AUTOMECHANIKA
Automechanika, a Leading International Trade Fair for the Automotive Sector
VENUE: Johannesburg Expo Centre, Nasrec (18 - 21 March 2009)
GAYDON SA MOTOR SPARES EXHIBITS AT AUTOMECHANIKA 2009
GAYDON SA MOTOR SPARES’ (GMS) exhibition at AUTOMECHANIKA proved to be a huge success. The stand was received exceptionally well by both foreign and local visitors alike. A wide range of products, as stocked by GMS, were on display, such as Fram Filters, Federal Mogul Aftermarket Products, CNC Clutches, GMS Suspension, GMS Oil/Water/Fuel Pumps, Griffon Car Care Products, Inkosi Franchise Material, to name but a few.
The GMS stand was undoubtedly the busiest stand of all, acting as a platform to interact and network with new and existing clients, attracting new sales and supplier leads.
The highlight of the show being a fun filled prize giving event where GMS literally gave away loads of product to almost everybody that visited the stand. The grand prize being a lucky draw for a Pocket Motorcycle which was won by Faeza Cassim for her twin boys who where ecstatic after claiming their new found fortune. (See pictures below)
AUTOMECHANIKA: GMS STAND
AUTOMECHANIKA: GMS TEAM
AUTOMECHANIKA: GRAND PRIZE WINNER
AUTOMECHANIKA: CONSOLATION PRIZE WINNERS
AUTOMECHANIKA SA TRADE FAIR PROVING TO BE A CATALYST TO ATTRACT OTHER EVENTS
The arrival of the famous, international Automechanika brand in South Africa acted as the catalyst to attract a number of other important exhibitions and events to share the Expo Centre facility, at Nasrec, from March 18-21, 2009. Besides the previously announced Joburg Transport Expo collocating at the venue the Automotive Industry Development Council (AIDC) also staged a National Skills Indaba and Exhibition as an additional activity at Expo Centre over this period.
This project, which is being driven by the AIDC’s business development manager, Fayaz Sacoor, follows overwhelming support for such an event when it was proposed during the AIDC’s National Automotive Conference, which was held in June this year. The AIDC sees that “twinning” the event with Automechanika SA will be very beneficial to both parties, as Automechanika has a very wide reach as it involves automotive replacement part and accessory manufacturers as well as the wide spectrum of service providers to the industry.
Importantly, it ensured that many of the senior members of the local industry, as well as international visitors, were in attendance at this multi-focus event, as Automechanika SA ran alongside the Joburg Transport Expo. The AIDC hosted a number of exhibitors and visitors during the show period and this ensured that a number of these experts in the field of skills development were able to participate in the Indaba.
The Retail Motor Industry organisation (RMI) is a major supporter of Automechanika SA, involving many of its associations in meetings and workshops as well as coordinating the inaugural Automechanika SA Innovation Awards contest and arranged a skills development and employment opportunity display.
The latter initiative aimed to encourage school leavers to take up occupations such as automotive technicians, diesel fitters, motorcycle technicians as well as spray painters and panel beaters, all of which are in big demand as the SA motor industry grows and the number of vehicles on SA roads increases.
Another major “happening” on the local automotive calendar that took place at Expo Centre at a breakfast function during show period will be the release of the 2008 Global Automotive Executive Survey conducted annually by KPMG Global. This will be the eighth consecutive year that this insightful information was released to motor industry executives by the local branch of KPMG. The company expanded the global reach of the study this year so as to include interviews with industry executives from 12 additional countries. This list of countries now includes South Africa, with three companies being interviewed - one OEM and two suppliers.
The number of exhibitors for both Automechanika SA and the Joburg Transport Expo saw a huge increase. Companies from 13 countries outside Africa signed up to attend the inaugural event in South Africa, being Germany, China, Turkey, Thailand, Taiwan, Spain, Italy, Peru, Poland, Greece, India, Portugal and France.