<p>ACHEMA 2018 from June 11-15, 2018 in Frankfurt (Germany) is the world forum for chemical engineering, process engineering and biotechnology. Every three years the world&rsquo;s major fair for the process industry attracts around 4,000 exhibitors from over 50 different countries to present new products, processes and services to 170,000 professionals from all over the world. The spectrum ranges from laboratory equipment, pumps and analytical devices to packaging machinery, boilers and stirrers through to safety technology, materials and software, thus covering the entire needs of the chemical, pharmaceutical and food production industries. </p>rnrn<p>The accompanying congress with around 800 lectures will provide complementary information on future trends, backed up with applications and issues from industry. In 2018 the leading global trade show for the process industries will zero in on three topics that apply to all the varied sectors of the process industry and all the exhibition groups: Flexible Production, Biotech for Chemistry, and Chemical and Pharmaceutical Logistics. </p><p>Biotech for Chemistry underscores the increasing integration of chemical and biotechnological processes. It is no longer a question of “either-or&rdquo;, but of the optimum combination of these two worlds, from strain development through to product &ndash; with all the challenges this entails for processes and processing methods. </p><blockquote><p> At the same time the demands made on Flexible Production are soaring &ndash; whether it be different regional requirements, varying energy and raw materials supplies, shorter product cycles or customised production: flexibility is the key to success on the dynamic global markets. p></blockquote><p>At the same time the demands made on Flexible Production are soaring &ndash; whether it be different regional requirements, varying energy and raw materials supplies, shorter product cycles or customised production: flexibility is the key to success on the dynamic global markets. The solutions include modular plants, robust processes and intelligent components which, thanks to digitalisation, communicate with each other and integrate many tasks into the plant from process adjustment to predictive maintenance. </p><p>These developments are inconceivable without the integration of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Logistics which is progressively making a transition from service provider to systems partner. Data exchange across the whole supply chain, track and trace systems even for the smallest loads, while still remaining committed to safe and punctual transport of raw materials and products &ndash; all these factors make for the success of a globalised sector. </p><p>In the exhibition, congress, and the application-oriented PRAXISforums which bring together suppliers and customers in close proximity to the individual exhibition groups, and also in a variety of accompanying events and publications, these topi