MECSPE 2025: Industry 5.0 at the heart of the 23rd edition

Following the success of the 22nd edition last March, which closed with nearly 70,000 visitors and more than 2,000 companies participating, MECSPE 2025 will focus on the industry’s most relevant and current topics, such as new technologies to support it and talent training. See you in Bologna, 5 to 7 March 2025!

The dawn of the 5.0 era is confirming a key transformation of the Italian manufacturing industry: the continuous technological evolution that enterprises are experiencing poses a significant challenge to maintain competitiveness in a market that is the backbone of the Italian economy.

The Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy’s new Transition 5.0 Plan, which will provide incentives for the green and digital transition to supply chain enterprises, is now only around the corner, owing to €6.3 billion in NRRP funding.

Green and digital transition

Without these incentives most companies would be more reluctant to invest—as many as 6 out of 10, according to the latest MECSPE Observatory ^[1].

A figure that was recently presented at the inauguration of MECSPE, the benchmark exhibition for the manufacturing industry organized by Senaf, which recently concluded its 22nd edition, held March 6-8 in Bologna.

In such a crucial period for manufacturing, MECSPE, on the strength of the results achieved, with 66,906 visitors (+12% over 2023) and more than 2,000 companies present, renews the appointment again for next year at BolognaFiere from March 5 to 7, 2025.

In an industry that is always changing, the event will provide an opportunity to reflect on recent advancements in 5.0 and government incentives used by enterprises.

MECSPE’s goal is to guide and support companies by accompanying them toward more efficient and innovative solutions for their business, and it has been doing so for more than 20 years by offering a dynamic and diversified platform that connects industry players on the three main thrusts of the fair: innovation, education, and sustainability.

Thirteen exhibition halls

During the three-day event, there will be educational and interactive moments aimed at illustrating new innovative technologies, conferences attended by top industry figures, appointments with the most relevant institutions, and various networking opportunities, all distributed in 13 exhibition halls over an area of 92,000 square meters.

Every exhibiting company will benefit from the rich program of MECSPE, which is dedicated to creating a stage for companies, young people and institutions to converge in the common goal of bringing to life a new, more conscious, responsible, and human-centered manufacturing industry.

Special areas: focus on new technologies

The innovative and digital soul of MECSPE 2025 will be fully expressed in the special areas, with a focus on new technologies to serve the manufacturing industry, showing how firms may accelerate their transition and increase efficiency.

The plazas will be structured with an exhibition/demonstration area and a second area of dissemination and networking where informative and educational moments will alternate.

«We are very proud of the success of the MECSPE 2024 edition and are facing the planning of the next edition with renewed enthusiasm» says Maruska Sabato, MECSPE project manager. «In particular, next year, we will devote ample space to the theme of young people and their education: always one of the most relevant focuses for MECSPE. Through dedicated initiatives and events, we will create fertile ground to foster encounters between young people ready to enter the world of work and manufacturing companies, which are always looking for resources with new and specialized skills. In fact, the primary goal will be to reduce the mismatch between supply and demand, a goal MECSPE is committed to pursuing in each edition by trying to stimulate the liveliness of the market and the curiosity of young specialists.»

Never change a winning team!

As per tradition, the 2025 edition will open with the inaugural event during which data from the new MECSPE Observatory on the manufacturing industry for the third quarter of 2024 will be presented.

The new aspects introduced this year are also returning and evolving, beginning with MECSPE LAB – Innovation Space, the main part of the fair that is built each year around a distinctive focus, providing opportunities for meetings and demonstrations with high technological content.

There will be no shortage of MECSPE’s iconic activities, such as the Objective Sustainability Path, the Startup Factory, MECSPE Young&Career, and many more initiatives that have served to establish the event as a beacon of industry innovation throughout the years.

Facts and figures of MECSPE Bologna 2024

66,906 trade professional visitors, 92,000 square meters of exhibition space, 2,000 companies, 2,000 square metres of MECSPE LAB, – Spazio Innovazione, along with 18 special initiatives and 72 conferences.

^[1]MECSPE Observatory on Manufacturing Industry conducted by GRS Research and Strategy in Q3 2023 on a sample of 731 Italian manufacturing companies.

