CastForge

When planning your visit, knowing the CastForge Stuttgart dates is essential for scheduling meetings with materials engineers, advanced buyers, and design specialists in the high-integrity metal components sector.

Professional buyers in this industry rarely make decisions based on individual product features alone. Process stability, material integrity, batch-to-batch consistency, and traceability often carry as much weight as technical specifications. CastForge Stuttgart provides a professional environment where foundry and forging professionals, materials engineers, and procurement specialists can examine capabilities, compare process technologies, and assess whether a supplier fits the technical and operational requirements of the high-integrity metal components industry.

Why Visit CastForge Stuttgart?

For professional visitors, CastForge Stuttgart offers a concentrated setting to compare foundry and forging capabilities, discover emerging technologies, evaluate suppliers, and follow developments across the high-integrity metal components supply chain within one event.

The leading European trade fair for castings, forgings and industrial components attracts materials engineers, advanced buyers, and design specialists from automotive, aerospace, and energy sectors. The exhibition covers the entire metal components value chain from castings, forgings, and materials to simulation, testing, and digital process integration. For buyers and technical evaluators, the event provides an opportunity to assess new solutions, compare manufacturing capabilities, and evaluate supplier reliability for mission-critical metal components.

Source: CastForge Official Website — CastForge – The Leading European Trade Fair for Castings, Forgings and Industrial Components

Exhibition Background & Industry Context

CastForge has been held biennially in Stuttgart and has evolved into the leading European trade fair for castings, forgings and industrial components, serving as the critical forum where foundry and forging capabilities are evaluated against the exacting demands of digital product design, lightweighting mandates, and the transition to new energy systems. The event covers the full spectrum of the industry from castings, forgings, and materials to simulation, testing, and digital process integration. The 2026 edition brought together 576 exhibitors from 30 countries and around 6,000 trade visitors from 45 countries, with international exhibitors accounting for 71 percent of participation. The next edition will take place from 20 to 22 June 2028 at Messe Stuttgart in Stuttgart, Germany.

Stuttgart’s concentration of automotive, mechanical engineering and advanced manufacturing expertise creates a demanding procurement environment where material performance, traceability and manufacturing reliability receive close scrutiny. A supplier’s validation within this environment, where simulation (CAE) dictates material requirements and traceability is non-negotiable, signals an ability to serve the most demanding global OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, particularly those navigating the material science challenges of electrification and decarbonization.

Is This Trade Fair Right for You?

Relevance depends on your role within the high-integrity metal components value chain and whether your objectives involve sourcing manufacturing capabilities, identifying technology partners, or understanding market trends in the foundry and forging sector.

Ideal For

• Materials engineers and design specialists evaluating casting and forging capabilities
• Advanced buyers and procurement professionals sourcing high-integrity metal components
• Manufacturers with integrated simulation-driven process optimisation capabilities
• Specialists in advanced and niche alloys for high-temperature, corrosive, or lightweight applications
• Suppliers offering full digital thread integration and traceability
• Companies with certified, transparent processes for sustainable production
• Professionals from automotive, aerospace, energy, and industrial sectors

These professionals can assess manufacturing capabilities, compare process technologies, and examine how different suppliers address process stability, material integrity, and traceability.

May Be Less Relevant For

CastForge may be less relevant for producers of standard, catalog-based castings or forgings without application engineering or co-development capacity. Companies unable to engage in detailed technical discussions about heat treatment effects, non-destructive testing methods, or the implications of specific material standards may find the professional audience’s expectations misaligned. Suppliers viewing their role as mere shape makers without a narrative on how their process controls ensure performance reliability in the customer’s final application may struggle to engage with the professional audience.

