The Engel live e-symposium 2021 at the end of June was a massive success, attracting several thousand participants. In addition to an online conference, business talks and virtual plant tours, participants took the opportunity to exchange ideas in person in one-on-one meetings and explore the virtual showroom. The virtual platform made it possible for customers, partners and interested parties from all global regions to attend safely despite the ongoing pandemic. All of the keynotes and business talks are available for download in the media library from now on. And the virtual showroom will remain open.
For the first time, Engel's traditional in-house show took place as a virtual event and with a very long reach. The participants came from nearly 90 countries. In addition to Germany and Austria, Mexico, the USA and Turkey were particularly well represented. "We have received a huge amount of positive feedback from our customers from all regions of the world," says Ute Panzer, Vice President Marketing and Communications at Engel. "This not only confirms the massive interest in new technologies, but also shows how great the desire to exchange ideas and network is, even if everyone is looking forward to attending face-to-face events again soon. In the form of the virtual symposium, we have developed a top-class event for a very efficient and compact transfer of knowledge."
Conference, plant tours, and plenty of scope for networking
How can the new possibilities of digitalisation be converted into opportunities? Which innovative technologies have the potential to increase competitiveness? And how can you reconcile sustainability and cost effectiveness? The experts from Engel and other companies provided answers to today's burning questions in keynotes and business talks. Speakers answered questions from attendees in Q&A sessions after the presentations, and conference topics were also discussed further in one-on-one meetings. "Even at a virtual event, Engel's focus is on a personal exchange," says Panzer.
One in two participants of the Engel live e-symposium took part in at least one virtual tour of the Austrian Engel plants and discovered many new things. Engel had invested heavily in the modernisation of its plants and in its customer technology centres in recent years, and also the new company exhibition at headquarters in Schwertberg had not yet been able to welcome many visitors due to travel restrictions. The symposium has now brought the exhibition to the customers' homes. All live presentations during the three-day event came from the exhibition.
Engel in Asia, the pioneer for hybrid events of the future
Complementing the virtual offering, Engel in Asia invited customers and interested parties to explore its plants and subsidiaries. While taking hygiene rules into account, pandemic laws now again allow face-to-face events in Asia. This meant that Engel Machinery Shanghai staff were personally able to welcome 120 guests. Engel had prepared an individual program for the guests featuring live lectures, keynotes from Austria, and live machine exhibits. Another 200 further participants from China joined via the internet.
In this way, the Engel Symposium 2021 in Shanghai provides an insight into what Engel's hybrid events planned for the future will look like. "We are combining the best of both worlds," Panzer emphasises. "With this combination of a live event and a virtual platform, we are addressing the requirements of injection moulders in the respective regions in an even more targeted way than was previously possible. Regardless of location, time zone or travel restrictions, all customers can take part in a very efficient and safe way."
Symposium in seven languages for the first time
For the first time, all of the Engel Symposium's content was offered in seven languages. For participants from America, the conference program did not start until in the afternoon European time.
People who were unable to attend the Engel live e-symposium 2021 can still register at any time to explore the machine showroom, take a virtual tour of the plant with their Engel contact person, and view all of the keynotes and business talks in the media library. "That's yet another advantage of the new virtual capabilities," says Ute Panzer. "25 machine exhibits, keynotes, business talks and plant tours are available to our customers, partners and interested parties 24x7, 365 days a year."
