GIFA is the jewel in the crown of the foundry conference season.

Held every four years, it draws thousands of the industry’s brightest minds, all of whom converge on Dusseldorf to debate and showcase new technology and processes.

2023 was no different and the MAT Foundry Group were delighted to send 40 staff members to Germany for a memorable four days.

About GIFA

Established in 1956, GIFA runs alongside METEC, NEWCAST and THERMPROCESS, making for a quartet of leading trade fairs.

Attendees flock to the events to gain valuable insight into the likes of industry 4.0 technology, die casting, equipment, operating supplies, raw materials and more.

New ways of working are shared courtesy of lectures, seminars and symposiums staged across a rewarding week. In the case of GIFA, all of these take place in the famous Dusseldorf Exhibition Centre.

Unsurprisingly, this year’s hot topics included both AI and sustainability. Much thought was given to how the manufacturing sector can harness the former whilst furthering companies’ respective green initiatives. It’s now apparent these are megatrends that are here to stay.

GIFA Attendance

GIFA also brings about plenty in the way of networking opportunities. Given attendance this is inevitable.

Organisers were delighted to attract 63,300 visitors from 114 countries across the four events held this June.

A breakdown of attendees revealed 58% to be ‘decision makers’, clearly placing great stock in what they were shown.

And they were shown a lot. 2,200 exhibitors were present from 56 different nations.

While economic uncertainty will impinge on future outlay, 78% of visitors are reported to be planning what’s called ‘concrete investment’ within the next two years. MAT Foundry are among that number.

This points to a bright future for the sector, which is evolving alongside new tech.

GIFA will always be the best place to uncover that.

Did you know?

The MAT Foundry Group is committed to reducing its carbon footprint.

All 14 of our sites have adopted eco-friendly measures within the last decade, helping us to reduce our impact on the environment and work towards a cleaner future for the manufacturing industry as a whole.

From tree planting events to sand reclamation, we are leading the way when it comes to green initiatives and are on course to increase our use of renewable energy by 90% come 2040.

Visit our Sustainability page to learn more.