The future doesn't wait – it's shaped! The wire Düsseldorf trade fair has been rewriting this future for 40 years: faster, smarter, more intelligent, more sustainable – always in tune with the global market and its rapidly changing requirements.
The success story of wire began back in 1967 with the first ‘wire style exhibition’ in London. When wire took place for the second time in 1970, it was already evident that there was enormous growth potential. The number of exhibitors grew rapidly, with visitors coming not only from Europe but also from the U.S. and Asia to London to experience the latest machines and systems for wire and cable manufacturing and processing.
International interest in the wire and cable industry grew, and so wire moved again in 1972, from the island to the mainland, to Basel in Switzerland. When the exhibition center there reached its limits after twelve years, the decision was made in 1986 to move wire to a new, even more centrally located site: Düsseldorf, Germany. Here, at the international hub of Europe, the wire and cable industry found its new permanent home – and wire developed into the leading global trade fair it is today.
What began in Düsseldorf in 1986 with 488 visionary exhibitors and 21,000 trade visitors became the driving force for an entire industry. Today, wire has over 1,500 exhibitors on around 67,000 square meters of exhibit space and 60,000 international visitors. The exhibitors present solutions to the major challenges of our time: sustainable transformation, digitalization, the mobility revolution, intelligent energy management and resilient supply chains.
Since development never stands still, wire is setting a new benchmark in 2026: together with the Tube trade fair, which has been held concurrently since 1988, over 2,500 exhibitors on 120,000 square meters of exhibit space are expected. The world's most important hotspot for the wire and cable industry is becoming even bigger, even more international and even more dynamic.
For innovation drivers and start-ups in particular, wire Düsseldorf is more than just a trade fair. It is a springboard for new ideas, a network for partnerships and a stage for innovative technologies. With forward-looking initiatives such as ecoMetals and High Potential Day, wire is driving forward the green transformation, demonstrating how resource-efficient production and sustainable materials can revolutionize the industry and how the best skilled workers can be found.
With the new special area World of Cables, wire 2026 will offer a platform for the first time that highlights finished wire and cable products, i.e. end products and shows how these essential components are changing entire industries.
Since 1988, wire and Tube have formed a network in Düsseldorf, Germany, that connects industries and technologies, creates synergies and sets global standards.
It is about the energy transition, where intelligent cable systems form the backbone of new energy infrastructures and about the mobility of the future, which requires new materials, new energy sources and new production processes. It is also about sustainability, ranging from recyclable materials and CO₂-optimized manufacturing processes to new circular economy models.
For further information on visiting or exhibiting at wire 2026, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America; Telephone: (312) 781-5180; E-mail:
