Exhibitors primed for biggest truck fair in SA
COMMERCIAL NEWS/ New range of Daewoo workhorses to debut among a raft of solutions at Futuroad Expo, writes Phuti Mpyane
It’s all systems go for the sixth annual Automechanika Johannesburg trade fair, which will take place at the Expo Centre at Nasrec from September 18-21. Registration for interested parties has opened and free visitor passes are available from automechanikasa.co.za.
The 2019 fair is expected to attract more than 600 exhibitors from more than 20 countries and 12,000 visitors.
Automechanika will be colocated with two other shows: the Futuroad Expo for commercial vehicles, trucks and buses; and Scalex Expo, a trade fair for transport systems, infrastructure and logistics solutions.
Manufacturers and distributors of new heavy, medium and light commercial vehicles, truck trailers, superstructures, bulk transport bodies, refrigeration
solutions and cranes will mingle with exhibitors of the latest in bus brands, luxury coach makers, and specialised utility vehicles such as ambulances, police vehicles, and fire and rescue vehicles.
Indian brand Tata Daewoo will use the event to launch a new range of trucks in SA. Volvo and its Japanese subsidiary, UD Trucks, will be launching the Quon range of trucks during the show, while other brands taking part include FAW, Powerstar, JMC and Fiat Professional, as well as bodybuilder Serco and component supplier Trailquip.
Messe Frankfurt, one of the largest trade-fair organisers in the world, is aware of the importance of trucks and buses in the global transport industry and that is why it has set up Futuroad as a standalone show, while continuing to promote the display of parts, accessories and services for trucks and buses at its 17 international Automechanika trade fairs for the automotive aftermarket.
Visitors seeking insight on numerous sectors will be accommodated through 15 highlevel conferences that have been scheduled and confirmed to run alongside the main show. These include the Retail Motor Industry organisation, Fuel Retailers Association, Collision Repairers Association and the RMI Reman Cluster.
The expo will incorporate free-to-attend skills development zones in the halls as well as experiential content to strengthen the appeal of the event to a wider pool of visitors.
In addition, the Motor Industry Association of Zimbabwe will hold its annual conference at Expo Centre during the event. This will be the first time this annual congress, which attracts top-level buyers, will be hosted outside of Zimbabwe.
“We have a big drive to attract key buyers from around Africa and will be conducting road shows to eight key countries in Africa over the coming months,” says Joshua Low, MD at Messe Frankfurt SA.
Both the department of trade and industry and SA African Tourism are offering funding for a hosted buyer programme from these countries.
THE EXPO WILL INCORPORATE FREETO-ATTEND