BAUMA ConExpo Africa attracts 14,300 people

BAUMA ConExpo Africa, which took place from Sept. 15 to 18, 2015, at the Johannesburg Expo Centre, drew more than 14,300 visitors from 75 countries, say the event’s organizers.

The event, which was billed as an International Trade Fair for Construction Machinery, Building Material Machines, Mining Machines and Construction Vehicles, drew predominantly South Africans, although 13 percent of the visitors came from outside that nation. The African countries sending the most attendees beside the host country were Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique and Botswana.

“We have achieved our goal of welcoming more and higher quality visitors from the sub-Saharan region,” says Stefan Rummel, managing director of Germany-based Messe München, one of the lead organizers of the event. “BAUMA ConExpo Africa has now without doubt established itself as a platform for the industry that brings together African and international companies.”

Says Megan Tanel, vice president for exhibitions at the United States-based Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), adds, “Africa continues to be an important market for our North American equipment manufacturers. BAUMA ConExpo Africa is the event to not only enter into the market but also to engage with existing customers.”

A total of 616 exhibitors from 42 countries exhibited at the event, using 68,000 square meters (730,000 square feet) of exhibition space. The top 10 exhibiting countries were South Africa, China, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, India, the U.S., France, Turkey and Spain.

Exhibitor Stephen Jones of Bell Equipment expressed satisfaction with the stream of attendees, saying, “The quality of the visitors has been really good – there were proper buyers.” Adds John Beukes, managing director at ITR South Africa, “Here at BAUMA ConExpo Africa, the quality of visitors, the seriousness, is a lot more intense compared to other shows. It’s a great mix of local visitors and neighboring countries. We had really serious people from the sub-Saharan region.”