First Impression from GISMA 2026: How Can Footwear Manufacturing Automation Be Improved

GISMA Guangzhou 2026

Exhibiton Visit Hours:

PWTC EXPO,Guangzhou,China / Hall 1-2-4

28 May 2026(Thursday) Time: 9:00 – 17:00

29 May 2026(Firday) Time: 9:00 – 17:00

30 May 2026(Saturday) Time: 9:00 – 15:00

This week, we visited the GISMA 2026 footwear machinery exhibition for the first time.

Compared with the metal processing and industrial automation exhibitions we usually attend, one thing immediately caught our attention:

Despite the large number of machines on display, many footwear factories are still searching for more efficient automation solutions across different production stages.

In many production processes, operators are still required to manually position materials, transfer semi-finished products, adjust components, or perform repetitive handling operations.

Only a few specific processes seemed to achieve a higher level of automation.

Why is this happening?

One possible reason is the nature of footwear products themselves.
Compared with standardized industrial products, shoes involve:

highly flexible materials
complex shapes
frequent style changes
short product cycles
diverse manufacturing techniques

These characteristics make shoe factory automation far more challenging than in industries such as metalworking or electronics manufacturing.

At the same time, this observation may also indicate that footwear manufacturing automation still has enormous potential for future development, especially in flexible production and intelligent machinery integration.

Areas such as:

robotic assistance
visual positioning
flexible automation
material handling
intelligent inspection
integrated production systems

could become important directions for the next generation of footwear manufacturing technology.

For sourcing professionals and equipment manufacturers, this also creates interesting opportunities in the global footwear machinery market.

Over the coming days, we will continue organizing the footwear machinery and automation equipment we filmed on-site, and share more insights on How Can Footwear Manufacturing Automation Be Improved.

Stay tuned for upcoming content related to:

footwear machinery sourcing
shoe factory automation
footwear production equipment
manufacturing process optimization
industrial automation in footwear production

2026 Guangzhou Metal & Metallurgy Exhibition Insights | China Spring Making Equipment Sourcing

May 16-18, 2026

China Import and Export Fair Pazhou Complex, Area C

The 2026 China (Guangzhou) International Metal & Metallurgy Exhibition may not be the largest industrial exhibition in China, but it is undoubtedly one of the most focused events for professionals seeking specialized metal processing and automation solutions. （Welcome to watch the YouTube video.）

During our visit, we explored several highly practical technologies that reflect where China’s metal manufacturing sector is heading: greater automation, higher precision, and increasingly customized production capability.

One of the most impressive highlights was the laser cutting application for die-casting gate removal.

While laser technology is already widely adopted across industrial manufacturing, seeing its application in this highly specific niche was particularly interesting. It demonstrates how Chinese equipment manufacturers are moving beyond general-purpose systems and developing deeply specialized automation solutions for targeted production challenges.

Another standout area was automated tube and wire forming equipment, including fully customized unmanned production lines designed for continuous manufacturing.

Among all categories, the spring manufacturing sector attracted the most attention, featuring a complete ecosystem of advanced production equipment such as:

Multi-functional CNC spring coiling machines
Automated wire feeding systems
Spring force and performance testing equipment
Intelligent spring sorting and inspection systems
Continuous tempering furnaces

What stood out most was not just individual machine capability, but the increasing maturity of integrated production-line solutions that enable manufacturers to reduce labor dependency while improving consistency and throughput.

For overseas buyers looking to source reliable suppliers in:

Spring making equipment (Spring Coiling Machinery, Spring Forming Machinery, Spring Grinders, Spring Testers…)
Wire forming equipment (2D/3D Wire Forming Machines, Tabletop Benders, Automated Wire Forming Machinery…)
Tube bending and forming solutions
Laser cutting equipment for Die casting applications
Custom automated production lines from China

This exhibition confirmed that China continues to expand its capability in high-value industrial automation manufacturing.

If your business is currently evaluating suppliers in these sectors, we’d be glad to share insights from the exhibition and help connect you with the right manufacturing partners.

Let’s talk if these solutions are relevant to your sourcing project.

Insights from the Foshan Machine Tool Exhibition: How to Improve the Automation Level of Machine Tools?

FOSHAN INTERNATIONAL MACHINE TOOL EXHIBITION
Dates: March 11, 2025 – Saturday, March 14, 2026
Venue: Guangdong Tanzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center, Foshan, China

This year marked our third visit to the Foshan Machine Tool Exhibition. True to its reputation, the event once again maintained its “small but refined” character. In many ways, the exhibition reflects the level and structure of the local machine tool industry in this manufacturing hub.

In terms of scale, the show felt similar to several other industrial exhibitions we visited recently—noticeably smaller than in previous years. While the overall size has shrunk, one trend stood out clearly and deserves attention: how to improve the automation level of machine tools. The answer is the growing presence of automated loading and unloading systems for CNC machines.

Last year, automation suppliers were mostly represented by brochures and sales representatives at machine tool booths, with very few physical systems on display. This year, however, a number of actual automation solutions could be seen across the exhibition floor—Robotic Arm Loader, Gantry Loaders, and compact machine-tending cells designed to work alongside CNC lathes and machining centers.

