Control 2024: Vibrant, World-Class Meeting of the Expert Community

Top quality, strong relevance and high levels of expertise were the hallmarks of the 36th Control, which was held successfully from the 23rd to the 26th of April, 2024. 475 exhibitors came to Stuttgart and presented their top offerings in the fields of measuring, testing and evaluation technology. The international trade fair for quality assurance was distinguished by a clear thematic focus and an extremely lively exchange amongst experts.

Quality assurance procedures are essential for all companies and will have a significant impact on their future – this was confirmed once again at Control 2024. For four days, quality assurance experts engaged in an intensive dialogue at the utmost professional level. “We experienced a highly vibrant and exciting Control in 2024,” concludes project manager Fabian Krüger of trade fair promoters P. E. Schall. “475 exhibitors demonstrated what modern quality assurance is all about and how manufacturing companies can optimise their production processes in a future-oriented fashion on more than 25,000 square metres of floor space in halls 8 and 10.” 38% of the exhibitors journeyed to Stuttgart from outside of Germany – mostly from China, Switzerland, Italy and the USA. Numerous interested expert visitors took advantage of an intensive exchange of expertise in order to address their specific day-to-day business concerns, thus contributing to the trade fair’s overall atmosphere. “A highly positive mood prevailed at Control 2024. The aisles were already full on the morning of the trade fair’s first day, and the atmosphere was excellent on the following days as well. We had the pleasure of welcoming a total of 13,149 expert visitors in Stuttgart,” sums up Krüger.

Werth Messtechnik is represented at Control by tradition. Managing director Dr. Ralf Christoph emphasised the lively visitor interest once again this year: “Large numbers of visitors – despite difficult economic conditions – testify to the unbroken interest in modern solutions for quality assurance. Control remains the most important event for our industry sector. At the international level as well, there’s no comparable event anywhere.”
Together with his team, David Skuratowicz, managing director of a3Ds, demonstrated a robotic measuring cell for large components with a ten-ton rotary table. Here too, there was plenty of interest: “This is the most important trade fair for us as an exhibitor. This year we’re exhibiting only at Control, because this is where we establish highly qualified contacts. The people we meet here have well-founded expertise in measuring technology. You don’t have to explain measuring technology to anyone here – you just dive straight into specialised technical discussions. For us, the success rate in terms of business is higher at Control than at other trade fairs.”
Emma Hars, marketing manager at Metrologic Group, stated very concisely: “For us, Control is the most important trade fair of the year.” Jens Düffert, managing shareholder of Witte, also offered a positive trade fair summary: “We were very surprised by the strong feedback we received at Control 2024. Although some of the major players didn’t exhibit, lots of visitors came to our booth and took advantage of the opportunity to familiarise themselves with products offered by smaller companies. From this perspective, the trade fair was invaluable for us!”

Dr. Volkmar Prill, managing director of Struers from Willich, Germany, was also delighted with the high levels of visitor interest, which exceeded his expectations. He also stressed the indispensable role of personal contact at the trade fair: “Control is always a great opportunity for meeting up with our customers in person, which is something we greatly value.”
“Once again at Control 2024, we too recognised the fact that personal interaction at the exhibits and direct discussion with relevant contact persons are extremely important,” says Fabian Krüger. “Despite the usefulness of virtualisation in many situations, there’s simply no substitute for a tangible demonstration and straightforward explanation directly at the object under consideration. This was also reflected at the well-attended presentation forum, which was almost fully booked out every day. Here as well, the participants valued the opportunity of making personal contact.”

The special show for “Contactless Measuring Technology” held by Fraunhofer for the 18th time this year as part of Control showcased the latest developments and pioneering technologies from its various institutes in the field of contactless measuring and testing technology – including, for example, test specimen analysis methods with thermography, precision optical measuring systems and inline 3D inspection in battery cell production. “The special show was billed as a marketplace for innovations, and that’s exactly what it was,” confirms Fabian Krüger. Dr. Christopher Taudt, group manager for surface measuring technology at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS, expressed his satisfaction with the professional exchange of ideas at the trade fair: “Here at Control, we encounter well-informed expert visitors who engage with us in detailed technical discussions.”
The expert visitors praised the efficient trade fair experience: minimal legwork, face-to-face dialogues and future-oriented solution perspectives. “It’s becoming increasingly apparent just how important QA is for all industries – not only as an isolated topic, but rather as an indispensable aspect of production,” summarises Bettina Schall, managing director of trade fair promoters P. E. Schall. “It’s about safety, the conservation of resources, efficiency and, ultimately, profitability, competitiveness and future viability. These are existential challenges for all companies,” says Bettina Schall in summarising the importance of QA. It’s an integral part of all processes and extends from planning and design, right on up to production, the rendering of services and customer support.
There’s a clear-cut trend in the field of quality assurance: inspection processes are becoming faster and more efficient, they take place inline and they’re integrated into a diverse range of workflows. Artificial intelligence systems can provide support, in particular with regard to the acceleration of measuring processes, the evaluation of measurement data and increased degrees of automation. This is a key aspect for production companies on their way to zero-defects production. The trend is towards full automation with closed-loop processes. “Control has focussed attention on a holistic approach to quality procedures and their importance for a more sustainable future,” concludes Bettina Schall. “We would like to thank all Control exhibitors and expert visitors for their contributions, and we look forward to welcoming the expert community again next year!”

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Schall has developed successful business platforms with internationally recognised trade fairs for quality assurance (Control), optical technologies, components and systems (Optatec), stamping technology (Stanztec), automation in production and assembly (Motek), bonding technology (Bondexpo), plastics processing (Fakuma), sheet metal working (Blechexpo) and joining technology (Schweisstec). This has given rise to entirely new markets in various sectors, whose protagonists are distinguished by tremendous innovative strength, comprehensive systems competence and practical application solutions.