Does the wind industry still need trade fairs?
A look back at WindEnergy 2026
After four days at WindEnergy Hamburg, we are asking ourselves a question that, at first glance, seems entirely justified: does the wind industry still even need large trade fairs today? Our answer after this week: yes – but differently than before.
Video calls replace many business trips. Product information is available online at any time. Digital presentations reach people even without a trade fair stand. One might therefore think that major industry trade fairs have seen their best days.
But WindEnergy Hamburg showed us something different this year. The role of such trade fairs is shifting: away from being purely a product showcase, and towards becoming a central meeting point for the industry.
Encounters that are hard to replace digitally
It was noticeable at our own stand as well. Our meeting spaces were practically occupied throughout the entire trade fair. Colleagues from different departments used the event — for scheduled appointments just as much as for spontaneous conversations.
It is precisely this mix that makes a trade fair worthwhile. Over the course of just a few days, you meet people for whom you would otherwise have needed many separate appointments. You bump into each other by chance in the corridor, strike up a spontaneous conversation, or discuss topics over a coffee that might not have had any space in the next video call. Encounters like these are difficult to replace digitally.
Between uncertainty and determination
In many conversations this year, a particular mood was noticeable: a mixture of uncertainty and determination. Political processes and the uncertainties surrounding the EEG and EnWG were present in many places. At the same time, we saw a great deal of willingness to keep going, to find solutions and to move projects forward together.
This sense of coming together was also visible in the photo campaign by Aktion Wind. Many people from the industry joined together there to send a message in support of future jobs and renewable energy.
This mutual support was also felt beyond such campaigns. Many conversations began with questions such as: “How are you doing at the moment?” or “How are you dealing with the current challenges?” In personal exchanges, you get a sense of which topics are affecting other companies, where experiences can be shared, and which questions are concerning the industry as a whole.
A sense of the industry
Perhaps that is precisely one of the important functions of trade fairs like this. They not only show what technologies, services and offerings are available. They also give a sense of how the industry is doing at the moment. And that sense is particularly important at a time when many of the framework conditions are changing and companies have to make decisions under uncertainty.
After four days at WindEnergy Hamburg, we are therefore taking a lot with us: new contacts, in-depth discussions, concrete points of connection – and the impression that personal meetings still play a major role for the wind industry.
So does the wind industry still need trade fairs?
In our view: yes. Not necessarily as a major product showcase. But as a place for meetings, relationships and the exchange of an industry that currently has quite a lot to discuss.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by to see us this week.
Further exciting events
Come and visit us at more events this year. We look forward to meeting you in person!