SWISS Pavilion @ SIMTOS 2018

The upcoming SIMTOS 2018 will be held at Ilsan KINTEX Exhibition Center with a theme of "Capture the Future: 4th Industrial Revolution". SIMTOS has organized the largest exhibition every year, which shows it has become the best exhibition held in Korea. The number of exhibitors at SIMTOS is increasing every year from 2002 to 2016. It started with 273 exhibitors and 1,737 booths in 2002, and it has grown to host 1,130 exhibitors and 6,135 booths last year. The number of attendees peaked in 2016 with 98,587.

The South Korean machine tools market reached a total value South Korean won (KRW) 12.6 trillion, having grown by 2.8% in 2016. Growth was supported by a booming residential construction sector, rising production volumes of electronic components, and a well-established aircraft and spacecraft industry.

In South Korea, imported machined tools accounted for around a third of total market value in 2016, or KRW 3.9 trillion. During the year, imports value remained relatively stable, however, growing by a mere 0.5%. Most machine tools entering the country came from Japan, USA and the Netherlands.

In line with the positive trend observed in 2016, South Korea's machine tools industry is forecast to see a CAGR of 3% over 2016-2021 to reach turnover of KRW 16.0 trillion in the latter year. The anticipated recovery of the automotive industry is set to be the main growth engine.