ZellchemingEXPO 2026: Investing in the future is a strategic priority

Sometimes the state of an industry is not reflected in key performance indicators, but in conversations at a trade fair. At ZellchemingEXPO 2026, the prevailing mood was a mix of concern and confidence: on the one hand, costs, energy-related challenges, and transformation requirements continue to shape the agenda of many companies. On the other hand, there was a remarkable determination in many areas to actively shape the future of the industry.

At the Modellfabrik Papier stand, this tension was palpable in many conversations: companies are scrutinising investments more carefully, prioritising projects more strictly and must balance short-term cost discipline with securing their long-term future. At the same time, many industry stakeholders discussed current challenges, specific research approaches and the question of how technological possibilities can be turned into industrial applications more quickly with researchers from the innovation network.

Setting the course for tomorrow

The economic situation facing the paper industry draws attention to a key strategic challenge: those who rely exclusively on consolidation during difficult market phases risk delaying necessary technological development. Conversely, those who invest strategically in research, efficiency and new process solutions lay the foundations for being better positioned for the future.

“The paper industry is under enormous economic pressure. I have spoken to companies that, despite the situation, are well positioned; they are re-evaluating their business models, driving technological developments forward and investing where future competitiveness lies,” says MFP Managing Director Peter Bekaert, summarising his impressions of the trade fair. “Now is the time to set the decisive course.”

A crisis and a forward-looking approach are not mutually exclusive. Right now, the question is which investments will contribute to future competitiveness. Not only in optimising what already exists, but also in new technologies that need to be conceived, developed and scaled today in order to be industrially viable tomorrow.

“Research should not be viewed as a preliminary process, but as a key component of securing the future of industry.”

Bringing research and application together

The Modellfabrik Papier demonstrated what such investments in the future might look like in practice at several stands at the ZellchemingEXPO. Together with its industry partner ABB, it presented the findings from the recently completed FOREST project in a best-practice presentation. The project focuses on digital twins and demonstrates how production processes, energy flows and material flows can be made more transparent. This approach opens up new opportunities for industry: processes can be better understood, potential for optimisation identified more precisely, and decisions based more firmly on data and models.

The research work of the Modellfabrik Papier was also the subject of several presentations at the ScienceFlash event on Career Day. No fewer than two presentations made it onto the winners’ podium. The topics demonstrate the breadth of the research activities: modelling fibre distribution in turbulent flows using computational fluid dynamics, and dry paper production – a topic that went down particularly well with the audience thanks to the hands-on paper samples on display. In addition, research partners of the Modellfabrik Papier contributed their expertise to well-attended workshops and discussed new technological approaches for the paper production of tomorrow with the participants.

Asking the right questions

Once again, it became clear from the presentations and discussions at the exhibition: innovation begins with asking the right questions and thinking about transformation in an interconnected way. After all, the future of the paper industry is not determined by any single issue. Decarbonisation, energy efficiency, the bioeconomy and circularity must be considered together even more closely. Whilst individual optimisations remain important. However, the necessary technological breakthroughs arise where new scientific findings are put into practice in collaboration with industry.

“What has particularly stayed with me are the people I met,” says Bekaert. “Both younger and more experienced professionals from academia and industry who work with great enthusiasm for this sector and really want to make a difference.”

The drive to innovate as a strength of the paper industry

This drive to innovate is a key resource for the sector. For the Modellfabrik Papier, ZellchemingEXPO 2026 reaffirms its own mission: to bring science and industry together, pool expertise and jointly drive forward technological development for the competitive and sustainable paper production of tomorrow.

“It is crucial not to view research as an upstream process, but as part of securing the industry’s future. Those who pool expertise across company boundaries today to help develop new technological pathways for greater energy efficiency and reduced energy consumption are creating options for tomorrow’s competitiveness,” said Bekaert.

The Modellfabrik Papier’s takeaway from the industry meeting is therefore: listen, network, think ahead. The discussions at the trade fair demonstrated just how great the challenges are – but also how much knowledge, experience and drive for innovation exist within the industry.

The Modellfabrik Papier intends to continue this exchange together with its shareholders, research partners and other interested companies.