Final Report Material Vision 2007

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The third Material Vision – Materials for Product Development, Design and Architecture, International Trade Fair and Conference – ended on 23 November 2007 with a slight increase in the number of visitors. On the two days of the fair, 2,034 product developers, architects and designers from 27 countries came to the 'Forum' of Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre to find out about the range of modern materials and materials technologies (2005: 1,950 visitors). Material Vision is organised by Messe Frankfurt in cooperation with the German Design Council (Rat für Formgebung).

After Germany, the top five visitor nations at Material Vision were The Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Great Britain and Austria. Many exhibitors praised the increased level of visitor professionalism and internationality, as well as the great interest shown by the industry, architects and designers.

This was the first time that Material Vision had been held as part of 'nanotech+material week frankfurt' (in Frankfurt am Main from 20 to 23 November 2007), which was opened by Hesse's Minister of Economics, Alois Rhiel, and Uwe Behm, Member of the Board of Management of Messe Frankfurt. Both expressed their conviction that the ceremony marked the beginning of a highly successful international event for nano and material technologies in Frankfurt am Main.

Held under the heading 'nanotech+material week frankfurt', Material Vision, 'Nanotechnologieforum Hessen', Nanosolutions and the Chemical Nanotechnology Talks provided a central platform for manufacturers, developers and potential users of new materials and nanotechnology. A combined ticket enabled visitors to attend both trade fairs, Material Vision and Nanosolutions, an option that many took advantage of. "Moving Nanosolutions from Cologne to Frankfurt was the right decision", confirmed Christoph Rénevier, General Manager of G+J Expomedia and organiser of Nanosolutions.

Rounding off the presentations by 60 manufacturers on 2, 500 square metres (gross) of exhibition space was the Material Vision Conference on 22 November. The programme, which attracted 130 participants, was distinguished by numerous top speakers including Tobias Adami, Project Manager, Hannes Wettstein, Zurich, Ville Kokkonen, R&D Manager, Artek, Helsinki, designer Damian O'Sullivan, Rotterdam, Leif Huff, Head of the Consumer Experience Design Department, IDEO, Munich, and designer, author and lecturer for product design, Nicola Stattmann, Frankfurt am Main. British materials expert Chris Lefteri chaired the conference.

Also extremely popular were the lectures held in the Exhibitor Forum on new materials and specific applications in the fields of product development, design and architecture. The lectures at the new Exhibitor Forum were given by companies such as 3M Deutschland, Evonik Degussa, Ticona, Robatex and Schreiner VarioLight.

Another highlight was the presentation of the Design Plus Award. Altogether, 30 products distinguished by a combination of innovative materials, good design and intelligent functionality were selected for the Design Plus Award at Material Vision. The winners came from Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, The Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium. A total of 175 entries were submitted from 20 countries. This was the second time that the Design Plus competition had been held on the occasion of Material Vision. As previously, it was organised by the German Design Council.

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