The 11th International Suppliers Fair (IZB) was a complete success: Europe’s leading trade fair for the automotive industry attracted an international audience of 43,000 trade visitors to Wolfsburg and provided them with exciting insights into the current transformation of the industry in exhibition grounds covering 38,000 m2 over a three-day period. Autonomous Driving, Connectivity, E-mobility, Software, Production 4.0: At the IZB, around 940 exhibitors from 37 different countries shared extremely interesting insights into the vehicle mobility of the future. The specialist trade fair provided an authentic look at the current technological and structural transformation of the automotive industry.
“Connecting Car Competence” – the event organiser Wolfsburg AG brought together key players from the industry
As the organiser behind the IZB, Wolfsburg AG yet again brought together a mix of OEMs, top managers and representatives from Volkswagen, supplier companies, interested industry experts and the press at the event in October 2022, giving them the opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences in person using both tried-and-tested and new and digital formats.
“Above all the increase in electrification and digitalisation is now giving new supplier companies and partners the chance to join the automotive value chain. As a result, a stronger network needs to be established from the development stage right through to the after-sales processes”, declares Wendelin Göbel, Spokesman of the Board of Wolfsburg AG. “We have explored this transformation within the industry and offered new opportunities for an exchange of ideas and experiences. The consistently positive response confirms our decision to continue to focus on this approach.” The companies Wolfsburg AG and Messe Berlin will continue their cooperation when organising the IZB 2024.
In the run-up to this year’s event, many supplier companies already used the opportunity to present their innovations, including 26 world premieres, online. At the trade fair, the Software Marketplace in Hall 1 celebrated its own premiere by offering visitors a setting for casual conversation with exhibitors representing the new key topics of the IZB. The first and second days of the trade fair additionally featured the IZB-Livestage as a hybrid event, which hosted 35 exciting talks, presentations and panel discussions by and with 50 top-class speakers.
More international than ever before with exhibitors from 37 nations
This year’s IZB also celebrated an increase in terms of its internationality, welcoming exhibitors from 37 different nations. Overall, around 40 percent of the exhibiting companies came from locations outside of Germany, with Italy and Spain as the largest guest nations. Exhibitors from Australia, Greece, Romania and Serbia attended the IZB for the first time.
“Classic” suppliers are focusing on sustainability and “green” products
The IZB continues to represent the entire value chain of the automotive industry. Alongside the key topics of Electrification and Digitalisation, exhibitors showed that there is still a huge amount of potential for innovation in the fields of Metal and Powertrain, as well as Chemical Products and Plastics. In these fields, sustainability, “green” products and logistics are also important topics from a long-term perspective.
Caption: The IZB organiser Wolfsburg AG and the IZB patrons represented the 11th International Suppliers Fair 2022 in Wolfsburg: (from left) Josef Schulze Sutthoff, Head of the IZB at Wolfsburg AG, IZB patrons Murat Aksel, Chief Purchasing Officer of the Volkswagen Group, and Dennis Weilmann, Mayor of the City of Wolfsburg, and Wendelin Göbel, Spokesman of the Board of Wolfsburg AG
Copyright: Wolfsburg AG / Matthias Leitzke