HANNOVER MESSE 2026 shows the way to the factory of the future with artificial intelligence and automation.
Driven by global competition, rising costs, and the impact of artificial intelligence, the industry is undergoing a historic transformation. HANNOVER MESSE 2026, taking place for the 79th time in Hannover from April 20-24, will showcase how companies can turn these challenges into opportunities. With a new thematic structure focusing on the defense sector, improved visitor guidance, expanded networking opportunities, and a strong focus on AI, the fair will provide exhibitors and visitors with a more value-driven and targeted experience.
Global competition, increasing cost pressures, and the accelerating impact of artificial intelligence (AI) are confronting the industry with an unprecedented transformation. In this transformation, manufacturing companies need a platform where they can showcase their innovations, exchange information, and highlight best practices. HANNOVER MESSE 2026 will address this need, concretely demonstrating how automation, digitalization, energy systems, and research can work together harmoniously to ensure competitiveness. In addition, one of the new dedicated areas highlighted at the fair will focus on production technologies for the defense industry. Participants in this dedicated area will showcase their specialized solutions that help defense industry manufacturers scale up production in the shortest possible time without compromising safety.
The fair reveals the roadmap to an automated, digital, and AI-focused factory.
Artificial intelligence will be a common theme across all areas of the fair. This will be supported by AI tours, masterclasses, forums, and networking events organized by HANNOVER MESSE.
Speaking at the HANNOVER MESSE Istanbul press conference, Basilios Triantafillos, Global Director of HANNOVER MESSE, said, “Exhibitors from the industry will be able to witness at HANNOVER MESSE how companies can achieve success in this rapid phase of industrial transformation. Senior executives from various sectors, from mechanical engineering to the automotive and electrical industries, will find a wide range of solutions supporting efficiency, sustainability, resilience, and competitiveness at the fair. In this context, HANNOVER MESSE will showcase the roadmap to the digital and AI-focused factory based on automation. More than 3,000 companies from the electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, digital, and energy sectors will exhibit their solutions for today’s and tomorrow’s production and energy supply, where AI plays a significant role.”
Triantafillos stated that artificial intelligence is the defining technological driving force of today and offers new opportunities to industrial companies of all sizes, adding, “The fair will provide exhibitors with hands-on AI solutions and direct insights into
“We are opening new opportunities for our companies on a global scale.”
Stating that they bear the responsibility of being the official representative of Deutsche Messe AG, one of the world’s oldest and most influential trade fair organizers, in Turkey, Ms. Belkıs Ertaşkın, Deputy General Manager of Hannover Fairs Turkey, said that they will continue to bring Turkey together with global platforms in the fields of industry, technology, energy, and industrial transformation. Ertaşkın also stated that they organize Turkish participation in trade fairs organized by Deutsche Messe AG in different countries around the world, adding, “By combining Deutsche Messe’s international expertise, organizational strength, and vision with the production power and entrepreneurial spirit of Turkish industry, we are opening new doors of opportunity for our companies on a global scale.”
Ertaşkın noted that Deutsche Messe, which organizes sector-specific trade fairs in many countries around the world such as Turkey, China, the USA, Mexico, Singapore, Italy, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Germany, brings together thousands of professionals every year, and added, “Two new fairs have been added to the portfolio of HANNOVER MESSE, one of Deutsche Messe’s strongest brands, under the Industrial Transformation brand. In this context, the HANNOVER MESSE portfolio continues to steadily strengthen its presence in different geographies with Industrial Transformation Africa and Industrial Transformation Saudi Arabia. WIN EURASIA, which we successfully implemented in Turkey, stands out as one of the strongest examples of this approach.”
