VDW

Frankfurt – October 31, 2026 -- Orders at German machine tool makers rose 12% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, following a 15% gain in the first quarter and bringing the first-half increase to 14%, according to the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders' Association). Domestic orders climbed 16% and foreign orders 13%.

Bernhard Geis, head of economics and statistics at the VDW, said the trough is behind the industry and the upward trend is consolidating. He cautioned against an all-clear, however. The recovery starts from a low base, and project business still contributes substantially to growth, so a broad-based demand recovery can only be claimed to a limited extent.

Stuttgart – October 31, 2026 -- GrindingHub 2026 closed in Stuttgart with about 11,000 visitors and 462 exhibitors, and 37% of buying-influential attendees plan to invest within six months, organizer VDW said.

Visitor survey shows 82% involved in purchasing decisions

Visitors came from 59 countries, with Switzerland, Italy, France, Austria and Turkey the strongest represented. International attendees accounted for 38% of the total. Of those surveyed, 82% said they take part in purchasing and procurement decisions, and 37% of that group intend to invest in the next six months.

Dr. Markus Heering, Managing Director of VDW (German Machine Tool Builders' Association), said companies are investing in productivity, efficiency and future viability.

Stuttgart – – October 31, 2026 -- Foreign orders for grinding technology fell 51% in January and February 2026, even as GrindingHub opened in Stuttgart with 462 exhibitors from 28 countries. The trade fair is running against a weak demand backdrop for machine builders, tool makers and industrial users.

Foreign orders drop 51% while domestic orders rise 35%

Grinding technology orders declined by about 5% in 2025, with the sharpest losses in the domestic market. Production fell 19% last year and exports dropped 24%. The export ratio slid to roughly 76%, the lowest level in about six years.

The first two months of 2026 widened the gap between markets: foreign orders fell 51%, while domestic orders gained 35%.

Frankfurt am Main – October 31, 2026 -- The German Machine Tool Builders' Association (VDW) will launch NexGeM (Next Generation Metalworking), a new trade show on digital metalworking, as a co-located event of Hannover Messe from April 5 to 8, 2027.

VDW Managing Director Dr. Markus Heering said the move was overdue. Machine tools are embedded in the full digital industrial value chain, from planning to service, he said, yet connected machines receive too little attention outside a few specialist fairs.

NexGeM runs as a standalone event, not a scaled-down EMO Hannover

NexGeM is an independent show that links mechanical engineering with the IT and software sectors, which have so far exhibited largely separately. Because digitalization is its focus, it is not a classic machine tool fair and not a "small EMO Hannover," according to the organizers.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - March 23, 2026 - Manufacturing buyers and operations teams in northern Germany enter 2026 with a more concentrated venue for supplier discovery, cross-border networking and production planning as NORTEC runs in Hamburg from 3 to 5 February. The event is positioned as the first German trade fair of 2026 for manufacturers, and VDW frames it as an early indicator for the machine tool sector at a time when the manufacturing industry faces a challenging financial year.

NORTEC is marking its 20th year with a revised format for 2026. Messe Stuttgart says the show has been made more focused, with a compact three-day program and the full spectrum of production presented in Hall A4. The event brings together 175 national and international exhibitors and more than 40 program highlights, including panels and practical workshops, built with twelve network partners.