Global Industrie 2026

At the beginning of 2026, when my colleague and I were thinking about where to go this year to gain inspiration and establish new business contacts, several international European trade fairs were on the table – for example, we can mention engineering fairs in Bilbao, Spain, or in Hanover and Nuremberg, Germany. Czech companies naturally tend to collaborate most with Germany as our largest trading partner, which is why German trade fairs are traditionally heavily attended by Czech companies. However, this year our considerations were more directed towards broadening our general outlook beyond the regions we are already familiar with. For this reason, we chose the French trade fair Global Industrie as the target of this year's trip. This event may be less known in our region, but it is certainly no less interesting. The four-day event traditionally alternates between Paris and Lyon, with this year's, the eighth edition, taking place at the Parc des Expositions exhibition center in Paris.

At first glance, it might seem that this is not a large trade fair – the map on the official website showed the occupancy of only two out of six pavilions, which, for us accustomed to much larger exhibition spaces at Bauma, Agritechnica, and the MSV in Brno, raised slight doubts.

However, reality exceeded our expectations. Both pavilions are indeed enormous, and the total number of 2,300 exhibitors was even about 50% higher than at the well-known MSV in Brno. According to the organizers, over 60,000 visitors attended this year's event over four days, which was clearly noticeable inside the pavilions. What was unusual was that entry to the trade fair was free for the entire duration (you just needed to register online in advance). We must also highlight the well-developed trade fair mobile app, which eliminates the need to carry paper maps or exhibitor catalogs.

Global Industrie 2026 was focused especially on robotics, digitalization, and the use of AI in industry. However, traditional sectors were also represented (linear technology, machining, forming, energy, industrial fluids and lubricants, etc.). A large space was also devoted to start-ups, which presented themselves in a separate “start-up village” at small booths. From the hydraulics sector, the manufacturer MOOG was present, at whose booth we discussed points of contact and differences compared to the hydraulic components offered by Bosch Rexroth. Rexroth itself did not have its own booth at the fair, but was represented by a palletizing robot exhibit in an interactive section dedicated to modern trends in warehousing and logistics, as well as booths of its French certified partners.

Other discussions with potential new partners were also interesting and inspiring – they concerned, for example, new IT tools to simplify and clarify our internal company processes, trends in hydraulic fluids, or sensors with possible use in projects in mobile off-highway technology. The visit to the Czech national booth was very beneficial, opening up possibilities for future participation in foreign trade fairs as an exhibitor with the support of the Czech Trade agency. A pleasing finding was the participation of several Czech and Slovak companies, not only within the framework of the Czech national exhibition but also in the form of individual booths.

The fair also included a lecture section in areas called „Booster“ and „La Grande Scène“. Although some topics and guests were interesting for us, the benefit of these moderated discussions for non-French-speaking visitors was minimal, mainly due to the poor quality of machine simultaneous translation into English. 

Overall, however, we consider the visit to be very useful and beneficial. We took away many impressions, several new business contacts, and plenty of topics for further discussions, whether internally or with our customers.