Creating a spirit of optimism

Not every trade fair can act as a gauge for the industry – but bauma does every time. The world’s leading trade fair for construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines, construction vehicles and construction equipment was held from April 7 to 13 at the Munich exhibition center. In a time characterized by global challenges, bauma has impressively demonstrated what the industry is capable of. It was not only a stage for pioneering innovations and new partnerships – it also continued to be a key source of inspiration.

With around 600,000 visitors from more than 200 countries and 3,601 exhibitors from 57 nations, bauma 2025 proved to be a stable foundation and forward-looking platform in turbulent times. Stefan Rummel, CEO of Messe München, is delighted: “We hosted around 600,000 visitors from more than 200 countries and regions. bauma is the heartbeat of the industry and has once again shown how crucial exchange and personal encounters are for progress and global trade. The Munich exhibition center sends out a strong signal of confidence for the entire industry.”

Beating heart of the industry and topic leader

Many exhibitors confirmed that bauma sets the pace for the industry both in terms of content and emotion – especially with regard to sustainability and future topics. Erich Sennebogen, owner of Sennebogen, emphasizes the signal effect: “bauma 2025 showed a strong heart of the industry – with SENNEBOGEN representing its green core. We are delighted with the positive atmosphere in the sectors, which we hadn’t expected in this form. For this reason, bauma can be a positive stimulus for a revival in the construction industry, as well as in the material handling sectors, both in Germany and internationally.”

Holger Schulz, Managing Director at Zeppelin (CAT), also emphasizes the relevance of bauma as a leading trade fair and innovation platform: “The who’s who of the German, European and international construction and extraction industries meets at bauma. Once again, it demonstrated its status as a leading trade fair and proved to be the beating heart of the industry. The seven days of the fair are a pure adrenaline rush for us. For us, bauma is the best sales platform in the world. Sustainability – the sustainable operation of construction machinery and construction sites with the latest drive systems and energy storage solutions – remains an important topic. In addition, there is also the entire area of networked construction sites and networked construction machinery.”

A focus on topics of the future

Wolfgang Sochor, CEO of HAWE Hydraulik, likewise sees clear technological

trends confirmed: “bauma 2025 has impressively demonstrated that trends such as CO₂ reduction and alternative drives have established themselves in the industry.”

Steffen Günther, a member of the Board of Directors of Liebherr-International AG, adds: “At bauma, we showcased a number of important future topics, such as drive technology and autonomy. For us, bauma is much more than just a trade fair – it is the platform where the future of the industry is made tangible. My personal highlight was our bauma motto ‘Hands on the future’. For us, this is not just a phrase, but an attitude; one that was also well received by our customers.”

Business platform with a global impact

The event also emphasized the fact that bauma is not only a meeting place, but above all a driver of business. Robert Hauser, CEO of Doka, summarizes that “the joint trade fair appearance of Doka and other brands of our parent company was a complete success. The interest in our innovations and further developments was overwhelming. For us, bauma is the most important platform for advancing future topics. It brings the world of the construction industry together – from North America to Asia. Nowhere else do we have so many high-quality discussions with the most important customers worldwide in such a short time – we only get this at bauma! In short: it was the most successful bauma for us to date.”

Joachim Schmid, Managing Director of the VDMA Construction Machinery and Building Material Plants Association, adds: “The trade fair is a great success, and in some cases exceeds the business expectations of our member companies. The upcoming formation of a new government with the recently published coalition agreement and the expected investment packages are providing positive momentum, as is the trend to focus more strongly on the European market.”

International appeal and visitor quality

This year’s trade fair contacts were characterized not only by their quantity, but also quality – a fact that was particularly emphasized by international exhibitors. Toshiaki Ujiie, President and CEO of the Tadano Group, points out the role of bauma as a global platform, saying: “bauma offers the perfect stage to present our latest technologies and solutions to a global audience. It is an invaluable event that enables us to exchange ideas directly with our customers and industry experts.”

Mehmet Varlik, Managing Director of the SCHWING/Stetter Group, was also impressed by the response: “bauma 2025 surprised us with an extraordinary level of international public interest from the very first day of the trade fair.”

bauma recorded significant increases in visitor numbers, particularly those from Brazil, Portugal, Romania, the Netherlands, Turkey and Spain. The numbers from China also increased again compared to the top result at bauma 2019.

Together toward the future

In times of change, bauma shows that innovative strength is primarily the result of encounters, exchange and cooperation. Summing up, Alexander Fickers, CEO of Faymonville, says: “What an incredible week at bauma in Munich! Countless inspiring conversations with customers and partners from all over the world have made this event a true highlight. bauma once again reminded us: innovation thrives where people come together with vision, enthusiasm and drive.” The next bauma will be held from April 3-9, 2028, at the Munich trade fair.