Signs of industry recovery at bauma CONEXPO AFRICA amidst regional economic challenges

• Sales of machinery into SADC region
• 14,167 visitors attended the trade fair

The premier trade fair for construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines and construction vehicles in Africa has firmly established itself in the market following its third edition.

454 exhibitors from 34 countries and 14,167 visitors attended the international trade fair, which took place from March 13 to 16, 2018, in Johannesburg. 13 percent of the visitors came from outside the host country South Africa. The top five visitor countries from Africa were Zimbabwe, Kenya, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia. Delegations from Chile, Israel, Kenya and Turkey visited the trade fair. Their participation underlines the importance of bauma CONEXPO AFRICA as the largest industry event for this sector in the region.
“The trade fair reflected a sense of renewed optimism and highlighted the opportunities in the industry, despite recent economic challenges”, Stefan Rummel stated, Managing Director of Messe München. Petra Kaiser, Senior Director of International Exhibitions & Events at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), added: “It is significant to have a consistent and engaged presence in the region in order to take advantage of long-term business potential. bauma CONEXPO AFRICA creates a platform to help facilitate these opportunities.”
Exhibitors experienced increased sales of machinery and equipment over the four days of the trade fair, as reported for example by Rajen Garender, Marketing Director, Weir Minerals: “bauma CONEXPO AFRICA is an extremely well-organized and professional trade event. It has been a successful exhibition for Weir Minerals with several promising sales opportunities in the works.”
A highlight of the 2018 edition was the quality of visitors attending: “bauma CONEXPO AFRICA provided excellent networking opportunities for Shantui, providing us with good quality contacts. A well-organized opportunity, however the number of visitors was lower than expected. Due to our success at this edition, Shantui looks forward to exhibiting again in 2021”, said Naseera Barradeen, Marketing Manager, Ever Star Industries.
bauma CONEXPO AFRICA featured exhibitors from across various industry segments that were pleased with the trade fair. “KAESER is very satisfied with the results of this exhibition”, said Marco Angermüller, Manager Product Support at KAESER KOMPRESSOREN. “The number of visitors was limited, but the quality was great for us. We could sign a lot of orders and found many new customers which will help KAESER to grow further in Africa, especially in South Africa.”
The organizers, BC Expo South Africa, Messe München and AEM are looking forward to the next edition of the trade fair, which will take place again in Johannesburg in 2021.