The sustainability theme at Underhållsmässan 2024 was a big hit!

Significant increases in both visitors and exhibitors – and three fully booked conferences. The Swedish Maintenance Fair’s thematic focus on sustainability and smart solutions for a sustainable industry generated a huge response.
– It feels like we hit the nail on the head, says Anders Persson, business manager for the Maintenance Fair.

After four intense days, Underhållsmässan, Europe’s leading meeting place for industrial maintenance and safety, closed on Friday 15 March.

This year’s fair attracted 312 exhibitors, a significant increase on the previous edition in 2022 (250 exhibitors). The trend was the same on the visitor side: 9,470 visits were recorded this year, an increase of almost 30 per cent!

Anders Persson interprets this as a growing belief in the future of the industry in a situation where there are more and more signs that an economic upturn is in sight. But mainly that discussions and solutions around industrial maintenance and industrial safety have a very important role in the transition to more sustainable production.

– Exhibitors have generally been very positive. Many testify to rewarding business conversations and really strong results. Even halfway through the fair, some had already recouped their investment, which is fantastic!

In planning for the fair, exhibitors were asked about their biggest challenges.

– The answers we received were unequivocal: the most important thing was the transition to sustainable production and finding the right skills to achieve this, Anders explains.

This led to the decision to make sustainability the main theme of the fair.

– We are here for the industry, so it was natural to raise these issues and create relevant content. Not least to attract visitors.

– Above all, we wanted to show that maintenance is an important part of sustainability: machines last longer, safer operation, lower energy consumption, higher product quality, a safer workplace, etc.

As well as the sustainability theme being reflected on almost every stand, visitors also had the chance to immerse themselves in three conferences, in parallel with the fair:

Maintenance Strategy, with a focus on how effective maintenance strategies contribute to increased efficiency, profitability and sustainability; Additive Intelligence 4.0, a conference for those who want to explore and capitalise on the potential of additive manufacturing; and Safety Officer Days on personal protection and industrial safety.

– The interest was beyond expectations, all conferences were fully booked, Anders says.

– In general, we have received a very good response to this year’s fair. Many exhibitors have already booked space for the next fair, which will take place on 10-13 March 2026. We are also adding, as an important element in the event, a focus on the vision for zero fatal workplace accidents.

This is what exhibitors thought of the 2024 Maintenance Fair:

John Öhrvall, Nordic Service Manager, SKF:
“We asked the following question on a big sign on our stand: Do you really need a new warehouse? This gave rise to many fruitful conversations, where we had to explain why we recycle bearings. The idea is that we want to capitalise on the value that already exists. We repair bearings that are not worn out. They are guaranteed to be as good as a new one. The customer saves money, the lead time is shorter and, most importantly, we help save the environment and increase sustainability. We met with a lot of interest at the fair.”

Torleif Cumléus, Head of Technical Sales, Swedol:
“A fantastic fair! We have had a huge amount of activity on the stand and received several hundred leads. This is very good, even better than at the fairs before the pandemic. This year’s visitors showed clear interest and had more concrete questions about our offerings, ranging from protection and safety to welding and smart service, where we can help optimise the customer’s efficiency.”

Karin Holst, Sales and Marketing Director, Amexci:
“This was the first time for us at the Maintenance Fair. We offer additive manufacturing and supply 3D printed parts. We wanted to show the benefits of this approach to the maintenance sector, for example in terms of making spare parts on demand. It’s good for sustainability, material waste is reduced, and lead times are shortened. On the stand, we showed heat exchangers printed from metal powder. Nothing is wasted during production. We had a steady stream of curious visitors to the stand.”

Tony Isaksson, CEO, NORD Drivsystem
“We demonstrated the significant economic and environmental benefits of our energy-saving electric motors. By upgrading from an IE3 motor, which is the standard in the industry today, to the new generation of IE5 motors, you can reduce electricity consumption by more than 40 per cent. We have had a good number of visitors and received many interesting leads. We will exhibit again in 2026.”

Josefin Eklund, Maintenance Engineer, Volvo Cars
“Our ambition at the fair was to recruit staff for our new battery factory in Torslanda, which will start production in the autumn of 2025. A total of 465 workers will be employed, of which 85 in the completely new maintenance organisation that will be built up. Lots of interested people came to our stand, both young and old, and wanted to know more. So we have high hopes of finding competent employees.”

Jill Eriksson, sales & marketing, Momentum Industrial
“For us, being able to meet all our customers, from Kiruna to Malmö, in person, is invaluable. At this year’s fair, we focused on sustainable industrial components and services. We were completely busy on the stand and had many good discussions, on everything from reducing CO2 emissions to safety issues. We work with partnerships and our broad expertise on the service side means that the customer can get the most out of the high-quality products we sell. We are very satisfied!”

Want to know more?

Contact Anders Persson, Business Manager for the Maintenance Fair at the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre, Tel +46 (0)31-708 85 53.
More information: www.underhall.se