JohannesburgExpo Centre, Nasrec
SA EXHIBITORS FARED WELL AT AUTOMECHANIKA IN FRANKFURT
The 12 companies that exhibited on the South African national pavilion at the recent, six-day Automechanika trade fair for the automotive aftermarket in Frankfurt, Germany, fared very well. They are projecting to do R32,2-million of export sales in the six months following this major global event.
The exhibitors reported export sales worth R1,6-million concluded during the event. They collected 242 trade leads and received 630 visitors to their stands, which were built around an open central area on an impressive display stand. An important factor was that an average of 74% of the visitors to the stands were new contacts. Many of the exhibitors also found new distributors for their products.
The exhibitors came from four provinces – Gauteng, Kwazulu-Natal, Western Cape and Eastern Cape. The products showcased included a range of automotive components and services.
In addition the pavilion, which was organized and funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (dti), hosted two major industry organisations, the National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM) and the Automotive Industry Export Council (AIEC). These bodies were represented by executive director Mr Roger Pitot and executive manager Dr Norman Lamprecht respectively.
The South African national pavilion at Automechanika is part of an on-going programme to assist South African companies to promote their goods and services in export markets. The objective was to promote South Africa as a preferred source for automotive components and related services.
NAACAM’s Roger Pitot said that the show again proved an excellent channel to communicate the capabilities of the South African automotive industry in a show that attracted about 150 000 visitors from more than 180 countries over a six day period.
“There was plenty of interest in our exhibitors’ stands and I also, personally, received many queries about our local motor industry, particularly in view of the fact that Automechanika Johannesburg will be staged at Expo Centre in May next year,” said the NAACAM executive.
“It was clear that Europe is experiencing an economic depression and this resulted in fewer visitors from EU countries, but there were large numbers from Asia – particularly China – and the Middle East and I believe this is where a significant number of future sales will come from,” added Pitot.
“I believe the presence of South African companies at major showcases such as Automechanika is essential to build export business and in the case of this trade fair in Frankfurt this is also the centre of our motor industry’s main export market,” explained Dr Norman Lamprecht of the AIDC.
“The companies that participated for the first time were very pleased with the opportunity given to them by the dti, while those who had been to Frankfurt before were able to build on their prior experience to further enhance their involvement. The South Africa pavilion was again a most impressive and user friendly structure and I would like to commend the dti on the overall success of this venture,” added Dr Lamprecht.
The South African companies which exhibited were:
Custom Works Composite: Carbon fibre motorsport and tuning products.
Quantum Automotive: Engine pulleys for motor vehicles – crankshaft and water pump.
C & J Services: Manufacturer and distributor of turned, pressed and plastic injection moulded products for commercial vehicles.
CA Components: Automotive components and gas-powered engines.
Creative Graphics International (cgi): Decals, emblems, functional films and chrome injected moulded emblems.
LMB Euroseals: Brake and clutch rubber repair kits and seals.
Newclear: Manufacturer of universal testers for testing cylinder heads and engine blocks.
PFK Electronics: Electronics company which focuses on the design and manufacture of products such as vehicle security and, telematics systems and alcolocks.
Pinetown Precision Engineering: Manufacturer of replacement cylinder heads for commercial vehicle engines.
QTec Moulding: Manufacturer or injection mouldings.
Triton-Leo Group: Manufacturer and distributor of Q20 multi-purpose lubricant and Q range of products.
XChem Chemicals: Manufacturer of industrial and household adhesives and sealants.
