Advanced Manufacturing Madrid 2026 gets underway at IFEMA: over 600 companies showcase the future of industry
- With more than 140 speakers and 13,000 professionals expected, the fair turns IFEMA’s halls 2, 4 and 6 into the leading showcase of manufacturing technology until tomorrow.
- Iberdrola, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, EBRO Motors, Airbus and Talgo share their strategies at a congress opened by María FG, former Google and Meta executive, with a keynote on decision-making in uncertain environments.
- The opening day features a dedicated Defence block, a market already being explored by one in four companies in the sector, together with the Advanced Manufacturing Awards ceremony.
Madrid, 4 November 2026. Seven in ten industrial professionals rank inflation and rising costs among their main challenges, according to the study The New Industrial Order: Costs, Geopolitics and Smart Transformation in Spain, produced by Advanced Manufacturing Madrid. Against that backdrop, Spain’s leading manufacturing industry fair, organised by Easyfairs, opened its doors today at IFEMA Madrid’s halls 2, 4 and 6 with an offering designed to help companies decide more confidently where to invest: technology in action, specialist suppliers and the experience of those already transforming their plants.
Recognised this year by the Secretary of State for Trade as an international trade fair, its 18th edition occupies 33,600 m² net exhibition space, 5% more than in 2025, and brings together more than 600 exhibiting companies, over a hundred of them for the first time. By tomorrow, 5 November, more than 13,000 professionals are expected.
“We are opening this edition at a time when industry needs to decide with more precision than ever where it invests. That’s why we wanted Advanced Manufacturing Madrid to be a place to compare: to see technology at work, talk to those developing it and listen to companies that have already faced the same challenges. Being recognised as an international trade fair, and the more than 100 companies exhibiting here for the first time this year, confirm that the sector needs this meeting point,” says Oscar Barranco, Managing Director of Easyfairs Iberia.
Executives sharing how they are transforming their companies
More than 140 speakers are taking part across the Bosch & JLL Auditorium, the IFS Tech Forum and the Ágora, in a programme built around real-world case studies. Iberdrola, Grupo Delaviuda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, EBRO Motors, GMV, Airbus, Sener and Talgo, among other companies, explain how they are tackling technological and organisational change.
Automotive is one of the congress’s recurring themes. Mercedes-Benz discusses with KUKA, Robotekin and Aldakin how to move from industrial need to executed project; Nissan, alongside CT Ingenieros and Rockwell Automation, examines the competitive challenges facing European industry; and EBRO Motors Group EV, GMV and AutoRevista address industrial cybersecurity in the automotive sector.
Leadership has its own space across three Keynote Sessions. María FG, former Google and Meta executive with more than 25 years’ experience in Silicon Valley, opens the series today at 11.45am in the Auditorium with “Velocity: The Operating System for Uncertainty”. At 1.00pm, Purita Correas takes over, connecting artificial intelligence and human talent in Industry 5.0, and tomorrow at 12.30pm, Antoni Fernández will explain why continuous improvement programmes tend to fizzle out in their third year.
Artificial intelligence: from intention to operation
The same study reveals that 31% of companies still do not apply AI systematically. For those looking to get started, the IFS Tech Forum offers hands-on workshops with IFS and success stories in digitalisation and industrial transformation. José Castellano, of Krause Automation, will bring Physical AI into industrial automation, while Javier González Conde and Alma Ortuño Gómez, of Quantum Mads and Telefónica, will showcase the potential of quantum computing in operations. This venue also hosts today’s closing event for the European project RESINSURF, driven by AIAS and CIDETEC, which is developing more sustainable metal coatings for surface treatment.
Defence: a market on the radar of one in four companies
24% of companies surveyed are exploring defence as a growth route, and the fair is dedicating a specific afternoon session to it in the Ágora. Airbus Defence, Eurecat, CLUSTERMAV and 2M Engineering will discuss lightweight materials and dual-use technologies; Ellas Vuelan Alto will moderate a session with ISDEFE, CESN and ITP Aero on opportunities for Spanish industry, and the day will close with the panel “From Prototype to Success”, moderated by Grupo EDEFA (Defensa.com), featuring Airbus DS-TADT, General Dynamics European Land Systems – Santa Bárbara Sistemas, TSD Technology & Security Developments, Fossa Systems, SENER and Miriad Electronics.
Materials will take centre stage tomorrow in the same venue with AEMAC’s 7th Composite Materials Conference, dedicated to advances in composites and their new applications.
Technology you can see, touch and compare
In the exhibition area, the metal sector has a new layout with three spaces – Metal Working, Machine Tool and Welding – plus a new Industrial Subcontracting zone connecting manufacturers with specialist suppliers. Automation & Digitalisation, Composites Engineering, Surface Treatment, Additive Manufacturing and Test & Quality Control complete a journey through the entire industrial value chain.
To help visitors find their way, the Innovation Tours offer one-hour guided walks around the stands: today, on connected industry and robotics (10.30am), sustainability and the circular economy (12.30pm) and composites (4.00pm); tomorrow, on innovation in design and production (12.30pm). The Lives! Demo Machinery sessions, meanwhile, show machinery in action, from automated bending by TRUMPF and AMADA to robotic welding by Fronius and ROBOTECO, and fully electric tube bending by VLB-Tec, with a tour tomorrow at 10.30am in Hall 4.
Seven categories recognising the best in manufacturing
The opening day will close at 5.00pm in the Auditorium with the 5th Advanced Manufacturing Awards ceremony, hosted by Jota Abril and preceded by a round table with the judging panel. With 73 finalist entries, the awards recognise projects in smart factory, product design, sustainability, automation and quality control, with entries including those from CustomLab – Zefrict AM, Acerinox and Universidad Rey Juan Carlos.
“What happens over these two days goes far beyond what you see on the stands. This is where suppliers connect, projects get off the ground, and solutions are shared that are later applied on the factory floor. That is the real value of Advanced Manufacturing Madrid for Spanish industry,” concludes Oscar Barranco.
About Easyfairs
Easyfairs organises events that act as meeting points for communities wanting to visit the future.
We currently organise 110 in-person events across 16 countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Algeria) and manage eight exhibition venues in Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden (Antwerp, Ghent, Mechelen-Brussels North, Namur, Gorinchem, Hardenberg, Malmö and Stockholm).
We are passionate about making life easier for our customers and increasing the return on their investment and their time through our all-in formulas, advanced technology and customer-centric strategy. Our digital offering also gives these communities excellent opportunities to network effectively and do business all year round.
The Easyfairs Group employs 870 highly engaged people, implements best-in-class marketing and technology tools, and builds brands with strong appeal for our stakeholders.
For the seventh year running, in 2025 Deloitte once again awarded Easyfairs “Best Managed Company” status.
Visit the future with Easyfairs — find out more at www.easyfairsgroup.com.
For further information, please contact:
evercom, Easyfairs’ communications agency
Javier Martínez
javier.martinez@evercom.es
Noemí Priego
noemi.priego@evercom.es
Tel. +34 915 77 92 72