Over 100 Turkish companies will participate in HANNOVER MESSE 2026
Stating that HANNOVER MESSE, which will be held for the 79th time this year, has a long history and shapes the direction and vision of the industrial world, Ertaşkın said: “HANNOVER MESSE is one of the most important platforms that provides interaction on a global scale. We believe that it also offers important opportunities for Turkish industry. In this context, HANNOVER MESSE 2026 offers our companies access to new markets, the development of international collaborations, and the opportunity to showcase high value-added production on a global scale.” “It is a strategic platform in terms of establishing a reputation and gaining a stronger position in global supply chains. With the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) national participation organization, we will be participating in the fair with over 100 companies from Turkey. We will clearly demonstrate the production capabilities, engineering infrastructure, and innovation capacity of Turkish industry at the international level at Hannover Mese.”
“Hanover Mese is one of the most prestigious fairs in the world.”
Mehmet Develioğlu, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO), pointed out that they have been participating in Hannover Mese for 33 years. Stating that they are continuing their preparations strongly to have a strong presence at the fair this year as well, Develioğlu said, “Hanover Mese is one of the most prestigious fairs in the world.” “It also continues to be a platform showcasing the Turkish business world and our production power,” he said.
The common theme of the fair is artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence will stand out as a common theme across all areas of the fair. This will be supported by AI tours, masterclasses, forums, and networking events organized by HANNOVER MESSE. Participating companies will include global technology giants such as AWS, Microsoft, SAP, Schneider Electric, and Siemens, as well as technology leaders from the SME segment such as Beckhoff, Festo, HARTING, ifm, LAPP, Phoenix Contact, Rittal, Schaeffler, and SEW. Leading research institutes such as Fraunhofer and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) will outline the industrial solutions of tomorrow, while more than 200 start-ups from various technology fields will showcase their revolutionary innovations.
New thematic structure and optimized visitor guidance
One of the most important innovations is the redesigned thematic structure and new hall layout. This arrangement provides more direct guidance for visitors, while also offering exhibiting companies... This will also provide greater visibility for the right target audience. In addition to the new hall layout, HANNOVER MESSE 2026 will offer new information sharing and networking approaches that further enhance content depth. This will allow experts and users to exchange ideas in a practical way about specific challenges and their solutions.
The exhibition area is divided into three sections.
Automation and digitalization are positioned closer together, both in physical spaces and in terms of content, reflecting the current industrial trend of increasingly intertwined software and hardware. It offers a broad perspective, from AI-controlled robots to data-driven production, from digitized supply chains to smart factories. The new thematic structure will consist of three main exhibition areas: Automation & Digitalization, Energy & Industrial Infrastructure, and Research & Technology Transfer.
Through talks and panels, the most important issues of today are addressed.
The Center Stage, bringing together leading figures from industry, politics, and science, will address key issues such as “How can we transition to carbon-neutral production?”, “The role of artificial intelligence in industrial value creation?” through opening speeches and panels. The event will address some of today’s most important questions, such as “What role does intelligence play?” and “How can Europe and its partners secure their own technological superiority?”. Companies from various sectors, primarily automotive, food, furniture, and chemicals, will showcase their factories, demonstrating how they have designed and successfully implemented automation, digitalization, and energy efficiency in their production processes.
New Dedicated Area: “Defense Manufacturing Area”
The new “Defense Manufacturing Dedicated Area,” which meets the security-critical production requirements of modern technology, will also demonstrate how it achieves high scalability. While companies in the defense industry face similar challenges to other industrial sectors, the new geopolitical era requires them to rapidly increase their capacity in a very short time. This new dedicated area will focus on how companies can achieve this without compromising security and quality.
Partner Country Brazil: A Strategically Important Growth Partner
Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America, will be at the heart of HANNOVER MESSE 2026 as the partner country. Its rapid growth from green energy and raw materials will be highlighted. Brazil, offering vast potential from its burgeoning industrial market, is home to over 1,500 German companies, accounting for approximately 10 percent of its industrial production. Underlining that working with Brazil is more than just a trade partnership, Triantafillos stated, “In times of global tension, reliable partners become even more important. Hannover Messe will make a difference as the ideal platform to strengthen these ties.”
