Bernardo Ivo Cruz was at the Global Business & Markets, Trade & Investment stage in Hall 2 of the Hannover Messe, presenting Portugal’s competitive advantages for investing, sourcing, buying, and doing partnerships, and stressed the country’s ability to adapt to changes in the economic climate. “Portugal is a safe bet for doing business and investing”, the Secretary of State said, recalling that the energy transition in Portugal began 25 years ago and that policies against climate change are a priority.

The intervention of the Portuguese Secretary of State was followed by a brief debate moderated by Rita Araújo, Member of the Board of AICEP, and had the participation of the General Director of Portuguese-German AHK, Paulo Azevedo, and executives of the German companies Informa Software and SEW – Eurodrive, Markus Günther and Stephan Meiswinkel, respectively. Informa has recently opened an office in Portugal; SEW – Eurodrive operates successfully in the country since 1990. Both agreed that Portugal is an attractive location to invest, mainly because of the talent and skills of its human resources and recommended the country as an investment destination for other German companies.

The Hannover Messe runs until April 21, and Portugal is represented with the institutional stand of AICEP and 37 companies from different technology sectors.

For further information: https://www.portugalmakessense.pt/catalogue-hm2023/

The kick-off took place today at 10 am at the #AICEP stand. Portuguese technologies and solutions were presented to the Secretary of State for International Trade and Foreign Investment, Bernardo Ivo Cruz, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate, Ana Fontoura Gouveia, and the Secretary of State for Economy, Pedro Cilínio. AICEP was represented by the Members of the Board Rita Araújo and Luis Rebelo de Sousa.

In the 200 square meter stand of AICEP, located in pavilion 2 (B46) at the north entrance of the fair, innovative skills of seven Portuguese companies developed in partnership with national entities of reference, specifically CEiiA – Center for Engineering and Product Development and Service (a four-rotor modular drone), Follow Inspiration (an autonomous forklift mobile robot), Fraunhofer Portugal (innovative small parts counting system), Infinite Foundry (Industrial Metaverse Platform), Muvu Technologies (RAILES SMART MES – Manufacturing Execution System, a list of state-of-the-art software for the industry), Skillaugment (the Digital Enhanced Operator, an augmented reality ID project developed in partnership with INESC TEC and VW Autoeuropa) and SOPLAST (UNIC3 project developed by the University of Coimbra for the automotive sector – mobility and electronics).

The institutional presence organized by AICEP is the natural result of the success achieved in last year’s edition, where Portugal was the partner country and presented – under the motto Portugal Makes Sense – the innumerable reasons why it makes sense to invest, source and develop commercial partnerships.

Hannover Messe’23 runs until April 21.

‘Portugal Makes Sense’ is the leitmotif of Portugal’s participation in the world’s largest industrial technology fair and the underlying theme of the whole exhibition space, visually represented by an astrolabe that will be suspended over the stand and through several 3D backlit logos on the stand’s furniture pieces.

The astrolabe is a piece of engineering that offered guidance and direction to sailors at the time of the Portuguese Discoveries, just as Hannover Messe was born to give guidance and direction to German industry after the Second World War.

Located in Hall 2 at the north entrance (B46) of the fairground, the stand features several sustainability notes, such as the use of sustainably sourced wood and low-energy lighting.

This year’s edition of Hannover Messe takes place from 17 to 21 April under the motto “Industrial transformation – Making a difference” and will reflect on how companies are driving change and developing solutions to create an innovative and sustainable smart industry.

Portugal will be present with more than thirty companies from the areas of Engineering Parts & Solutions, Automation, Motion & Drives, Digital Ecosystems, Energy Solutions, Compressed Air & Vacuum and Startup Area at the 2023 edition of Hannover Messe.

Portugal was, in 2022, the partner country of the largest industrial technology event in the world, with a participation of 109 companies from the Engineering Parts & Solutions, Digital Ecosystems, Energy Solutions and Automation, Motion & Drives areas.

Watch the 3D video of the Portuguese booth here.

This year’s motto aims to show how companies are contributing to change and developing solutions towards a smart and sustainable industry by incorporating societal concerns into their business strategy.

These solutions will be displayed at the booths of the companies present and through the series of conferences promoted by Hannover Messe, which will address topics such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Energy Management, Sustainable Production, Industry 4.0, Hydrogen as Energy with a focus on global challenges such as climate change, energy shortages and supply chain issues.

Portuguese companies can also take the stage at the Hannover Messe conferences. Until February 10th they can apply to present their solutions on one of the four Conference stages: Energy 4.0 – “Towards Climate Neutrality for Industry, Businesses and Infrastructure Operators”; Industrie 4.0 – “Topics and trends of digitalization in the industry”; Industrial Wireless & 5G – “Communication standard of superlatives”; and Industrial Startups – “Pioneering spirit of innovative startups enriches industry”.

Further information is available at Speaking Opportunities (hannovermesse.de).

The institutional presence organised by AICEP – Portuguese Trade & Investment Agency is the natural result of the success achieved in last year’s edition where Portugal presented – under the motto Portugal Makes Sense – the many reasons why it makes sense to invest, source and develop business partnerships.

In the 2023 edition, Portugal will mark its presence with a stand featuring projects and competencies within the scope of the fair and will take part in a set of conferences covering themes like Industrial Startups, Industry 4.0, Energy and Industrial Transformation.

Portuguese companies can also take the stage at the Hannover Messe conferences to present their solutions. The fair offers registered companies the chance to present their solutions at this major industrial event. Until the 10th of February, they can apply to be speakers on one of the four Conference stages: Energy 4.0 – “Towards Climate Neutrality for Industry, Businesses and Infrastructure Operators”; Industrie 4.0 – “Topics and trends of digitalisation in the industry”; Industrial Wireless & 5G – “Communication standard of superlatives”; and Industrial Startups – “Pioneering spirit of innovative startups enriches industry”.

Further information is available at Speaking Opportunities (hannovermesse.de).