From 25 April to 1 November 2020, the Saxon State Exhibition will take place for the fourth time under the title "Boom. 500 Years of Industrial Culture in Saxony". In addition to a large central exhibition in Zwickau, under the direction of the Deutsches Hygiene- Museum Dresden, further exhibitions will be presented at six different locations in Saxony, dealing with exciting topics relating to Saxony's history of technology and industry. The first models of major world brands such as Horch, DKW and Audi were produced in Southwest Saxony. Under the headline "Autoboom", the August Horch Museum will present developments from the past, present and near future of motorised mobility in Saxony, especially passenger cars. At the same time, the effects and changes on the working world of the people working there will be examined.

The lightweight construction location Dresden with its 65-year history and the Dresden model of a "function-integrative system lightweight construction in multi-material design" developed in 1994 is ideally suited as an exhibition partner for the fourth state exhibition. The Institute for Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology at TU Dresden (ILK) will provide the August Horch Museum in Zwickau with the latest research results in the field of automotive engineering. The common goal is to illustrate the modern, resource-saving lightweight system construction for vehicle systems of the near and distant future by means of selected exhibits. These are made available to the Horch-Museum by the TU Dresden free of charge. The Transfer Office of the TU Dresden supports the elaboration of a loan contract between the ILK and the Horch Museum. Since the summer of 2018, negotiations and contract drafting have been in progress. During an inspection on 5 February 2019, Dr.-Ing. Marco Zichner, Head of Technology Transfer at the ILK, guided Matthias Kaluza, designer of the Zwickau design and communication agency ö_konzept, through the production halls of the ILK to select suitable exhibits for the exhibition at the Horch Museum. Kaluza was already involved in the conception and design of the Hoch Museum prior to its opening in 2004 and is aware of the challenges involved in the current exhibition planning: "The greatest challenge in planning is the limited space requirement of around 600 m² with its steel support grid of approx. 5 m width. This means that the design is not as flexible as in a self-supporting hall. However, we are happy to face the architectural conditions and will find an effective design," says the designer optimistically.

Marco Zichner takes Matthias Kaluza on a tour of the ILK's numerous production halls and building complexes to present suitable exhibits for the state exhibition. Some exhibits have already been selected: "Lightweight construction, alternatives in materials, new joining processes in connection with a larger material mix and also bold ideas are topics that we would like to show. The InEco as a complete vehicle as well as the chassis for it are firmly planned. My visit also served to find out what else could be shown. There is also great interest in the Trace project for the future. Finally, Mr. Kaluza praised the good cooperation with the TU Dresden and the quick willingness to cooperate and help with exhibits. Kaluza also sees the state exhibition as a positive message for Saxony: "It is also about showing potentials, potentials that existed and that the Saxon industrial and research landscape has to offer. Visitors should see the current negative discussion and the justified reflections on the consequences of mass motorisation, which Saxony has much to offer for mobility development in the past, but also in the future".

Further information on the national exhibition can be found at: https://www.boom-sachsen.de/