Review: Industry Forum 2023

The CADENAS Industry Forum in Germany, which took place on May 9 and 10, 2023, was an impressive event that gathered numerous speakers, exhibitors and visitors in Augsburg's WWK Arena.

Among the participants were pioneers of digitalisation, such as ISG Industrielle Steuerungstechnik GmbH, CT CoreTechnologie GmbH, AUSSCHREIBEN.DE (ORCA Software GmbH) and many other well-known companies.

The focus of the event was on the 27 specialist presentations by the top-class speakers. They covered a wide range of topics and provided exclusive insights into the latest developments, challenges and solutions in their industries. In its long history, the CADENAS Industry Forum has never been able to boast so many presentations, so this year the programme was shown on two stages for the first time.

One of the highlights on May 9 was the BIM panel discussion, moderated by Ralf Golinski from Build-Ing., featuring experts from Allplan GmbH, Kermi GmbH, Oventrop GmbH & Co. KG, Schneider Electric SE and VDMA e. V. They not only discussed the status quo of BIM, but also showed the possibilities of the method for the future and its urgency. The first-class panel attracted a large and interested audience.

The participants of the BIM panel discussions and the CADENAS BIM experts: Thomas Müller (VDMA e.V.), Ralf Golinski (Build-Ing.), Wolfgang Nagl (CADENAS), Ersin Ibram (Oventrop), Peter Leipold (Kermi), Markus Hettig (Schneider Electric), Karsten Spieß (CADENAS) and Stefan Kaufmann (Allplan).

CEO Jürgen Heimbach and Wolfgang Nagl, Vice President International Sales eCATALOGsolutions & Digital Twins at CADENAS, concluded the lecture programme of the first day by presenting the awards for companies that have particularly excelled in their digitalisation strategy in the past year. This was followed by the sumptuous dinner and then the evening event under the motto "CADENAS Royal": the Industry Forum visitors tried their luck at blackjack and roulette. While some squandered away their gambling money in record time, some had more success with the croupiers.

May 10 also held exciting presentations on the two stages. One of the highlights was the presentation of the so-called DIAMOND Project. In addition, the participants were able to contribute their opinion through a live survey and evaluate different file formats. Extensive question rounds and numerous networking opportunities enabled further exchange with the digitisation experts from various industries on site.

left: Jürgen Heimbach, CEO CADENAS, opened the Industry Forum 2023.

right: Wolfgang Nagl, Vice President International Sales eCatalogs & Digital Twins at CADENAS, moderated the lecture programme on one of the two stages.

You can download the speakers' presentations for free.

After a three-year break, it was past time that the CADENAS Industry Forum finally opened its doors again for component manufacturers and suppliers as well as representatives from the industry. The event revealed the need for knowledge exchange and made it clear that the event continues to be a must-attend event for the industry, even though the event took place in the middle of the trade fair season.