For anyone keen on experiencing the very latest in lab technology, LABVOLUTION was the place to be. Three major trends – automation, digitization and big data – featured prominently throughout the show, as reflected by a proliferation of robots and monitors at exhibitors' stands.

Data was among the hot topics covered at the show. Given the advent of automation and the widespread deployment of sensors and interconnected equipment, smart laboratory containers, instruments and equipment are now the order of the day, as operated and monitored using tablets and smartphones.

In overall terms, LABVOLUTION demonstrated it had successfully made the transition to a trade fair serving the innovative lab tech needs of the chemical, pharmaceutical, life sciences, food and medical equipment industries. More than 100 of the approximately 300 lab tech businesses present – in other words, well over a third – were first-time exhibitors.