While there is a great increase in the complexity of current car body projects, at the same time, when choosing the most suitable joining technology for each given situation, there are also a number of basic constraints. First and foremost, these include putting production efficiency and cost efficiency at the center of attention – without compromising the potential for flexibility. These are the topics that govern today’s discussions about automotive body shop technologies, and these are among the topics that are addressed at the our North America-based, annual “Joining in Car Body Engineering” conference, where our leading network of expert engineers gets together each year for an exchange of current progress reports from leading OEMs, innovations of important system suppliers and practical ideas of renowned research institutes.