So that's it, Holz-Handwerk 2022

It was the first time we had seen a real trade show again, big, in color and live. In advance, we wondered how this would turn out. The timing of the event was also very challenging, with half of Germany on summer vacation and the customers' order books full. But now the week of the trade fair is over, the batteries are to some extent recharged, and we can start to wonder:

So, what was it like then?

In advance, we already had a few question marks in our heads. For example, it was quite unusual to be able to reserve hotel rooms without having to pay for everything in advance. The trade fair Tuesday also fitted into this blues, as it made you think that it was going to be a quiet week. The following days, however, turned the tide thoroughly. It was nowhere near what it was before Covid, but it did get more crowded than expected.

There was a real trade show feeling and the machines went full throttle. The traces were good to see in the evening, chip wherever you look. The only downer was a hall without proper air conditioning, despite the fact that the machines in Hall 10 were not just decoration, as in some other halls.

The discussions with potential customers, existing customers and partners were very good and confirmed what we are doing. In particular, the live use cases for dividing, shaping and edge banding made it very tangible what the advantage of an ecosystem like tapio is. During the week, we often heard "Now I get it". Self-critically, we have to say that in 2017 our concept was still very visionary and lacked tangible use cases. But in 2022, this gap was closed significantly. Now it could be experienced directly at the trade show booth, not faked, but live, as

• a machine digitally recognizes the tool and adjusts
• Edge tapes and edge tape management talk to the machine
• the cutting is optimized, thanks to the interaction of tool, machine and plate.

In addition to the customer interest, it also showed that tangible use cases spark ideas at partners. We had some great conversations for future, new use cases. So it will be exciting to see what new things emerge in the near future.

tapio was certainly not as prominent on the surface as it was in 2018, but that wasn't necessary because the use cases speak for themselves and we as tapio have always said that we want to help partners shape their digital future. So we let the partners and their use cases speak for themselves.

Our three take-aways as a conclusion

1. Digitalization is becoming tangible and comprehensible for everyone
2. Anyone who only talks about technology has not understood digitization
3. Only as an ecosystem will it be round, because each customer has its own diversity that a silo cannot represent