe München GmbH, said the event will have more than 3600 exhibitors from more than 60 countries and the fairgrounds will encompass 640,000 square meters, which he said is the equivalent of 86 soccer fields. Attendees of more than 200 countries also are expected to be there for the event, which runs once every three years. He added they're expecting many more attendees in 2025 compared to the October 2022 event when there were still concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic even though most restrictions had been lifted by then.
Joachim Schmid, Managing Director, Construction Equipment and plant Engineering and Managing Director Mining for the VDMA, echoed his pleasure at how the event had bounced back after the pandemic and emphasized they're trying to develop a safe climate for the future.
Left to right: Joachim Schmid, Managing Director, Construction Equipment and plant Engineering and Managing Director Mining for the VDMA; Stefan Rummel, CEO, Messe München GmbH; Moderator Alexandra von LingenMesse München GmbH/bauma
Digitalization, sustainability key themes at bauma 2025
Rummel said many industries are in transition and the two megatrends running across all of them are sustainability and digitalization. Sustainability has been on the minds of many, particularly in Europe, where they have set a goal of climate neutrality by 2050. Rummel said strategies and roadmaps need to be worked out for these industries, which are known for consuming a lot of energy and power and not being the most climate-conscious.
Schmid said a key part of the solution will be developing technology to meet these needs while also finding ways to make their current machines safer and more efficient. He added mining companies should be working to extract what they need and recultivating the environment so nature can come back to the places that are being worked.
It is a challenge companies and industries are working on while keeping their operations running efficiently. Digitalization, particularly the rise of digital transformation and operations becoming more automated, play a key role. It also requires a different skillset for workers that hasn't been fully realized yet. Running operations from a tablet rather than a cab is already happening, but not quite at the scale it could be. The rise of automation won't replace jobs, they said, so much as bring on new ones that can better utilize people for tasks they're more adept at.
Other topics discussed during the press event included the emphasis on the rise of electric vehicles, the need for healthy dialogue in regards to politics, the need for innovation through research and their emphasis on attracting younger workers with their Think Big program.
