Thursday events at the International Industry Fair included a number of conferences on toolmaking and industrial maintenance. Side events involved performances by the Dunking Devils acrobatic team, who were invited to the fair by the company Daihen Varstroj.
Toolmaking Day was organised by TECOS – Slovenian Tool and Die Development Centre. The director of the centre, dr. Aleš Hančič, first addressed everyone who was present: “I’m really glad to see you here again in person after a three-year break. May today be a day of new ideas, new knowledge and, most of all, new connections,” he added. The speakers included a number of experts who presented best practice examples and spoke about various toolmaking methods, challenges and innovations. The keynote speaker was dr. Pascal Bibow, Head of the Plastics Innovation Center 4.0 at the Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) from RWTH Aachen University. He spoke about challenges in smart production systems and about a holistic approach towards Smart Factory Infrastructures. Afterwards, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia presented the public tenders from the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the European Cohesion Policy.
According to Dr. Hančič, “The purpose of Toolmaking Day is, first and foremost, to socialise. Toolmakers, the users of tools and the entire industrial profession came together to exchange ideas, meet new contacts and create new business opportunities.” He continued, “Organisation together with the International Industry Fair offers new business opportunities. I am certain a number of visitors come to visit the fair and attend the Toolmaking Day as a bonus. Above all, our visitors have the opportunity to visit the fair afterwards and see everything that was presented here in person.”
Maintenance Day was remarkable, as well. It was opened by Executive Director of Celjski sejem, mag. Robert Otorepec. “In the last two years, such events were virtually impossible. We were in lockdown and it was a difficult time for all of us. On the other hand, we came to the fortunate realisation that no internet, no epidemic can ruin the fact that people want to come together in person and that in person, the effect is much greater than if we attend a lecture or presentation via electronic tools.” The day continued with the conference part. Through five interesting lectures, contemporary views on industrial maintenance were presented.
