Training and innovation at the heart of the third edition of MECSPE Bari.
The trade show closes with 13,895 visitors and over 350 participating companies, confirming its role as a manufacturing hub for Central and Southern Italy.
The manufacturing industry took center stage at one of the sector’s most eagerly awaited events: MECSPE Bari, the leading trade fair for manufacturing in Southern Italy and the Mediterranean area, organized by Senaf and held at the Fiera del Levante from November 27 to 29, 2025, now in its third edition.
The 13,895 visitors had the opportunity to meet more than 350 exhibiting companies, attend over 80 conferences and workshops, and explore 13 thematic halls. With these numbers, MECSPE Bari once again proved to be a unique opportunity to discover the latest technological innovations, strengthen skills, and identify new growth opportunities, paving the way toward the upcoming edition of MECSPE in Bologna, scheduled for March 4–6, 2026.
Efficiency, automation, and digitalization
The 2025 edition stood out for its strong focus on efficiency, automation, and digitalization, with significant attention also given to the skills required to support this evolution. During the opening event, Nomisma presented the MECSPE Observatory for the second four-month period of 2025, offering an updated analysis of the sector’s performance. The findings were commented on by institutional representatives such as Gianna Elisa Berlingerio, Director of the Department of Economic Development of the Apulia Region; association leaders including Mario Aprile, President of Confindustria Bari and BAT; Angelo Giuliana, General Director of MediTech Competence Center; and Giuseppe Acierno, President of the Apulia Aerospace Technological District, along with Ivo Nardella, President of Senaf – Gruppo Tecniche Nuove.
MECSPE Bari 2025 offered a rich program of special initiatives dedicated to innovation, training, and skills development. A standout area was the Education Hub, created with the ITS Academy Cuccovillo – one of the most significant spaces of the fair: a true experiential hub connecting schools, advanced technical education, and leading companies in mechatronics. Students were able to engage with advanced technologies through laboratories, demonstrations, seminars, and guidance sessions with HR managers and technical experts.
Alongside this initiative, the fair also hosted the Start Up Factory, dedicated to emerging tech companies; MECSPE Young & Career, a pathway designed to highlight companies investing in young talent; Sustainability Objective, focused on businesses engaged in the 5.0 transition; and the Forum Agenti, a free professional matching service for new commercial opportunities.
Among the territorial collectives: Agorà Confimi Industria Bari Bat e Foggia and Confindustria Puglia, with dedicated spaces promoting their regional activities and initiatives.
Another key moment was the contribution by Unioncamere Puglia, which presented available support tools for businesses, including the Fondo Perequativo 2024–2025 and the Resto al Sud program, reaffirming the commitment of the regional chamber system to accompanying local companies through digitalization and growth processes. The initiative reinforced MECSPE’s role as a platform for dialogue between institutions, companies, and the education system in support of the development of the manufacturing sector in Southern Italy.
«Production efficiency is now the decisive competitive lever for Italian manufacturing. MECSPE Bari has demonstrated how essential it is to invest in advanced technologies, but above all in continuous training and skills development, enabling companies to successfully navigate ongoing transformations,» said Ivo Nardella, President of Senaf – Gruppo Tecniche Nuove. «The value of MECSPE lies precisely in its ability to connect businesses, schools, ITS institutions, and public authorities, fostering human-capital growth and creating an ecosystem where innovation and people strengthen each other. We now look with enthusiasm to the next edition in Bologna, which will offer another opportunity to promote training pathways, share knowledge, and consolidate the growth of the Italian manufacturing sector.»
Looking ahead to the Bologna edition, MECSPE is preparing to further broaden its focus on strategic themes for the future of manufacturing, strengthening the fair’s role as a benchmark for innovation, sustainability, and skills development.
The upcoming event will offer an even richer ecosystem of content, with demonstration areas, thematic pathways, and discussion spaces dedicated to enabling technologies and the ecological transition.
Significant attention will also be given to young people and human capital, with initiatives aimed at skills development, career guidance, and advanced technical training—key elements for preparing the new professional profiles required by the factory of the future.
MECSPE will return to Bologna from March 4 to 6, 2026, at BolognaFiere, for a new edition dedicated to innovation, growth, and the connections that will shape the future of the industry.
Visit the official web site https://www.mecspebari.it/en/; www.mecspe.com
