Startup platform at GrindingHub for market development
"The Startup Hub has already provided the perfect stage for our presentations twice," emphasizes Florian Hänni, Managing Director of the Swiss mechanical engineering company G-Elements. Both in 2022 and two years ago, the joint booth at GrindingHub provided excellent access to the grinding technology community. Most recently, G-Elements unveiled its all-new Omnia G-300 cylindrical grinding machine there, which, unlike conventional models, is vertically oriented and offers a number of advantages. "Both trade show appearances have helped us make numerous contacts and generate a lot of interest," Hänni emphasizes. The Startup Hub is a great resource, especially for smaller companies and newcomers. "The organizer handles all the logistics, and the overall package is also very competitively priced thanks to government subsidies for German exhibitors." G-Elements will once again be exhibiting at GrindingHub this year, though this time not at a shared booth but at its own booth.
From May 5 to 8, the leading trade fair in Stuttgart will once again be the focal point of the industry. More than 430 exhibitors from 28 countries have confirmed their participation at GrindingHub. From startups to global corporations, companies – particularly from Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and China – are showcasing trends and innovative highlights. In this respect, the trade show offers a particularly exciting setting, especially for young companies. The offer from the organizer, VDW (German Machine Tool Builders' Association), to support these startups with a joint booth and thereby facilitate their entry into the industry’s most important marketplace is also in line with current trends among startups. According to the German Startups Association, 2025 was a record year: 3,568 newly founded companies – 29 percent more than the previous year – marked a new high. "This demonstrates the courage and dynamism of German entrepreneurship,” says Vice Chair Dr. Kati Ernst. "Startups are driving the German economy forward, even in a challenging environment. This is where the companies of the future are born."
According to the Startup Association, these companies bring new technologies and business models not only to specialized niches but to the entire economy. The RKW Competence Center also views startups as drivers of new technologies and challengers to existing economic structures. The VDW shares the same view in the machine tool industry and supports young companies in gaining a foothold in the "international hub for grinding technology and superfinishing". Young companies are also showcasing their work to industry professionals at the "Innovation made in Germany" exhibition area, which is directly adjacent to the Startup Hub. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) provides support in this area through a wide range of services and by covering some of the costs.
Comprehensive support for first-time exhibitors
No matter where they are located at the booth, young exhibitors can expect a comprehensive service package. This ranges from booth construction and promotional materials to various organizational support, including the delivery of beverages and snacks, as well as booth cleaning and overnight security. In addition, there are free admission tickets for customers and contacts, as well as a speaking slot at the forum. All of this is made possible thanks to support from the VDW or the BMWE. This full-service offering is a great help, especially for smaller businesses. This is also true for Vibrocut, a startup founded in 2023 in Chemnitz, which is exhibiting at GrindingHub for the first time this year. "Our presence there is significantly more cost-effective than having our own booth, and we also benefit from the reduced organizational burden associated with setup, infrastructure, and logistics," explains Dr. Oliver Georgi, CEO of Vibrocut. With this help, you can focus entirely on preparing the content.
Unique ultrasonic system for grinding brittle and hard materials
"We see this as an excellent opportunity to showcase our technology to a highly specialized audience in the grinding industry and thereby demonstrate concrete solutions to existing challenges," says Georgi, describing the goal of participating in the trade show. The prospects for achieving the goal of being perceived as a reliable technology partner look promising. The company, which now has twelve employees and emerged from the Fraunhofer IWU research community and research into ultrasonic-assisted machining, is presenting the Vibrocut Ultrasonic at GrindingHub – a technology of great interest to the industry. This is the first retrofittable ultrasonic system designed for machining brittle and hard materials. The primary focus is on grinding quartz glass, as well as technical ceramics such as glass ceramics, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, aluminum oxide, and sapphire, as well as marble and granite.
