After a long journey, during which the FYER fair team (consisting of Andre, Helmuth, Thomas and me) prepared and dressed up professionally, we arrived at the fairground in Hannover.
The Hanover Fair (https://www.hannovermesse.de/) is the largest innovation goods fair of its kind and combines many different topics. Roughly speaking, all areas have one vision and goal: Industry 4.0 and thus digitalization in every department. In order to achieve this, a lot of genetic engineering, investment and new innovations are created.
At the beginning we were overwhelmed by the size of the fair in terms of exhibition space, but also by the number of exhibitors: from IoT, automobiles, robotics, to security, just to name the tip of the iceberg.
Our first point of contact was Siemens AG (https://siemens.com), which presented a great many interesting topics at its stand. There we got to know the security aspects and models behind such a company and it marked the start of our journey.
But since we soon realized that the Hannover Messe is huge and full of adventures to every corner, we split up to have more interesting exchanges and to make our hardware security module, the FYER HSM (https://fyer.tech/products/hardware-security-module/), known.
Andre and I quickly found our way to the fair and got to know many smaller companies personally at their stands. For example, SAMPL (https://sampl.fks.tuhh.de), which provides a platform for secure 3D printing.
We also met again with the BSI, the Federal Office for Security and Information Technology, with whom we had already made contact at secIT 2019 (FYER at secIT in Hannover) at the Hanover Fairgrounds. They recognized us again and were pleased about the contact with each other. We explained our FYER HSM in more detail and our project progress, made new contacts and said goodbye to each other amicably and with new contact persons. Helmuth and Thomas also visited the BSI stand again later to introduce themselves personally.
Robots scurried across the floor of the Hannover Messe in many places, cleaning the floor, handing out snacks or dancing. We had to be careful not to stumble over the electronic journeymen. Arriving undamaged at the Lufthansa stand (https://www.lufthansa.com), we were finally shown a supply chain and also thought about possible applications for the FYER HSM.
After an exciting night at various Booths events in the exhibition halls, where we talked to visitors and exhibitors in a relaxed atmosphere, day 2 of our visit to the fair began.
We split up again, only meeting again for dinner to exchange information and contacts.
Helmuth discovered many interesting international partners; here, the contact with the AHK (https://www.ahk.de/), the German Chambers of Commerce Abroad, was very helpful in terms of networking with us and other trade partners. Bosch (https://www.bosch.de/) and its subsidiaries were interesting contacts regarding our FYER hardware security module. DigiTrade (https://www.digittrade.de) gave us valuable information about certified hard disks and data protection.
I myself was on the road at countless booths to exchange information about block chain, quantum computing and security in various subject areas (from energy industry to robotics and VR), among others with Telekom AG (https://www.telekom.com).
In summary, it was a successful trade show with many interesting conversations, new contacts and ideas, possible partnerships and lots of fun. Next year we will not only be on the road for two days, but the whole week at the Hannover Messe.
Of course we can’t specifically mention every company we talked to or every presentation we attended, but I hope I gave you a little insight into our daily business at the fair.
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