#OTKarlsruhe26 will begin on 16 September 2026 at 6.00 pm with the opening ceremony, followed by a welcome reception.
The primary aim of the ZVO Surface Technology Days is to foster targeted networking between research and industry in the field of electroplating and surface technology, and to support cross-sector communication. The key topics include the development of new application areas for electroplated coatings, the increasing demands placed on coated surfaces, and compliance with new legal regulations at EU and national level.
The ZVO Surface Technology Days 2026 will take place for the first time at the Stadthalle Karlsruhe. The #OTKarlsruhe26 congress begins on 16 September 2026 at 6.00 pm with the opening ceremony, followed by a welcome reception at the industrial exhibition featuring 70 exhibitors. This year’s congress programme includes 95 presentations.
In the digital conference programme, you can change the view (recommended: list view) and the conference days.
Go directly to the 2026 conference programme
AI workshop complements the congress programme
On 17 September 2026, a workshop on the topic ‘AI Compass for SMEs: Identifying My Relevant Use Cases’ will take place, led by this year’s keynote speaker Torsten Koerting. The workshop combines the inspiration of the previous evening with concrete actionable insights. Participants will leave the room with a personal roadmap: Which AI use cases are relevant to my business – and which are not?
Programme and methodology:
• Brief review and context: What has settled overnight? What questions have arisen? Linking back to the keynote and moving into greater depth.
• The AI Compass – a simple framework: What AI use cases actually exist? Sorting into three categories: “Not relevant to me”, “I
should keep an eye on this”, “I need to tackle this now.”•
Interactive work: Participants assess their own context: as a managing director, as a manager, as a subject matter expert – where is my greatest leverage? Discussion in small groups.
• My next step: Each participant formulates a specific action they can implement upon returning to their organisation. Not a 50-page strategy paper, but a single sentence, a single action.
The workshop bridges the gap between “I understand that AI is important” and “I now know where to start”, thereby laying the foundation for the subject-specific AI sessions in the rest of the conference programme.
The workshop is limited to a maximum of 80 people (admission control!) and can be booked with a separate ticket when registering online.
This year’s conference programme includes presentations on the following topics:
- Fire safety in electroplating/coating companies
- Securing primary and critical raw materials
- Energy (systems) of the future
- New business areas for surface technology (including B2C)
- Digitalisation in surface technology
- Artificial intelligence in surface technology (production & administration)
- Automation opportunities in electroplating/coating companies
- Hydrogen: The future for surface technology
- Real-world damage cases and damage analysis for fault prevention and cost reduction
- Circularity, recycling and the circular economy in surface technology
- Entrepreneur Forum: Management Meets Surface Technology
- Bath and/or surface analysis
- Women in surface technology: challenges, opportunities and prospects
- Environment and Chemistry Consultation Hour
- Research findings – reports from young colleagues
- Cathodic Corrosion Protection
- Functional coatings
- New requirements for electroplating and surface engineering
- Future topics in surface technology
- From process monitoring to product quality
Conference tickets will be available from 15 April 2026 via the online registration portal on the conference website.
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