Due to the ongoing travel restrictions and other fundamental changes caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Mesago Messe Frankfurt has decided to hold the SPS 2020 in an all-virtual format. The virtual platform SPS Connect will go live on the same day the on-site exhibition was scheduled to begin: 24 November 2020. 
“We’re very disappointed to have to cancel this year’s SPS event in Nuremberg,” says Martin Roschkowski, President of Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH. “Early this summer, all signs were pointing in the right direction and we were all but certain that the exhibition would go ahead in November. The safety and hygiene concept we had put together at the time was well received and developed further by many people involved in the SPS. For us, it was another example of how well the SPS community works together, and our sincere thanks go out to all those who pitched in.”
The main reasons behind the event’s cancellation include the serious concerns many participants had expressed with regard to the very different surrounding conditions at hand and the well-being of their employees. The strict hygiene and social distancing rules that have been established, the travel restrictions in place, and the economic uncertainty resulting from the pandemic have made it clear that it would not be possible to hold the high-quality exhibition SPS attendees have come to expect. “The SPS is known for facilitating in-depth technical discussions and valuable conversations among its visitors and exhibitors,” Sylke Schulz-Metzner, Vice President SPS points out. “Unfortunately, we don’t see a real chance to make this happen on-site as we normally would at the moment.”
The organizer of the event, Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH, is already in the final stages of implementing a virtual setting that will give the SPS exhibitors and attendees the opportunity to talk about the latest developments and trends in automation technology online.
