If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you were at this year’s Electra Mining Africa exhibition last month, and boy, was it a sight for sore eyes. Being the first large event of its kind that I’ve personally attended since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and consequent lockdown, I only realised how much I’d missed these once I was there.
Judging by first-hand accounts and personal impressions, there was a festive vibe from beginning to end, and plaudits must go to the organiser, Specialised Exhibitions, for putting on a spectacle befitting the continent’s biggest event of its kind.
The stars of the show, though, were the exhibitors, who truly went ‘all in’ with their stands. Unsurprisingly, the most eye-catching stands were those of the big companies with big marketing spend, who managed to pack in plenty of their latest and greatest offerings while still giving visitors enough space to breathe, and even sit and have a cup of coffee and some snacks over a chat with a company representative.
Credit must also go to the smaller exhibitors, with more humble budgets, who nevertheless managed to get the best bang for their buck and made sure to have employees on stand duty who were knowledgeable and happy to talk about not only their own products, but general goings-on in their respective fields of expertise. All in all, the exhibiting companies put their best foot forward to take advantage of this biennial opportunity to network with other people in the industry and show off their wares.
Even the greatest show on Earth would be pointless if there were nobody there to see it, and they came in droves – more than 30 000 pairs of feet through the gates across the five days of the expo, which celebrated its 50th edition this year. In fact, it was such a success that half of the 650+ exhibitors have already booked their stands for the 2024 instalment, which will once again be held at the Johannesburg Expo Centre (NASREC) in early September.
Between now and then, rest assured there will be plenty of opportunities to get out of the office and spend some quality time enjoying the sorely missed atmosphere of good old-fashioned, in-person exhibitions. The next big one on the horizon for the industrial manufacturing sector is Africa Automation Technology Fair (AATF) from 9 to 11 May 2023, together with the co-located launch event, Future Manufacturing Africa (FMA) Trade Fair and Summit 2023.
Technews Publishing is proud to be the official media partner of RX Africa (formerly Reed Exhibitions) for AATF, and we look forward to seeing you at the Johannesburg Expo Centre (NASREC) for another taste of what’s what and who’s who in the South African automation landscape.
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