Your Stage at GrindingHub 2026

Practical solutions showcase – Generate leads

The Forum at GrindingHub 2026 is designed to deliver real added value for visitors while at the same time offering exhibitors an effective platform to showcase their expertise and generate new contacts. Our goal is to shape the Forum deliberately differently from traditional presentation programs at trade fairs. The focus will be on real challenges from industrial practice and concrete solution approaches. In this way, we create clear added value for visitors and give companies the opportunity to demonstrate their expertise exactly where it has the greatest impact: in addressing the current challenges faced by users.

The Basic Principle Behind the Contributions

All contributions in the Forum follow a simple and effective structure:

Challenge → Solution approach → Practical takeaways

This means:

- What challenges are companies currently facing in production?
- What solution approaches are available?
- What concrete insights can visitors take away?

The focus is deliberately not on a classic product presentation, but on jointly examining real problems and possible solutions.

Of course, your own solution or product can and should also form part of the solution approach – ideally embedded in a practical perspective on the challenge.

Two Formats in the Forum

Practical Sessions (30 minutes))
Here, companies present concrete perspectives on industrial challenges.

Typical structure:

- Description of a current practical challenge
- possible solution approaches or technological perspectives
- concrete takeaways for users

These sessions offer an excellent opportunity to address leads in a targeted way and start conversations on an equal footing.

Co-Creation Workshops (60 minutes)
An interactive workshop takes place once per day.

Here, several exhibitors discuss a specific topic together with the audience and develop possible solution approaches. The results are then summarized in a white paper with recommendations for action.

These workshops create particularly intensive interaction between visitors and companies.

Focus on Leads and Concrete Conversations

A central goal of the Forum is to enable genuine conversations between visitors and exhibitors.

To achieve this, we are deliberately creating several opportunities:

  • Visitors will be actively invited during the Forum to explore the topics further

  • technical options will be available to generate leads directly within the Forum setting

  • interested visitors will be able to connect directly with the presenting companies

  • visitors will be explicitly encouraged to continue the conversation at the respective exhibition stand

Our goal is to create a situation in which visitors say after a presentation: “I would like to continue the conversation with this company now.”

The Most Important Success Factor: Your Active Invitation

GrindingHub will of course communicate and promote the Forum extensively.

Experience shows, however, that the highest visitor attendance is generated when participating companies actively invite people to their slots.

We therefore strongly recommend:

  • targeted invitations to customers and prospects

  • communication via newsletters, LinkedIn, and personal contacts

  • inviting people to a specific time slot in the Forum

For these invitations, we will provide you with marketing materials and communication templates.

When companies actively invite their target groups, exactly the conversations that create the greatest value at a trade fair begin to happen

What Makes Contributions Successful

The most successful Forum contributions are characterized by three things:

A clear problem

Start with a real challenge from practice – ideally a situation that many companies are familiar with.

A credible solution approach

Show which approaches can be used to overcome this challenge. Naturally, your own solution or technology can also play a role here.

Naturally, your own solution or technology can also play a role here.

Concrete takeaways

Visitors should be able to take away from your contribution:

- which approaches work
- which typical mistakes should be avoided
- which next steps may be useful

Support for Exhibitors

To help make your contribution as successful as possible, we are also offering two compact

Workshop 1

Presenting effectively in the Forum

Presenting effectively in the Forum A short presentation workshop showing how to structure your contribution clearly, understandably, and convincingly.

Workshop 2

Challenge → Solution approach → Takeaways

In this workshop, we will show concretely

- how a Forum contribution should ideally be structured
- how to present an industrial challenge in a clear and understandable way
- how to develop a convincing solution approach from it

You will receive a clear structure as well as the opportunity to ask questions and prepare your contribution in a targeted way.

everal dates will be offered for both workshops. 