The repair of an electrospindle

Editorial Staff

Among the Italian companies that stand out for the sale and repair of motors by the most different manufacturing companies, designing and implementing single-phase, three-phase transformers and inductances, ranks Baudino Service.
The company has narrated some of the last successful interventions: a 22kW Omlat electrospindle, which had lost thrust, so being unable to unleash 600Nm of power, replaced by low performances. Baudino team has intervened on the stator, analysing each wire and winding and afterwards giving birth to them again. “The rewinding of the electrospindle stator is a crucial phase in the repair process of an electric motor. It is a delicate operation that needs utmost care and precision to grant an optimal result and the motor’s duration in time.
During this phase, new windings are introduced with extreme meticulousness inside the stator, assessing that each turn is correctly positioned and there are neither superimpositions nor damages. The choice of high-quality materials and the use of specific techniques, such as the vacuum impregnation, assure the perfect insulation of windings and their resistance to mechanical and thermal stresses”, Baudino Service explained.

Corporate electric charges, the agreement of DKV Mobility and ABB E-mobility

Editorial Staff

DKV Mobility, the B2B platform for on the road payments and solutions, has established a partnership with ABB E-mobility to offer the customers of DKV Mobility a powerful and reliable direct current (DC) charge infrastructure for their business sites. This collaboration leads to a full-service offer, currently available in Germany and Austria, which ranges from the consulting for the choice and the installation of the suitable hardware up to customized assistance and invoicing services. A package that allows customers to implement, to use and to manage easily direct current charge infrastructures with charge capacity up to 600 kW in their premises. Both DKV Mobility and ABB E-mobility offer solutions purposely studied for the electric fleet, no matter whether they are cars or both light and heavy commercial vehicles. “The collaboration with ABB E-mobility represents an important stage for us in our course. Thanks to this initiative, our portfolio for the charge of electric vehicles is getting larger and larger, including quick charge systems in direct current for our customers’ commercial sites. This allows us to propose an array of offers that can satisfy optimally the requirements of electric commercial vehicles, too”, affirms Sven Mehringer, Managing Director Energy & Vehicle Services of DKV Mobility.
“We are pleased with supporting DKV Mobility and its customers in the electrification of fleets and in the shift to the sustainable mobility. In ABB E-mobility, our mission is providing customers with a user-friendly and reliable direct current charge infrastructure. To hit this target, not only we rely on a broad range of hardware and software solutions that satisfy fleet operators’ specific requirements but we supply also a holistic support to customers, from the planning and design to the installation and to individual service concepts “, affirms Andre Strömich, Head of Channel Management of ABB E-mobility.

Presented the new Chinese SUV with 4 electric motors

Editorial Staff

Produced by Mengshi, subsidiary of Dongfeng Group, Mhero 1 is an off-road fully electric vehicle available in Europe, too. It has been designed with 4 electric motors, two for each axle, and with all-wheel drive. Overall, at disposal there are 800 kW (1,088 HP) and 1,400 Nm of torque and in terms of performances the off-road vehicle reaches 180 km/h (electronically limited speed) and it accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds. Snow, Mud, Rock, Snow, Water and Auto driving modes are at the driver’s disposal. Through the Mhero All Terrain System, in Auto mode the torque delivery is automatically managed according to the route conditions. The powertrain is powered by a battery that features a capacity of as many as 142.7 kWh (NCM cells) which enables a range of 450 km according to the WLTP cycle. In direct current, it is possible to charge the accumulator up to a power of 100 kW. Rising from 30 to 80% of the charge takes 47 minutes. To face the harshest off-road routes problem-free, the battery is insulated and protected against collisions, besides other things, by an aluminium plate with 8-mm thickness. The off-road vehicle can also rely on a complete suite of drive assistance systems.

Levc, electric design at the Design Week

Editorial Staff

During Fuorisalone of the Design Week 2024 in Milan, the attention was focused also on the automotive and mobility world and, thanks to Koelliker, on the professional transport. The Group has decided bringing to Italy the great classic Londoner Cab Taxi by the British automotive company Levc, in the TX. 2017 version. Under the new Chinese Geely ownership, the TX electric cab is bringing sustainable mobility and a design product characterized by the eCity technology that offers 126 km of autonomy. Through the integrated generator that charges the battery while in use, there is a total range of 536 km with electric traction. Created for a universal mobility, TX is fully accessible to disabled people, even in wheelchair, with a direct access ramp that is folded in the floor, quickly unfolded and adjustable, completed by a wide door opening. Levc has also implemented a version for the transport of goods that offers an inner volumetry of 5.5 cubic metres with a maximum loading capacity of 830 kg.

