July 2014 | Page 12

w hat ’ s th e B u z z ? Automechanika Johannesburg 2015 Dates Announced How time flies. It seems like yesterday that the inaugural Automechanika Johannesburg was held in 2009, and yet at a breakfast function on 29 May 2014 at the Johannesburg Country Club, Auckland Park, the fourth edition’s dates were announced. With Africa expected to be the fastest growing economic region in 2014 and beyond, the question is not “why do business in Africa”, but rather “how?” The “how” factor is where Automechanika Johannesburg is playing an ever-increasing role as a solution in providing a business platform to reach into Africa”. The dates will be 6 to 9 May 2015, and as expected the venue will be the Johannesburg Expo Centre. Michael Johannes, brand manager Automechanika, says that “Africa as an upcoming region is of great importance to us and we take pleasure in inviting the Southern Africa automotive community to participate in this event”. Show director Philip Otto adds that “Automechanika Johannesburg is firmly established as a premier business to business event for the automotive aftermarket in South Africa and the subSaharan African Region. Show visitation by business owners and managers from Africa witnessed a huge boost during the 2013 edition and there is good reason to believe that this trend will continue in 2015. ➲ Show director Philip Otto with project manager marketing communications Pula Dippenaar at the announcement of the show dates Highlights of the 2015 event will be the Messe Frankfurt Against Copying regime to disallow product piracy, the Automechanika Academy Fringe Programme providing opportunities for company’s leaders to share knowledge of future trends and technologies, the well- established Automechanika Innovation Award, Truck Competence which highlights the importance of the commercial vehicle sector in sub-Saharan Africa, a green visitor guide known as Green Directory, and Tomorrow’s mobility which looks at mobility concepts such as charging infrastructure, financing and energy management, through to basic and advanced training.