bauma preview
bauma maintains
Organisers of the construction and mining industry trade fair
bauma CONEXPO AFRICA 2018, are expecting between
16 000 and 20 000 visitors, writes Robyn Grimsley.
S
takeholders in the African and
international construction and
mining industries are set to meet
up in March at bauma CONEXPO
AFRICA 2018. This is the third
edition of the show, following those in
2013 and 2015, and will be held at the
Johannesburg Expo Centre in South
Africa from 13 to 16 March 2018.
In addition to suppliers of
complete machines and systems, the
600+ exhibitors will also include
manufacturers and suppliers of
components, such as engines and
gear units. This year, organisers
are expecting between 16 000 and
20 000 visitors over the course of the
four-day event, which will not only
showcase innovative new products
and tried-and-tested solutions,
but also provide an overview of
the latest market trends in the
construction and mining industry
in the sub-Saharan region.
According to the CEO of trade
fair organiser BC Expo South
Africa, Elaine Crewe, the show
has attracted industry leaders, both
companies that participated in
previous editions, and those that
[28] MINING MIRROR FEBRUARY 2018
will be taking part for the first time.
“We are going to have an impressive
line-up of the entire industry at the
trade fair,” she says, “with industry
leaders including Associated Asphalt
Equipment, Bauer, Bell Equipment,
CLT – Crane Load Technology, Doka,
GEDA-Dechenreiter, Hansa-Flex,
Hiab, Husqvarna, Hytec Holdings,
ITR Africa, Iveco, Layher, Masa,
MB Crusher, Pan Mixers South
Africa, Pilequip, Putzmeister, Scaw,
Shantui, Wirtgen, XCMG, and
ZF Services. We are also looking
forward to having Deutz Dieselpower
and Powerstar for the first time.”
Regional trends
One of the notable market trends in
the sub-Saharan Africa region is a
growing sense of quality awareness.
“A transformation is currently taking
place in the member states of the
Southern African Development
Community, whereby construction
companies are no longer simply
looking to find the supplier with
the lowest price, but want to ensure
top quality through best practices,”
says Gan Luckun, MD of formwork
and scaffolding manufacturer Doka
South Africa. According to Luckun,
his company is seeing an increase in
sales of many products due to the
changing context in the region, from
an automated time-saving sensor
system that measures the development
in the temperature and strength of
concrete in real time, to extremely
robust and easy-to-operate floor forms.
For Stephen Jones, group marketing
director at Bell Equipment, the
exhibition has a particularly strong
appeal, “because of our African
heritage and our approach to
provide a one-stop shop for quality
equipment solutions in the region.”
According to Jones, the exhibition
is a well-supported platform and is
extremely beneficial to the construction
and mining industry in Africa.
Shani Ellis, SHEQ manager at
Deutz Dieselpower, says that the
current market, particularly in South
Africa, is tough, largely due to the
low growth rate and the uncertainty
created by the publication of the
controversial Mining Charter by
the South African Department
of Mineral Resources (DMR) in
sense of appeal