This shift is consistent with broader industry trends. The global market for machine-tending automation is expanding steadily as manufacturers seek higher productivity and address labor shortages. Recent industry reports estimate that automated machine tending systems were valued at about USD 15 billion in 2025 and are projected to reach over USD 36 billion by 2034, growing at more than 10% annually.

Within this sector, CNC machine-tending is one of the largest and fastest-growing application areas, as robots automate repetitive loading and unloading tasks while improving machine utilization, process consistency, and operator safety.

Even smaller workshops are beginning to adopt such systems. As collaborative robots and modular automation solutions become more accessible, integrating automation into CNC machining is no longer limited to large-scale production lines.

For companies involved in machine tool distribution or integration, this raises an interesting question:

If the growth of standalone machine tool sales is limited, could automated loading and unloading systems for CNC machines become the next opportunity?

Adding machine-tending automation not only improves machining efficiency but can also transform a single machine into a more complete production solution.

We would be very interested to hear your thoughts on this trend.
If you are exploring CNC automation solutions —or considering expanding your product offering in this direction—feel free to reach out and start a conversation with us.

ITES China -Shenzhen International Industrial Manufacturing Technology and Equipment Exhibition

2025.3.26-3.29Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center

This is the third exhibition we visited in the past month and stands out as the largest among the three events.

We are keenly focused on advancements in laser equipment and industrial cleaning technologies. Surprisingly, the number of exhibitors specializing in these areas was less than expected. While the limited presence of industrial cleaning equipment manufacturers can be understood, the significance of laser technology in the industry raises questions, especially given the entire afternoon dedicated to discussions on laser advancements.

The afternoon conference featured an impressive lineup of presentations, showcasing pioneering research and practical applications of laser technology:

– **13:40-14:00** – Mechanisms and Intelligent Systems in Water-guided Laser Processing
– **14:00-14:20** – TRUMPF Lasers: Catalyzing Advanced Manufacturing in Materials
– **14:20-14:40** – Solutions for Mass Bonding and Repair of Glass Substrates in Micro LED Display Applications Using Lasers
– **14:40-15:00** – Transformative Approaches in Processing Brittle Materials with Laser Technology
– **15:00-15:20** – Progress and Challenges in Laser Processing of Silicon Carbide
– **15:20-15:40** – CNC Multi-Axis Laser Machine Tools: Innovating Solutions for the 3C Industry
– **15:40-16:00** – Panel Level Laser-Induced Etching & AOI
– **16:00-16:20** – Light Field Control Technologies in the Processing of Brittle Materials

One of the most surprising discoveries was a meeting with a local precision grinding manufacturer boasting nearly 60 years of history. The interaction proved to be highly enjoyable, fostering hopes for a successful collaboration in the near future.

As the exhibition unfolds, industry experts and enthusiasts are eager to explore the latest innovations and potential partnerships, making ITES China 2025 a critical platform for advancing industrial manufacturing technology.

For more updates and details on the exhibition, please visit ITES Exhibition | International Industrial Exhibition 2025 | ITES 2025 (iteschina.com).

2025 FOSHAN INTERNATIONAL MACHINE TOOL EXHIBITION

FOSHAN INTERNATIONAL MACHINE TOOL EXHIBITION
Dates: Thursday, March 13, 2025 – Saturday, March 15, 2025
Venue: Guangdong Tanzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center, Foshan, China

On the second day of the exhibition, I visited the Tan Zhou Convention and Exhibition Center with two primary objectives: to seek a laser device capable of drilling large – area glass like low – e glass, and to look for a milling machine with automation between traditional ones and machining centers. Alas, neither goal was achieved. However, I still gained valuable insights from exhibitors. Here’s my visit summary.

The exhibition, a smaller – scale sub – event of CMES, was divided into four zones with a total area of about 3,600 square meters.

The exhibits were mainly metal – cutting machine tools and related accessories. I noticed laser tube cutting machines were quite common, indicating a local industry cluster, you can easily find a right fiber laser tube cutting machine manufacturer here. Hand – held laser welders were quite popular too. Also, traditional machine tools were rare, with CNC machine tools and robots taking center stage.

The visitor services were excellent. There was free parking, a free shuttle from the parking lot to the entrance, and a convenient food area.

Overall, it was a small but well – organized exhibition!

2025SPS – Smart Production Solutions Guangzhou

25 – 27 February, Area A of the China Import and Export Fair Complex

I had the pleasure of attending the SPS Exhibition in Guangzhou on February 27, 2025. As an annual gathering in the field of industrial automation, SPS brought together industry leaders and cutting-edge technologies, making it an excellent platform for understanding industrial automation trends and expanding business connections.

At the exhibition, I not only gained insights into the latest developments in industrial automation but also unexpectedly met several colleagues I hadn’t seen in years. We reminisced about the industry’s evolution, discussed future directions, and shared valuable experiences in automation.

Particularly noteworthy was a detailed introduction to an online wafer thickness and flatness measurement device. Its precision of 0.1 micrometers caught my attention. It not only monitors wafer thickness and flatness in real-time but also features high automation and intelligence, greatly improving production efficiency and product quality. The live demonstration further convinced me of its performance and potential.