It is a special year: on the one hand, the event takes place in Cologne for the last time before returning to its original location, Wiesbaden, in 2027. On the other, HeatTreatmentCongress 2026 brings together several international formats under one roof — as the 31st IFHTSE World Congress, in conjunction with the European Conference on Heat Treatment (ECHT) and Steel Innovation.
After several years in Cologne, HeatTreatmentCongress 2027 will open a new chapter — or rather, an old one: the event returns to its historic home in Wiesbaden, where it was based for many years. HeatTreatmentCongress 2026 in Cologne is thus the last edition at Koelnmesse. For exhibitors and participants, that’s a double incentive to attend this year. The social program also reflects this farewell mood. On Tuesday evening, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Wärmebehandlung und Werkstofftechnik e.V. (AWT) invites attendees to a joint meeting point in front of Cologne Cathedral, from which the group heads to the Früh brewery. The congress itself will again be held at the East Conference Center of Koelnmesse, directly connected to the accompanying trade exhibition. Around 500 congress participants and about 2,000 trade visitors are traditionally expected — figures that make the HärtereiKongress the largest European trade event for heat treatment and materials engineering.
Program with international reach
The integration with the IFHTSE World Congress makes for a particularly dense scientific program in 2026. Things kick off on Tuesday with the opening ceremony and the presentation of several awards. Content-wise, the three-day program spans classic industry topics — thermochemical heat treatment, hardening and distortion, quenching and tempering, and low-temperature treatment, as well as plant engineering — through to future topics such as additive manufacturing, digitalization, and artificial intelligence. On Wednesday morning, a plenary discussion on models and applications of AI tools in materials science and heat treatment is scheduled, complemented by several technical sessions on AI and digitalization throughout the rest of the day. Sustainability also runs as a common thread through several sessions, for example on energy-efficient cleaning and tempering concepts or on reducing the CO2 footprint in continuous heat treatment systems.
The highlight of the event is the presentation of the AWT’s Adolf Martens Medal to Marcel Somers on Wednesday morning. The Adolf Martens Medal is AWT’s highest honor, awarded for outstanding scientific work in the field of heat treatment and materials engineering. Prof. Marcel Somers is being recognized for his pioneering research and publications on nitriding. Thursday is dedicated to additive manufacturing, materials, and surface technology, and concludes with the closing ceremony.
The complete, preliminary program with all presentation titles is available online; changes are still possible according to the organizer.
A touchpoint for industry newcomers
One clear focus of HeatTreatmentCongress 2026 is on scientific and professional young talent — a topic AWT has been pursuing for some time given the industry’s need for skilled workers.
Specifically, the support targets early-career scientists under 35, who can apply for several awards at once: the Tom Bell Young Author Award, which comes with free participation in the next IFHTSE World Congress 2027 in Italy; an IFHTSE World Congress scholarship; and the Riebensahm Prize, worth 2,000 euros, for the best young-talent presentation at HeatTreatmentCongress and Steel Innovation.
The Poster Award is also aimed explicitly at young talent: with a total of 3,000 euros, funded equally by Burgdorf GmbH & Co. KG and Fluxtrol Inc., the best posters from the IFHTSE World Congress, HeatTreatmentCongress, ECHT, and Steel Innovation will be recognized. The poster show takes place on Wednesday, October 14, from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. in the exhibition area.
Trade fair with broad international participation
Alongside the congress, an extensive trade exhibition will once again be on display. With more than 150 exhibitors across 120 stands and around 12,000 square meters of exhibition space, HeatTreatmentCongress remains the central industry platform for plant manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers in heat treatment. The preliminary exhibitor directory is already available online and shows the full breadth of the industry: from established plant manufacturers such as Aichelin, ALD Vacuum Technologies, ECM Technologies, IVA Schmetz, Seco/Warwick, and Rübig, to measurement and control technology providers such as Jumo, Eurotherm, and Institut Dr. Förster, to specialists in heat treatment chemistry and process media such as Burgdorf, Petrofer, Quaker Houghton, and Durferrit. Institutions such as AWT itself, the Leibniz Institute for Materials-Oriented Engineering (IWT), and the German Heat Treatment Industry Association (IHT) are also represented with their own stands. In addition, there is a growing number of international exhibitors in the areas of vacuum furnaces, foundry technology, and special metals — a sign of the event’s increasingly global orientation.
Conclusion
HeatTreatmentCongress 2026 combines a dense international technical program in Cologne with a clear commitment to fostering young talent — writing one more chapter in Cologne’s congress history before the event returns to Wiesbaden in 2027. Anyone who wants to experience the cathedral city as a congress venue one more time should mark the October date early.
