Joint Power
The world is in motion – thus the regional, national, and European powers have to close ranks. That was the motto, under which this year’s W3+ Fair was held in Wetzlar.
On March 19th and 20th, the community of experts in optics, photonics, electronics, and mechanics gathered again on the occasion of the High-Tech Fair & Conference for Enabling Technologies in Wetzlar. The fair hall was well filled with roughly 200 exhibitors, partners, and contributors, including OptoTech, Hensoldt, Jenoptik, Märzhäuser, IMT, but also Meopta from the Czech Republic, TNO from the Netherlands, or Universal Photonics from the USA. This year, more than 2,000 trade visitors came to the Buderus Arena – that is an increase of about 5 percent compared to the previous year.
Trends and future topics at the “en-tech.talks”
With top-rate speakers, the talk panel program at the accompanying conference “en-tech.talks” was initially in the hands of the big players from the region: Carl Zeiss SMT, PVA Tepla, KLA, the University of Applied Sciences Mittelhessen (THM) as well as the Justus Liebig University Gießen demonstrated formidably how Central Hesse positioned itself as the key region of the semiconductor industry and as research and development location. A look ahead into the “Future of Laser Development”, taken among others by Focused Energy from Darmstadt – one of Germany’s pioneers in laser fusion – enjoyed great popularity. Topics concerning AI also received a lot of attention: Whether in the conference on AI hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry or in the panels – proven experts presented valuable knowhow and best practices for various business areas.
This year, the key application aspects of the fair were geared to the traditionally strong industrial sectors of the region. Many members of the automotive transformation network TeamMit followed the invitation and took an expertly guided tour over the fair. The same held true for the user industry Healthcare/LifeScience: The thematic block of the same name about the opportunities in this promising market was covered by choice industry giants such as Abott and CSL Behring. The first meeting of the specialist panel “Safety & Defense”, established by Spectaris, attracted wide interest: With Zeiss, Hensoldt, and the German Armed Forces, major players of this industrial branch were represented at the fair.
The right setting, where new collective ideas can evolve
Numerous partners of the W3+ Fair were again strongly represented and lent the fair relevance and topicality – with the Wetzlar Network leading the way, which celebrated its 15th anniversary at the fair as part of the opening program. Gold Partners EPIC as well as OptecNet Deutschland, Spectaris, IVAM, AMA, and many more were also actively involved in the fair this year. Besides a joint stand from Jena/Thuringia, there was also the joint appearance of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry IHK Hessen Innovation, the Association of German Engineers VDI Hessen and the regional management of Central Hesse.
Project Director Jörg Brück seemed more than content: “I am still thrilled how much positive feedback we’ve got. Our fair provides the right setting for everything that high-tech companies need for their future: Easy preparation, uncomplicated networking, good subject-specific impulses, and a very positive atmosphere in which new collective ideas can evolve. We have many great plans yet with this concept in Jena and Wetzlar, but also at other locations.”
www.w3-fair.com
Upcoming Events
W3+ Fair Jena 2025
Sparkassen-Arena Jena
24.09.–25.09.2025
W3+ Fair Wetzlar 2026
Buderus Arena Wetzlar
18.03.–19.03.2026