Made in Italy manufacturing and electric motors, on show in Rome the vintage photo

Editorial Staff

Art,Nouveau,Picture,Frame,Iv,-,Vintage,Retro,Old — Art Nouveau Picture Frame IV - Vintage Retro Old

Opificio Italia is a photo exhibition organized by Confimi Industria at its premises in Rome that includes over 150 shots. It will be opened until August 21st. Opificio Italia is a trip among the images of the manufacturing industries that have contributed in creating Made in Italy products and brands: a selection of pictures taken from family albums and from the historical archives of Confederation’s companies with over 30 years of history. Very interesting for our sector is the fact that the 50 companies on show include also Soga with the vintage photo of the 1st electric asynchronous motor manufactured at Montecchio Maggiore, in the early Seventie.

New Parker electric motor for electro-hydraulic pumps

Editorial Staff

Parker has launched the NX8M series: a mobile permanent-magnet AC motor at low voltage that is particularly suitable for electro-hydraulic pumps. The requirement it meets is a urban building industry in revolutions, with a scenario that winks at the electrification of small and efficient building machines. It is a change determined by the technological progress and by the specific needs of urban environments: metropolis, with an unbeatable dedication to the green sustainability, are progressively asking for a reduction of exhaust gas emissions and of noise levels, so accelerating the adoption of the electric energy.

The NX8M range by Parker concerns permanent magnet AC motors (PMAC) at low voltage that offer an efficient and convenient solution for electrohydraulic pumps.
The low-cost and easily implemented motor has been designed to suit battery voltages included between 24 Vdc and 96 Vdc and the design is studied to satisfy the specific requirements of compact construction vehicles, such as mini-excavators, compact wheel loaders and dumpers. The motor is equipped with four threaded holes on all sides, which facilitate its mechanical assembly. Moreover, it offers a versatile direct assembly interface of the SAE A pump (ISO 3019/2 as option) and tabs for a comfortable connection of the power supply cable. The range gives the possibility of choosing among three different lengths, all able to provide a maximum nominal torque of 61 Nm. This series is designed to offer up to 10 windings per length, granting optimized efficiency and the capability of adapting the speed to the battery voltage. In addition to the nine standard motors at disposal in the range, which can reach speeds up to 5,000 rpm and a maximum nominal speed of 10.4 kW, customized motors are offered by the manufacturer on demand.

Askoll widens the range of electric scooters

Editorial Staff

A new model joins the XKP range by Askoll. It is XKP 80, conceived to meet the requirements of commuters who from the hinterland villages reach big cities to work, reaching a range of 101 km thanks to the presence of a couple of batteries featuring 1.7 kW each, which take 6 hours for a complete charge. The electric powertrain reaches a power of 4.1 kW and 160 Nm of torque directly transferred to the wheel.
There is a special “booster” to reach the maximum speed of 80 km/h for a short period, for instance in case of surpass. The lighting is entrusted to Led lights, while a digital LCD display is not missing and provides the most relevant information about the status of the scooter, including the residual autonomy. It is worth highlighting that also this model provides the reverse mode.
Askoll XKP 80 is approved as moped in category L3 and therefore it may be driven by the holders of an A1 driving licence at least.

Kia unveils its electrification strategy

Editorial Staff

On the occasion of the CEO Investor Day recently held in Seul, in Korea, Kia released an update about future strategies and financial goals. Well, the manufacturer illustrated the updates introduced in the medium-long term business strategy, greatly highlighting the electrification and the PBV (Purpose Built Vehicle) business. It was confirmed the 2030-target of selling 4.3 million vehicles yearly, of which 1.6 millions fully electric (EV). The target of 4.3 millions for 2030 exceeds by 34.4% the target established for 2024 of 3.2 million units.
The company intends to become brand leader in electric vehicles, EV, increasing the percentage of electrified models out of the total of sales, including also hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery vehicles, with a sale target of 2.48 million electrified models yearly, that is to say 58% of Kia’s total sales in 2030.
“After the success of the brand relaunch in 2021, Kia is strengthening its global strategy with the definition of an innovative range of electric vehicles and speeding up the transition towards the dimension of supplier of sustainable mobility solutions “, declared Ho Sung Song, President and CEO of Kia.

Maserati, the new GranCabrio with three electric motors

Editorial Staff

The whole Maserati range is shifting to electrification that completes all thermal-engine models and, concerning this, the last release will regard Maserati GranCabrio Folgore, which will land on the market in 2025. Due to the action of three electric motors, two at the rear and one in the front, it assures a maximum power of 761 HP and of 1,350 Nm, which allows rising from 0 to 100 in 2.8 seconds and reaching a maximum speed of 290 km/h.
Powertrains are powered by a 92.5 battery pack with a particular T-shape and an 800-volt architecture that enables the charge up to 270 kW for a battery recovery time from 20 to 80% of 18 minutes. Concerning the range, according to the company with a “full tank” of energy you can travel up to 447 km in the Wltp cycle.