A press conference held earlier this month in Frankfurt, originally planned as a preview to METAV 2020 reloaded, became the launchpad for METAV digital which will take place from 23 to 26 March 2021.

Dr Wilfried Schäfer (pictured), executive director of the German Machine Tool Builders' Association (VDW), said: “If anything good has come out of this difficult time, it is the stimulation of creativity.

“Out of concern for our exhibitors, who need certainty for their planning, and bearing in mind the health of all those involved, we made the decision to cancel METAV 2020 reloaded as a face-to-face get-together and to replace it with a purely digital event

"Given the stubbornly high infection figures issued by the Robert Koch Institute, and the fact that Messe Düsseldorf has cancelled all events in the first quarter of 2021, this was the only sensible option.”

The virtual METAV digital next March will consist of a Virtual Exhibition, Intelligent Matchmaking and Web Sessions.

Mr Schafer concluded: “We believe that METAV digital offers a number of great opportunities – especially given the current market requirements and the situation of many companies that now have to plan their marketing budgets very carefully to ensure they obtain the maximum benefit.

“Hybrid trade fairs are the future. METAV digital will continue as a complement to the face-to-face event in the future.”

The hybrid concept is to be adopted from METAV 2022, which is scheduled to run from 8 to 12 March 2022 in conjunction with Messe Düsseldorf.