Bridgr Insights
Hannover Messe Quebec Minister BRIDGR Fitzgibbon

Hannover Messe: 1st Day summary – Quebec’s Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon | EPlan | Fraunhofer | Festo

The Hanover Mass in Germany, better known as “Hannover Messe”, an international reference trade show for the industry sector that welcomes thousands of global industry players each year, has taken place this year, starting today, Sunday, March 31, 2019.

BRIDGR is part of Quebec’s Delegation

On this occasion, I joined the Quebec delegation, for a week packed with meetings and discoveries of cutting-edge technologies in the industrial world.

From the first day, the delegation was divided into small groups following each’s interests, to have personalized visits. I would like to now mention the great work done by the organizers as well as their personalized accompaniment.

Our group was led by Alexandre Genet of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal.

First Impressions

First impression and I was not disappointed with the expectation that I had: it’s GREAT! More than 20 hangars, about the size of 11 soccer fields (Football for Europeans).

Before joining the visits organized by the delegation, I went to Hangar 16: Automation and Robotization. And that’s where we understand why we call it The Home of Industrial Pioneers.

Being surrounded by robots, it almost feels like the future, between those who move cars and those who dance, it is a true anthology of technology.

We arrive, with my assigned group, at the Quebec pavilion, numerous companies are present. Special mention to VKS, one of the solutions for industrialists, present on our BRIDGR platform, but also to CRIQ one of our great partners! I am also discovering Adfast, one of three 4.0 windows in Quebec (we will soon try to offer you a podcast with them) as well as the new strategy, very promising of REAI.

As a small observation during my exploration, many visitors seem to be lost in the middle of all these stands. One of the things we heard before we came in was, “Prepare your targets, and focus on these, it’s impossible to see everything.” This is what I do by targeting suppliers who would be interesting to have on our BRIDGR platform.

2pm: EPlan Software and Services

At 14h, I rejoin the group for a guided tour of the EPlan software and services pavilion, a German company that develops and markets an engineering software platform (specialized in electricity) allowing for the accelerating of the product design processes, and reducing engineering costs. For more info, you can listen to the short interview below.

2:45pm: Fraunhofer

Subsequently, we head to the Fraunhofer pavilion, one of the largest industrial research centre in Germany, with more than 25,000 employees. The representative presents various technologies, many very impressive innovative products and services, including many in virtual reality. For more info, you can listen to the short interview below.

3:30pm: Festo in presence of Minister P. Fitzgibbon

We continue on Festo’s stand, one of the largest equipment manufacturers in the world, which takes over half a pavilion. The entire Quebec delegation is invited to join the visit, and Minister P. Fitzgibbon is also part of it along with one of the groups. We discover Festo Didactic, an impressive training academy. For more info, you can listen to the short interview below.

I tested one of the virtual reality didactics’ tools, but they warned us that they were not ready to market the product, since virtual reality training is not yet accepted; much research remains to be done to improve it. We then went through the CP Factory, and several other products showcased on their booth.

End of day: Reception at the Quebec booth

Reception at the Quebec booth, where we find several people from across Canada, including Mr. Stéphane Dion, Canada’s Ambassador in Germany, and friends from Ontario including Jason Mayers, nGen’s President, Canada’s Super Cluster of Advanced Manufacturing.

After some networking time, the show closes tonight to let exhibitors and visitors finish their day, send the last emails and rest for the next day.


Amira Boutouchent

CEO & Co-founder of BRIDGR

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