Industrie Grand Ouest · 2026

Agoris analysis · updated September 2026

Key takeaways

• Industrie Grand Ouest is the B2B gathering for industry and subcontracting in the Grand Ouest region, held every two years at the Parc des Expositions de Nantes.
• Beware of the name clash: the national "Industrie" trade show was absorbed in 2018 by Global Industrie (GL Events), alongside Midest, Smart Industries and Tolexpo. Industrie Grand Ouest has nothing to do with that brand: it is an independent regional trade show, run by the operator of the Nantes exhibition park and anchored in the industrial sectors of Pays de la Loire, Brittany and Normandy.
• Organiser: Exponantes, operator of the Parc des Expositions de Nantes. Since 1 January 2026, the exhibition park and La Cité, Le Centre des Congrès de Nantes have been brought together within the same société publique locale (local public company). CCI Nantes St-Nazaire, UIMM Pays de la Loire, Cetim, IMT Atlantique, Neopolia, Pôle EMC2 and Atlanpole are partners of the trade show, not co-organisers.
• Next edition: from Tuesday 6 to Thursday 8 October 2026. Opening hours 9am-6pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, 9am-5pm on Thursday.
• 2024 edition results (1 to 3 October): 355 exhibitors, 44% of them new, 7,000 professional visitors, 553 business meetings held, 62 highlights.
• Four product families: industrial equipment and supplies, subcontracting, services, and handling / transport and logistics.
• Free entry for professionals with a badge downloadable online; proof of professional status may be requested at the entrance.

Who exhibits

Typical profile

The offer covers the regional industrial value chain rather than high-end production technologies: mechanical subcontracting, sheet metal work and metalworking, surface treatments, industrial equipment and supplies, machine tools, handling, logistics and transport, services for manufacturers (design offices, maintenance, energy, digitalisation), alongside institutional players and training bodies.

On the visitor side, the trade show is aimed at executives, buyers, decision-influencers, engineers, maintenance technicians and production managers, as well as innovation, energy and decarbonisation profiles. The jobs and training dimension is taken seriously: 589 students were welcomed in 2024 and 270 candidates expressed interest in industrial careers.

Notable exhibitors

The 2026 exhibitor list is published and continuously updated on the organiser's website. It notably includes Air Products, Aalberts Surface Technologies, Bossard, GRDF, Institut de Soudure Groupe, Hurco, Faro-Creaform, GH Cranes & Components, Entech and Idea Industries, alongside a dense fabric of SMEs and mid-caps from the Loire and Brittany regions.

Quality of the audience

The 2024 edition brought together 7,000 professional visitors, up 24% on 2022. The profile is clearly regional and decision-making: 85% of visitors come from Loire-Atlantique or neighbouring départements, 50% are decision-makers or purchasing influencers, 30% state a purchase intention after the trade show and 60% were new visitors. On the exhibitor side, 86% prospected new clients and 69% said they intended to return in 2026.

This is a proximity trade show rather than a volume one: its value lies in the density of the Grand Ouest industrial fabric and the proportion of decision-makers, not in the number of visits.

Events & community

Conference programme

Four themes structure the 2026 edition: digitalisation and artificial intelligence, energy and energy performance, decarbonisation and the environment, and the appeal of industrial careers and skills.

Two sessions already have a date. The opening conference, "Géopolitique et souveraineté industrielle, comprendre pour mieux se projeter" (Geopolitics and Industrial Sovereignty, Understanding to Better Plan Ahead), is led by Anaïs Voy-Gillis, a geographer specialising in industrial and territorial issues, on Tuesday 6 October at 11.15am, following the official opening visit (11.15am-1pm). The "Décarbonation & design" (Decarbonisation & Design) conference brings together representatives from Neoline, Mauric, EDF and Atelier Blam on Wednesday 7 October at 11.15am.

These are joined by the Espace Solutions Pitchs, a short-format space open to exhibitors, start-ups and experts, and the Forum Industrie du futur, set up with the Campus des métiers et des qualifications Design & Industrie du futur Pays de la Loire. The 2024 edition offered 62 conferences, pitches and round tables.

Awards and accolades

The trade show hosts the 7th edition of the Trophées Industrie Grand Ouest (Industrie Grand Ouest Awards), whose ceremony takes place on Wednesday 7 October 2026 from 6pm to 8.30pm. They are organised by Le Journal des Entreprises, CCI Nantes St-Nazaire and the exhibition park operator, and reward industrial start-ups, SMEs and mid-caps from Brittany, Pays de la Loire and Normandy. The categories on display are the prix de l'ancrage territorial (territorial roots award), the prix de l'industrie durable (sustainable industry award), the prix de l'industrie de demain (industry of tomorrow award) and the prix start-up (start-up award), rounded out by a Grand Prix and a Prix coup de coeur du jury (jury's choice award).

The 2026 application calendar was as follows: opening on 20 April, closing on 21 June at midnight, jury meeting on 1 July. Société Générale Grand Ouest and Airbus are partners of the 2026 edition.

For context: the 2024 ceremony, the fifth of its kind, was chaired by Louis Gallois, co-chair of La Fabrique de l'Industrie, who presented the Grand Prix to Carine Chesneau, chair of Groupe Lambert, a century-old wire-drawing company based in Couëron.

