The third International Expert Forum (IEF) of the fischer Group of Companies took place on 2 October in Milan, Italy's financial and fashion capital. The event brought together numerous experts from academia, leading planning offices, construction companies and authorities from all over Italy.

The forum focused on the importance of innovative products and services from fischer in the project business, as well as key future topics in the construction industry. The Officine del Volo – a building complex created from the renovation of a historic aircraft factory – provided the ideal setting, where tradition and innovation go hand in hand. 

The forum was opened by Stefano Marzolla, Managing Director of the Italian subsidiary of the fischer Group of Companies, together with Luca Zordan, Sales Engineering & Project Business Manager at fischer's Italian subsidiary. Representatives of Italian authorities, including Domenico Capomolla, who heads the National Agency for the Safety of Railways, Roads and Motorways (ANSFISA), and his colleague Galileo Tamasi, emphasised in their contributions the role of the authorities in promoting safety and innovation in Italy's infrastructure. 

A technical highlight was provided by Prof. Konrad Bergmeister, who heads the Institute of Structural Engineering at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna. He emphasised the global need for adaptation and renewal in the field of infrastructure and highlighted fischer's digital offerings. Prof. Jan Hofmann from the University of Stuttgart spoke about the retrofitting of fastenings to make them earthquake-proof and the advantages of the fischer Group of Companies’ fastening solutions. 

Other presentations covered topics such as the fastening of crash barriers, installations in tunnel construction, the digitalisation of construction sites and the fischer Baubot. During the breaks, participants took the opportunity to engage in intensive technical discussions with fischer’s experts and learn about the company's broad product and service portfolio at information stands. 

As a special highlight, guests at the forum received a fischertechnik Baubot construction kit as an event gift, which was just as exciting as its larger counterpart on real construction sites.

fischer’s International Expert Forum is a platform for international exchange on current and future challenges in the construction industry. The focus is particularly on innovation, sustainability and digitalisation. The first two International Expert Forums took place in Delhi in 2023 and Dubai in 2024. With the third International Expert Forum in Milan, the event took place in a European country for the first time.