*Editor's note: This article was originally published April 10 and updated April 14 with new information.
bauma 2025, considered the leading international trade show for the construction and mining equipment industries, kicked off on April 7. And it is set to be one of the largest editions yet.
Final figures provided by show organizer Messe München indicate there were 3,601 exhibitors from 57 nations showcasing their latest technologies and services for the construction and mining industries. They covered a total exhibition space of 614,000 sq. m of indoor and outdoor space, the equivalent of 86 soccer pitches according to Messe München.
These figures are similar to when I last attended the event in 2019. In preparation for that edition, 9,000 sq. m of space had been added to the show grounds to accommodate 3,684 exhibitors. The global landscape, and tradeshows with it, changed in 2020 and the years immediately after it due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this, the last edition of bauma in 2022 was held in October instead of its usual April timeframe and welcomed 3,200 exhibitors. Still an impressive number, but lower than the previous edition.
The increase in exhibitors for bauma 2025 helps demonstrate the tradeshow world is getting back on its feet though. This was first evident to me at CONEXPO-CON/AGG and IFPE 2023 which was one of the busiest I've experienced yet, and other events I've been to since then have been equally as busy, making it feel like there has been a return to 'normalcy' in the tradeshow world.
This edition of bauma demonstrated the returned appetite for in-person events. Attendees were lined up waiting to enter the show each day, as can be seen in the picture below, while booths and aisles were filled in each hall I've walked through as well. Messe München reports that about 600,000 visitors from 200 countries and regions attended bauma 2025, which is more in line with the 2019 edition that welcomed 627,603; the 2022 show saw just over 495,000 visitors.
Many exhibitors I spoke to noted how busy the show was throughout the week, with one indicating its probably the best bauma their company has experienced in all the years they have been attending.
Among the many highlights of attending bauma is seeing all of the newest construction and mining equipment in person. The outdoor lots contain some of the most impressive machines with large mining shovels and towering cranes among the equipment on display.
Inside the many halls spread across the exhibition grounds is even more equipment of various sizes as well as an array of componentry utilized in these machines, including the latest developments in hydraulics.
As has been the trend at many shows in recent years, discussions with exhibitors at bauma have centered around the major industry trends of electrification, automation and digitalization — which were also key themes for this year's show.
Hydraulics companies showed many technological developments in line with these themes, which includes the pairing of hydraulic and electric technologies for use in battery-electric powered machines and increased integration of sensors and electronic controls to create more intelligent systems.
Another key theme for hydraulics companies at this year's show was the creation of more efficient components and systems to aid both electric- and diesel-powered machines.
By improving the efficiency of hydraulics, less energy is consumed. This lowers fuel use, and thus costs, as well as emissions while in battery-electric machines it leads to extended run times between charges.
All of this helps equipment owners to be more productive, another key theme that has been running throughout the show. Many hydraulics companies told me OEMs and their customers are looking for more productivity from their machines as well as the components utilized them.
This is being achieved in various ways such as development of lighter weight hydraulic components so machine payloads can be increased. More durable designs through new materials and integreation of components are also helping to achieve this. In addition, the increasing incorporation of sensors into hydraulic components and systems is enabling performance monitoring so machine owners can be more proactive about performing maintenance and thus reduce costly unplanned downtime.
A lot of new technologies were introduced at bauma 2025, too many to list here, so be sure to stay tuned in the coming weeks for more content highlighting these and other information collected during the show.
Did you attend bauma 2025 as well? What was your favorite thing you saw? Didn't attend the show but have insights on trends you're seeing in the industry? Feel free to reach out and let me know your thoughts at [email protected].
