- 10/14/2025
- Report
- Markets & Industries
30 Years of EUROGUSS: Gold Rush Spirit, Conversations, and a Few Borrowed Chairs
When the doors first opened at EUROGUSS in Sindelfingen in 1996, the idea of a trade fair dedicated solely to die casting was still something of a gamble. Supporters were few and far between. Today, three decades later, that bold experiment has evolved into an international meeting place for the industry. To understand why, you have to talk to those who were there from the very beginning.
Written by Editors EUROGUSS 365


One of them is Marco Höfler. Now Managing Director of FISA Ultraschall GmbH, he was then a sales representative at the company – and an exhibitor at the very first show.
Time for a journey back: Sindelfingen, January 1996. No social media, no live streams, no smart interactive hall maps. But what there was: excitement, countless conversations – and a neighbouring stand that was so crowded they occasionally borrowed chairs. “Striko Westofen was right next to us, and their booth was packed every single day. We often lent them our seats,” recalls Höfler. “It really felt like a gold-rush atmosphere – a sense of new beginnings.”
What was new at the time – a trade fair focused entirely on die casting – quickly became a must-attend event with real momentum. The timing could not have been better: many exhibitors had previously showcased their products at GIFA, a major international foundry exhibition where die casting only played a marginal role. In Sindelfingen, for the first time, it took centre stage. “You could tell straight away: this trade fair struck a nerve,” says Höfler. The response was overwhelming; many committed right there and then to taking part again next time.
A Place for Personal Exchange and Technical Solutions
Three decades on, the once-risky venture has become an established international platform – and EUROGUSS has remained true to itself. For Höfler, one thing is clear: “After the first event, EUROGUSS instantly became our number-one trade fair – and it still is today.” The figures speak for themselves: at the most recent edition, over 14,000 trade visitors and more than 600 exhibitors from over 30 countries gathered in Nuremberg. All this against a backdrop of uncertainty in the market.
The mood within the die-casting industry is – to put it politely – tense. The current market environment is extremely challenging. This is also due to a series of political decisions in recent years, many of which have become recurring topics in the EUROGUSS supporting programme and at the Executive Circle: lack of industrial policy safeguards, high energy prices and rising levies. As a result, the trade fair has effectively taken on an additional role – not only as a stage for machinery, products and technologies, but also as a much-needed forum for dialogue, mutual support and open discussion.

From a gamble to a must-attend event
“Right now, we need direct contact more than ever. Not everything can be solved in video calls or webinars,” says Höfler. For him, it is part of the industry’s DNA to tackle problems over a coffee – or just as gladly over a beer. The fair provides the perfect environment for that: personal, straightforward, on equal terms. And he hopes it stays that way. “Digitalisation or not – the exhibition should never become purely virtual.”
That sentiment is clearly shared across the industry. EUROGUSS has long since become a fixture not only for the automotive sector but for the entire die casting community. And it continues to evolve – thematically, technologically and internationally. Yet its essence remains unchanged: this is a place where an industry meets that understands how vital closeness is – not only to its castings, but to one another. That’s what makes this trade fair unique.


EUROGUSS 365 newsletter
Register so that you don't miss any information and news from the die casting industry!