STOM 2026 in Kielce: From "What the Machine Can Do" to "How to Build a Stable Process"

The question has shifted

A few years ago, the typical booth conversation started with "what can this machine do?" That question is gone. What we heard in Kielce, again and again, was different:

"How do I build a stable, repeatable finishing process — one that holds up in real production, with less manual work?"

That shift matters. It means customers are no longer evaluating finishing equipment as a standalone function. They are thinking in processes — deburring, R2 edge rounding, polishing, and brushing as a connected chain that has to deliver consistent quality, batch after batch, shift after shift. Individual features are table stakes. Repeatability is the decision driver.

This is exactly the direction Evotec has been building toward, and it was energizing to see so many fabricators in the region arrive at the same conclusion.

Live at the booth: the SurfeX SRS 800

Together with our regional partner, we ran the SurfeX SRS 800 live throughout the show — and it became the natural anchor for most of our conversations. The SRS is built for exactly the kind of process thinking customers were describing: deburring, deslagging, edge rounding, and line-grain finishing, delivered in one continuous pass.

The configuration tells the story:

• Drum Head (front) — removes vertical burrs, slag, and oxide layer
• Rotary Brushes (middle) — round edges and smooth surfaces
• Drum Head (end) — applies a uniform line-grain finish

For a fabricator running laser-cut or stamped stainless steel, carbon steel, or aluminum parts into downstream coating, painting, or assembly, that sequence removes a huge amount of manual handling — and, more importantly, removes the variability that manual handling introduces. Visitors were especially interested in the machine's energy savings, its 3rd-generation abrasives, and the 99% dust extraction efficiency that keeps the workspace clean without compromising throughput.

Seeing the machine run on real parts, in real conditions, made the process conversation concrete in a way a spec sheet never can.

Poland: a dynamic and maturing market

Poland continues to stand out as one of the most promising fabrication markets in Europe. The manufacturers we met in Kielce are under real pressure — pressure to improve efficiency, to reduce manual work, to deliver more consistent quality to increasingly demanding downstream customers. They are not looking for "a deburring machine." They are looking for a finishing strategy that can scale with their production.

That maturity is why strong local partnerships matter. Standing in front of the SRS 800 with our partner's team on the ground was a picture of what long-term cooperation looks like in practice: shared understanding of the market, alignment on technology, and a willingness to roll up sleeves with customers to solve real problems — not just sell boxes. Several of the most productive conversations at the booth came from long-standing customer relationships our partner brought to the show — fabricators who already trust the team and wanted to dig into how an automated SRS line would change their day-to-day operations.

What we're taking home

A few observations from the week that are shaping our next steps:

• Process beats features. Customers are making decisions based on how equipment fits into a repeatable workflow, not on isolated specs.
• Manual reduction is non-negotiable. Labor pressure and consistency demands are pushing every serious fabricator toward automation of the finishing stage.
• R2 edge rounding is now mainstream vocabulary. Five years ago it was a specialist topic. In Kielce, it was in almost every technical conversation — a strong signal that coating-ready, safe-to-handle parts are becoming the baseline expectation.
• Partnerships carry the market. Being present alongside our local partner, rather than next to them, was what turned a trade show into a genuine regional dialogue.

Thank you, Kielce

To everyone who stopped by the booth, shared a challenge, or stayed for a longer conversation — thank you. The real value of an exhibition, for us, is never the visibility. It is the understanding of where the market is actually moving, and the chance to build the relationships that turn that understanding into the next generation of solutions.

Poland, we will be back. And in the meantime, there is plenty of work to do together.

The Step Up continues.

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