Community & networks

The Village Start-up is set up in partnership with Atlanpole, the innovation hub of the Nantes area. The "Pépites Industrielles - Innovation & Savoir-faire en Loire-Atlantique" (Industrial Gems - Innovation & Know-how in Loire-Atlantique) exhibition works on a call for projects and showcases products, components and industrial achievements from the region; it is supported by Nantes Métropole under the Territoire d'industrie Nantes Erdre et Gesvres label. The Place au Business scheme groups together the B2B meetings booked via the dedicated app.

The trade show is backed by a dense institutional ecosystem: CCI Nantes St-Nazaire, UIMM Pays de la Loire, Cetim, Pôle EMC2, Neopolia, IMT Atlantique, Nantes Saint-Nazaire Développement.

On the press side, the media partners are L'Usine Nouvelle, Industrie & Technologies, Le Journal des Entreprises, Machines Production, Tolerie Mag, GPO Magazine, La Tribune des Métaux and La Tribune de la Sidérurgie. Press contact is handled by the agency B Side.

On site: what you need to know

For access, parking and accommodation, see the venue page: Parc des Expositions de Nantes (Route de Saint-Joseph de Porterie, 44300 Nantes; tram line 1 or bus C6 of the Naolib network; 5,000 parking spaces in the immediate vicinity; taxi rank on site).

Specific to the trade show: open on Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 October from 9am to 6pm, on Thursday 8 October from 9am to 5pm. Entry is free and reserved for professionals, on presentation of an e-badge to be downloaded in advance. On-site services: catering, information points, exhibitor directory and maps, free cloakroom. Entrance no. 2 is dedicated to people with reduced mobility, with 50 reserved parking spaces.

The IGO app, available on mobile and computer, acts as the thread running through the visit: exhibitor search, trade show map, appointment booking, conference programme, badge scanning and contact export after the event.

How much it costs to exhibit

Preparing your visit

For the exhibitor

• Request the official classification (PDF downloadable on the Secteurs et nomenclatures page) before positioning your offer: the classification determines visibility in the directory and the app.
• Activate the free business-meeting service in advance: 553 B2B meetings were arranged in 2024, with a 77% completion rate.
• For a start-up, compare the Village Start-up (390 € excl. VAT for the day, 990 € excl. VAT for the three days) with a standard stand: it is the lowest entry ticket for testing the trade show.
• Apply for the Trophées Industrie Grand Ouest if the calendar allows: 2026 applications were open from 20 April to 21 June, for a jury meeting on 1 July.
• Exhibitor sales contact: Agathe Bassement, agathe.bassement@exponantes.com, +33 (0)2 40 52 49 60.

For the decision-making visitor

• Download the free badge online before coming: access is reserved for professionals and proof may be requested.
• Plan your route in the IGO app and book your exhibitor appointments before the opening.
• Time your visit around the conferences: Tuesday 6 October 11.15am for industrial sovereignty, Wednesday 7 October 11.15am for decarbonisation.
• Set aside the evening of Wednesday 7 October for the Trophées: it is the busiest networking moment of the trade show.
• One day is enough to cover the trade show; two if you want to combine conferences, business meetings and the Village Start-up.

Policy & CSR initiatives

The most tangible commitment lies at the level of the organiser and the venue, which here are the same entity. Exponantes has been engaged in CSR since 2008 and holds ISO 20121 certification, the international standard for responsible event management, obtained in 2016 and renewed since, most recently in 2025. The scope covers the organisation and hosting of professional and public events as well as the maintenance of the site's 36,000 m² of covered space and 20 hectares of green space. The Parc des Expositions de Nantes was, in 2010, the first European exhibition park certified ISO 14001 for its environmental approach, a certification dropped in 2016 in favour of ISO 20121, then assessed AFAQ 26000 in 2014. "Le contrôle et la maîtrise des impacts économiques, sociaux et environnementaux sont désormais ancrés dans l'ADN d'Exponantes" ("Controlling and managing economic, social and environmental impacts is now embedded in Exponantes' DNA"), states the official website's eco-engaged page.

On mobility, the trade show explicitly points visitors towards the train, the TER BreizhGo regional rail service, car-sharing, the tram and cycling along the banks of the Erdre, and encourages offsetting the carbon footprint of an air journey.

On content, decarbonisation and the environment form one of the four themes of the 2026 edition, with a dedicated conference and the prix de l'industrie durable (sustainable industry award) of the Trophées Industrie Grand Ouest. These are programming priorities, to be distinguished from the certified organisational commitment described above.

How the trade show has evolved

Trajectory analysis

The trade show was born at the initiative of principal contractors and subcontractors in the Grand Ouest and has since been held on a biennial rhythm, in the same location. The 2024 edition marks a clear rebound after 2022: 24% more visitors, 44% new exhibitors and 60% new visitors, a sign of audience renewal rather than a simple maintaining of the existing base.

The positioning is clear and deliberate against the major national events. Global Industrie plays the volume and international card by alternating between Paris and Lyon; the SEPEM Industries Centre-Ouest in Angers covers the same geographical arc in an itinerant, proximity-based format. Industrie Grand Ouest, for its part, banks on its metropolitan Nantes anchoring, regional institutional density and its pairing with the Trophées Industrie Grand Ouest, which give it press visibility beyond the exhibitor base alone.

Two structural developments are worth watching for future editions: the merger, effective from 1 January 2026, of the Parc des Expositions and La Cité, Le Centre des Congrès de Nantes within a single société publique locale, which reshuffles Nantes event governance, and the opening in the second half of 2026 of a new 2,500-seat hall on the site, which could expand the capacity for hosting the trade show's highlights.

Unless otherwise stated, all factual data in this listing comes from the organiser's official website (industrie-nantes.com).