BIEMH will open its doors on Monday with 1,503 companies from 34 countries and more than 3,350 innovative products

The International Machine Tool Fair (BIEMH) will open next Monday, March 2, at BEC Barakaldo with 1,503 companies from 34 countriespresenting more than 3,350 innovative products.

The fair, the most important in the Basque Country and the only one needed by the six BEC pavilions, will be held from 2 to 6 March and will showcase 3,350 products and services, of which more than 350 are international innovations, with 1,542 machines and more than 100 robots, and the space dedicated to automation, robotics and digitization will be 20%.

Under the slogan 'Carpe BIEMH'and with more than six decades of trajectory, the 33rd edition of the International Machine Tool Fair will focus on the product, with a "record of quality and quantity" in large machinery, and will enhance the role of the international community with visitors from around 70 countries.

"It is a showcase that shows not only what companies do, but how far they can go. And it is this combination of exposure, international projection and commitment to innovation that makes it a global benchmark," said BEC Director-General Xabier Basañezat the press conference presenting the meeting.

The 33rd edition of the fair will showcase the main industrial areas by sector, including Germany, Austria, China, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Taiwan, Turkey, Switzerland, Japan, the United States and South Korea.

In addition, BIEMH 2026 will host the International Associations Area , a new space for machine tool organizations, where eleven international associations will present projects from their respective countries.

The international visitor attraction campaign will once again be one of the "main axes" of BIEMH, and India will be one of the major countries, including the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Portugal, France, Turkey, Morocco and the Netherlands.

Many of these professionals will participate in the Hosted Buyers Program , a "special" BIEMH initiative that will facilitate meetings between big companies and buyers.

But his Event Manager, Mari Carmen Gorostiza, recalled in the presentation that this quote is "more than an exhibition," so this year they will "strengthen" their "role as a space for knowledge, reflection, and connection," through a broad agenda of content aimed at analyzing trends, sharing knowledge, and promoting networking.

The sector, in the face of risks and opportunities

The president of AFM Cluster, José Pérez Berdud, has advanced that the 33rd edition of the Fair "will once again be spectacular. "" We bring the best of our homes to boost the competitiveness of our industries, "he said.

For his part, the Director-General of AFM Cluster , Xabier Ortueta , recalled that the situation in the sector is' complex ', with' many risks', but also with 'many possibilities', such as' windows of opportunity 'opening up with agreements reached between the European Union and the countries of Mercosur or India.

Although in 2025 turnover fell by 4.9%, exports remained "relatively stable", with only a 0.5% drop, in a "difficult scenario" in which orders grew by 2.3%. In this sense, the president of the Spanish Association of Machine Tool Importers (AIMHE), José Ignacio Ortiz de Urbina, has pointed out that 2026 has started with "good sensations" after the last quarter of 2025.

"This encourages us to think that we are facing a successful Fair. The visitor record shows very good data and a lot of movement in recent weeks, which invites us to think that we are facing one of the best editions of recent years, "said AIMHE's president.