TOPIC 01

PROCESS STABILITY & QUALITY IN GRINDING

SESSION/DESCRIPTION
1  Why do grinding processes run stably – but not reproducibly?Practical Session:
Typical causes of process fluctuations and experience from industrial applications.
2  Which process and quality data really help?Practical Session:
Decision logic for data use in the grinding process – with a focus on actionable approaches.
3  Retaining grinding know-how – reducing dependenciesPractical Session:
Practical expertise, standardization, and knowledge management in day-to-day production.
4  Co-Creation Workshop:
Systematically improving process stability in grinding		Interactive format:
Together with 3–4 exhibitors and the audience, typical causes of process instability will be analyzed and possible solution approaches developed.
5  New requirements for surfaces and tolerances – where is precision heading?Practical Session:
Developments in automotive, aerospace, and medical technology.

TOPIC 02

AUTOMATION IN GRINDING

SESSION/DESCRIPTION
1  Automation in grinding – where do companies really stand today?Practical Session:
Overview of typical automation approaches in practice.
2  Which tasks must experts continue to perform themselves?Practical Session:
Clarifying roles between people, machines, and the organization.
3  Assistance systems & Connected Worker – what works today?Practical Session:
Reality check of productive approaches.
4  Evaluating automation economically – typical misconceptionsPractical Session:
Business-case logic and investment decisions.
5  Co-Creation Workshop:
Automation in grinding – where does it make sense to start?		Interactive format:
Together with exhibitors and the audience, realistic entry strategies for automation projects will be developed.
6  Flexible automation – how can you remain adaptable?Practical Session:
Strategies for high-mix, low-volume production.
7  Retrofit vs. new investment – decision logicPractical Session:
Criteria, risks, and practical examples.
8  What really relieves the workload – and what does not?Practical Session:
Consolidation of the day's insights and transfer into practice.

TOPIC 03

DATA, DIGITALIZATION & AI IN GRINDING

SESSION/DESCRIPTION
1  Digitalization in grinding – reality instead of buzzwordsPractical Session:
Where do companies really stand today?
2  Data & interfaces – why integration often remains the bottleneckPractical Session:
Technical and organizational challenges.
3  Standards and platforms – what does interoperability realistically deliver?Practical Session:
Practical perspective on the benefits.
4  AI in the grinding process – where does realistic value emerge?Practical Session:
Delineation of productive applications and pilot projects.
5  Co-Creation Workshop:
From machine data to AI – how do you get started in the grinding process?		Interactive format:
Together with exhibitors, a practical example will be used to develop an entry point for data-based process improvement.
6  What data does AI really need?Practical Session:
Minimum requirements and typical data pitfalls.
7  Why do digital and AI projects fail in everyday operations?Practical Session:
Typical stumbling blocks in implementation.
8  What is the next realistic step?Practical Session:
Transfer into industrial practice.

TOPIC 04

COST EFFICIENCY & FUTURE OF GRINDING TECHNOLOGY

SESSION/DESCRIPTION
1  Quick wins vs. major investments – what really pays off?Practical Session:
Prioritizing improvement measures.
2  Co-Creation Workshop:
Economical grinding operations – where are the biggest levers?		Interactive format:
Exhibitors and the audience will jointly identify the most important productivity and efficiency levers in the grinding process.

Submission of a Contribution

The agenda topics are intended as inspiration.

If your company would like to contribute to one of the topics – or to a related aspect – we would be pleased to receive your proposal.


Please send us the following briefly:

- Title of your presentation
- Which challenge are you addressing?
- Which solution approach would you like to present?
- Which takeaways should visitors gain?

Based on this, we will coordinate together how your contribution can best be integrated into the program.

We look forward to shaping together with you a Forum that is equally valuable for visitors and exhibitors alike.

Contact

For registrations, questions, or any other enquiries regarding the forum, please feel free to contact:

Yaying Zhang
Project Manager Fairs and Events
Tel.: +49 69 756081-65 |
Mobile:  +49 170 477 0712
E-Mail: y.zhang(at)vdw.de