Industries & Business Areas Represented

• Castings — iron, steel, aluminum, and specialty alloy castings
• Forgings — open-die, closed-die, and precision forgings
• Materials — advanced alloys, specialty metals, and material development
• Simulation & Engineering — CAE, process simulation, and design optimisation
• Testing & Quality — non-destructive testing, quality assurance, and certification
• Digital Integration — digital process data, traceability, and digital twin integration
• Machining & Processing — turning, milling, grinding, surface treatment, coating and other processing of cast and forged components
• Ready-to-Install Components — machined castings and forgings, component assembly, subsystems, logistics and related finishing services
• Sustainable Production — recycled materials, energy efficiency, and decarbonisation
• Co-Engineering — design for manufacturability, application engineering, and co-development

These business areas are connected by the technical and operational requirements of the high-integrity metal components industry, where process stability, material integrity, and traceability are as important as individual products.

Products & Solutions You Can Explore

Product and solution areas presented by the organiser include:

• Iron, steel, aluminium and non-ferrous castings
• Investment and precision castings
• Open-die and closed-die forgings
• Rolled rings and other forged components
• Machining services including turning, milling and grinding
• Surface treatment and coating
• Component assembly and subsystems
• Engineering and materials consulting
• Quality management and simulation
• Ready-to-install industrial components

Business Opportunities

• Compare casting and forging capabilities against process stability, material integrity, and traceability
• Assess new technologies and emerging solutions for high-integrity metal components
• Identify potential suppliers, engineering partners, and technology providers for metal component projects
• Evaluate approaches to simulation, quality assurance, and digital integration
• Examine how different suppliers address lightweighting, material selection, and sustainability
• Network with materials engineers, advanced buyers, design specialists, and industry professionals

How to Prepare for a Productive Visit

Before attending CastForge Stuttgart, careful planning can significantly improve the value of your visit:

• Define your strategic priorities: Identify whether your focus is on castings, forgings, materials, simulation, or quality systems.
• Prepare questions about process stability and traceability: For potential partners, ask about process control, material integrity, batch-to-batch consistency, and digital traceability.
• Divide the exhibitor landscape by your priorities: Before the event, group exhibitors by key areas — castings, forgings, materials, simulation, quality — to structure your visit efficiently. The fair takes place from 20 to 22 June 2028 at Messe Stuttgart.
• For castings and forgings: Examine process capability, material integrity, and quality documentation.
• For machining and processing: Assess capability, precision, and finishing quality.
• For ready-to-install components: Evaluate assembly, logistics, and overall component readiness.
• Plan meetings with potential partners: The event provides an opportunity to coordinate with manufacturers, engineering firms, and procurement professionals in one location.

Review the organiser’s current exhibitor directory and group relevant companies by business objective, product area, or hall location before planning meetings.

Exhibitor Perspective

Exhibitors at CastForge range from international foundries and forges to material suppliers, simulation software providers, and quality specialists. Visitors evaluating potential partners should look beyond individual products to understand process stability, material integrity, and traceability. The fair attracts a professional audience that prioritises demonstrable process control, batch-to-batch consistency, and responsive technical support for mission-critical metal components.

Planning to exhibit rather than visit? Explore the CastForge Stuttgart Strategic Exhibitor Guide.

Continue Your Research

Whether your next step involves finding exhibitors, comparing metal components industry events, preparing technical discussions, or planning an exhibition presence, these resources support a more structured decision.

Research companies participating in the exhibition — explore the CastForge Stuttgart Exhibitor List to identify foundries, forges, and technology partners before your visit.

When comparing advanced manufacturing and materials events, use our guide to choose the right trade fair in Germany for your strategic sourcing or engineering priorities.

Understanding how German and European metal components buyers evaluate suppliers can help you prepare more focused conversations during product exhibitions.

For companies using German trade fairs as part of a wider international strategy, explore how international branding in Germany can strengthen credibility, technical recognition, and long‑term market presence beyond the exhibition.

Companies considering participation can use this checklist to prepare for a German metal components exhibition, including process documentation, quality evidence, and structured follow‑up.

At CastForge Stuttgart, a productive visit depends on evaluating process stability, material integrity, traceability, and technical fit across the high-integrity metal components ecosystem.