"With our solution, we were able to establish a unique position on the market right from the start," Georgi emphasizes. "Thanks to a high ultrasonic power output of up to 1,000 watts, our system is the most powerful one to date. Furthermore, thanks to an integrated control system with real-time monitoring, we can say that this is the most precise and safest ultrasonic system currently available." Reducing feed forces and friction has also led to a significant increase in speeds and, consequently, in productivity. Other benefits include increased tool life thanks to improved surface quality and greater process reliability through sensor monitoring of the grinding process. All of this results in cost savings for the customer, especially since the new technology reduces waste and rework. "That’s what we want to demonstrate at GrindingHub, and, if possible, initiate concrete projects and win contracts," says Georgi, outlining the goal of their first appearance at the Stuttgart trade fair center.
Innovative extraction principle leads to improved contaminant removal and greater efficiency
Dr. Florian Wirth also sees the Startup Hub as a good opportunity to introduce himself to the professional community. In his first appearance at GrindingHub, he hopes to make promising contacts with potential customers and possibly secure his first orders. Through his company, Wirth Engineering, based in Eging am See, he has developed a principle for improving the design of exhaust systems in machine tools and grinding machines in particular and has filed a patent for it. This involves the use of larger air intake and exhaust elements that are partially permeable, such as flame-retardant filters or perforated metal sheets. To achieve this, their permeability must be appropriately designed using simulations. The goal is to achieve much more efficient extraction, leading to faster removal of aerosols and other pollutants. "This new extraction design is unique on the market," explains Wirth. "This also results in greater energy efficiency, and the manufacturing costs of the machines can be reduced by using a smaller exhaust fan."
In addition, Wirth Engineering presents the design and optimization of cooling lubricant nozzles for grinding using multiphase flow simulations. An optimized supply of cooling lubricant makes it possible to speed up the grinding process and thus carry it out more cost-effectively. At the same time, this results in improved quality, as there is less grinding burn. In addition, the flow-optimized nozzles result in lower power consumption. Since, ultimately, less coolant and/or lower pressure are required overall, smaller coolant pumps can be used, which in turn reduces the machine’s total manufacturing costs. There’s no better place than GrindingHub for this topic or for the redesigned extraction system for grinding machines. "Because that’s exactly where the companies are represented that stand to benefit significantly from this," Wirth is convinced.
Digital Walter preserves valuable expert knowledge
Rimon Technologies is also looking forward to the trade show in May. The Swiss company, which has been in business for five years, has already gained experience at GrindingHub and is participating for the second time with a solution that has now been significantly enhanced. The highlight of the presentation is the Digital Walter knowledge capturing system. Behind this lies an AI-powered solution for capturing, organizing, and delivering expert knowledge. "Virtually every company has employees with broad experience and extensive expertise," explains Michael Blickenstorfer, co-founder of Rimon Technologies and CSO responsible for sales and business development. "However, this knowledge is often not adequately documented and, for example, cannot be retrieved later in the event of staff turnover or retirements." Another key point is that employees should be able to access the necessary expertise whenever they need it.
The solution is called "Digital Walter", a video-based knowledge capturing system that relies primarily on body cameras. Knowledge is therefore captured right where it is generated – at the workplace. The solution developed by the Swiss startup enables information to be organized in a way that allows users to search through videos using voice commands. Existing documents can be linked to videos, creating a central reference resource for machine operators, service technicians, or end customers. The solution developed by Rimon Technologies enables rapid knowledge transfer, for example, to new employees and service personnel, and helps reduce errors, downtime, and familiarization periods. It also supports training and the standardization of processes. In addition, this innovation also provides support to end customers, both during the commissioning and ongoing operation of a new machine, and as part of a digital service offering from machine manufacturers. "We offer a practical solution developed by the industry for the industry, which is precisely why we are looking forward to GrindingHub with confidence,” Blickenstorfer emphasizes. The positive feedback from the exhibiting startups shows that GrindingHub creates a space for solutions that strike a chord with the industry. A concept that works just as well for young companies as it does for the organizer, VDW.
Startups at the GrindingHub 2026 Startup Hub:
Metubiq (Germany)
Neuron Sw (Czech Republic)
Rimon Technologies (Switzerland)
Tetralytix (Germany)
Vibrocut (Germany)
Wirth (Germany)
Zibatec (Germany)
(Length: 10,996 characters, including spaces)
Author: Christian Mannigel, specialist journalist, Handeloh
Our technical press release is also available for download: Download technical press release (PDF, 370 KB)
back to overview
