MECT 2023 Report: 77,225 visitors in 4 days

MECHATRONICS TECHNOLOGY JAPAN 2023 (MECT2023) was held for four days from October 18 to 21 at Port Messe Nagoya in Nagoya City. Contrary to the stagnant atmosphere in the market, where the future outlook is uncertain due to various factors, the exhibition attracted a large number of visitors throughout the four-day period. The number of visitors reached 77,225 over the four days, and the exhibitors’ PR activities became more enthusiastic with each passing day. In this final report, SEISANZAI Japan summarizes the new products released at MECT2023, the seminars held, and the exhibits that attracted the most attention. 

Big turnouts in all three halls  

Hall 3 attracted the largest number of exhibitors among the three pavilions.

One of the highlights of MECT2023 was the opening of the new Exhibition Hall 1 and the use of the entire building, including the existing Exhibition Halls 2 and 3, making it the largest ever. 490 companies and organizations exhibited, the largest number in the history of MECT, with 2,101 booths. The total exhibition area of the three halls increased by 6,000 square meters from 34,000 square meters to 40,000 square meters. Although there is some distance between the new Hall 1 and the other halls, the passageway connects directly to the front of the Main Hall, allowing for a smooth flow of traffic. 

The queues before the doors opened were also moderately distributed among three locations: the front gate of the Main Hall, the north gate next to Exhibition Hall 2, and the gate of the newly added Exhibition Hall 1. Visitors went to the nearest gate according to the purpose of their visit. 

There was a large queue at the gate of the new Hall 1 before the opening of the exhibition.

The number of visitors was 18,084 on the first day, the 18th; 20,108 on the second day, the 19th; 24,731 on the third day, the 20th; and 14,302 on the last day, Saturday, the 21st. A total of 77,225 people attended the event. In the past, MECT has tended to have the highest attendance on Saturdays, but the previous MECT2021 also had the highest attendance on Fridays. It is believed that the number of weekday visitors has increased due to changes in work styles in Japan and the like. 

There were many situations where the aisles around the booths where workshops and new product demonstrations were held were overflowing with visitors. 

New products released one after another

MECT has a well-established pattern of being the largest machine tool show in Japan in a given year. Since many machine users come to the show, many manufacturers work on developing new products to be announced at MECT, and many new products were introduced at MECT2023. 

Sugino Machine’s new “JCC-MULTI”

Sugino Machine (Namekawa City, Toyama Prefecture; President: Yoshiaki Sugino) took the lead in announcing new products to the press just before the opening ceremony. The company announced the release of the “JCC-MULTI” parts washer. Designed to wash parts for electric vehicles, the JCC-MULTI focuses on reducing environmental impact. Compared with conventional machines, it reduces carbon dioxide emissions during washing by 75.1% and during drying by 52.2%. The actual operation of the machine was demonstrated at the booth. 

NIDEC OKK’s “VB-X350” exhibited at the exhibition for the first time

NIDEC OKK (Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture; President: Haruhiko Niitani) and NIDEC MACHINE TOOL (Ritto City, Shiga Prefecture; President: Haruhiko Niitani) exhibited as “One Nidec” by removing the walls of their adjacent booths. For the first time, the company exhibited the “VB-X350” 5-axis vertical machining center (MC), which was unveiled before MECT 2023. The person in charge said, “We want visitors to know that we are focusing on the development of 5-axis MCs. 

Visitors stopped to take a look at NACHI’s new product presentation.

NACHI-FUJIKOSHI, which exhibited in Hall 2, introduced its “Burrless Series” of cutting tools for the first time. The series includes drills, taps and end mills with special shapes that suppress burrs. Many visitors stopped by the booth to listen to the explanation of the Burrless Series, which is scheduled to go on sale in December. 

Makino‘s new 5-axis vertical MC “DA500” premiered with the smallest footprint in its class and the largest workpiece size in the same class. As with its predecessor, the “DA300 Automation Package,” Makino has sought to improve productivity per area in addition to productivity per hour in part machining.

Makino’s “DA500” attracted a lot of interest from visitors.

The company’s booth attracted a large number of visitors as soon as it opened. The person in charge commented, “This is the machine our customers have been waiting for. The response from visitors was positive”.

The overall trend at this year’s MECT was an even greater number of exhibitors offering proposals for automation using robots and other equipment. DMG MORI, the largest machine tool builder, exhibited its “NZ DUE” mill turn center for the first time at an exhibition in Japan, and also proposed automation with a demonstration system combining its “NTX1000” multi-axis machines with the “MATRIS Light” robot system. 

Okuma promoted its “ARMROID” robot system.

DMG MORI had a large stage in the center of its booth for presentations.

DAIDO attracted visitors with a variety of robots on display.

Yamazaki Mazak was one of the most popular exhibitors for many visitors.

Visitors also flocked to the Concept Zone and seminars

At MECT2023, special exhibits and seminars were organized on the organizers’ initiative to help visitors gather information. The Concept Zones, which feature special exhibits and seminars based on a trend theme, have become a MECT tradition. 

A special seminar in the Concept Zone attracted a large standing audience.

The MECT2023 Concept Zone was titled “Machining Extraordinaire – Explore tips for your business” and featured machining demonstrations and sample workpieces from three companies with advanced machining technologies that have previously been featured at SEISANZAI Japan, too. A special seminar entitled “CEOs of Fast Growing Companies Share the Secret of Dramatic Business Growth” was held on the third day of the show, attracting many visitors and filling the Concept Zone to standing room only. The seminar was presented by three CEOs of fast-growing companies that have achieved rapid growth in a short period of time since their inception. They shared their strengths, secrets to success, and strategies for the future. 

The automotive seminars were filled to capacity.

Understanding the mindset of automotive and aerospace manufacturers can be of great help to their suppliers, such as parts, die and mold manufacturers, as they consider the direction of capital investment and technology development. 

The three main themes of the MECT2023 seminar were automotive, aircraft and automation. Although this was a regular event, it was almost fully booked, indicating the high level of interest from visitors. Interest in the automotive industry, the largest user base for machine tools, was particularly high. The seminars held on the first day with Yoshihisa Miyabe, Plant General Manager of Toyota Motor’s Motomachi Plant, and Tamiyo Wada, Plant Manager of Nissan Motor’s Yokohama Plant, were both filled to capacity.  

MECT2023, which attracted a large number of visitors during the four days of the exhibition, has come to an end, but the exhibitors are now moving on to the next step so that the seeds they have planted will bear fruit in the form of “orders”. The next exhibition, MECT2025, is already underway and is scheduled for October 22-25, 2025.