Plant Equipment and Hire February 2018 | Page 35

EVENTS Visitors on their way through the aisles of bauma CONEXPO AFRICA 2015. “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 in June 2017. Nevertheless, we continue to be successful in supplying reliable DEUTZ liquid- and air-cooled engines for mining and construction equipment. Furthermore, there has been comparatively strong demand in FACTS AND FIGURES bauma CONEXPO AFRICA is presented by Messe München, organiser of bauma in Munich, and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), organiser of CONEXPO-CON/AGG. bauma CONEXPO AFRICA 2015: • 68 000m² of exhibition space • 616 exhibitors from 42 countries • 14 311 visitors from 75 countries • 13% of visitors came from outside of South Africa • Top visiting African countries: Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia. 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, bauma CONEXPO AFRICA has a particularly strong appeal, Visitors observing a live demonstration at the outdoor area during bauma CONEXPO AFRICA 2015. A part of the outdoor area of bauma CONEXPO AFRICA 2015. One of JCB’s live demonstrations during bauma CONEXPO AFRICA 2015. FEBRUARY 2018 33