Rick Esterhuizen at Electra Mining Botswana 2015
Leading local and international suppliers to the mining, industrial and power generation sectors gained valuable exposure at Electra Mining Botswana 2015, which took place from 1-3 September at the Gaborone Fair Grounds in Gaborone.
The expo, put together by Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery of South Africa in partnership with local company Soapbox Communications, attracted 2,267 visitors and hosted 130 exhibitors. Visitors were able to see a wide range of products and services related to mining, industrial engineering and manufacturing, electrical engineering, power generation, materials handling, safety, health and environment, machines tools and construction, amongst others.
“We received good feedback from our exhibitors with many saying that the show exceeded their expectations,” said Gary Corin, Managing Director of Specialised Exhibitions. “Our visitor numbers increased over the previous show in 2013, with over 40% of visitors having pre-registered indicating their early interest in attending. The majority of visitors were from Botswana with some 12% of visitors coming from South Africa and international participation included visitors from Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Kuwait, Mauritius, Oman, Poland, Russia, USA and Zimbabwe. Of the visitors, around 52% were executive management in addition to professional engineers and technical personnel, procurement management, safety, quality control and training.”
For visitors, Electra Mining Botswana gave an opportunity to build valuable business connections, discover the latest in technology developments and find out about the latest new products, equipment and services. There were daily live demonstrations and interactive product displays.
“There was much to be seen and much to learn at the show with the opportunity to interact with exhibitors and their technical experts, attend information packed seminars, network with decision-makers and boost collaboration and international trade,” said Corin. “It was also greatly beneficial to have the endorsement of the Botswana Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources and by the Botswana Chamber of Mines.”
Luis Qareia, Product Development Manager at Rio Carb said that there was “great interest and a good turnout of clients on their stand”. Craig Martin, MD of Preston Invest said that they “have had very good results out of Electra Mining Botswana 2015.” Louis Uys from Airtrax said that it was a “great show, good interest and they would gladly exhibit again.” Vladimer Pribil, MD of GE said that the show “exceeded expectations.” Jenny van Rooyen from Schneider Electric described the show as a “great experience” and that they “acquired some good sales leads and will definitely be back at the 2017 show.”
Other leading exhibitors at Electra Mining Botswana include AC/DC Dynamics, Air Liquide Botswana, Aerzen Airgas, Beka Schreder, Becker Mining, BH Botswana, BMG, Bosch, Durma, Endress + Hauser, Filtration Africa, Franklin Electric, Jachris Hose and Couplings, Multotec, Schneider Electric, Seapro Botswana, Tubestone, Woodmead Group, Verder Pumps and Voltex, amongst many others.
Electra Mining Botswana also featured exciting free-to-attend seminars that provided insights and information on a number of key industry topics. Vuyiswa Mojela, Director of Soapbox Communications said there was an excellent programme of speakers that included Onthusitse Harold Melaetsa, Chief Minerals Officer at the Botswana Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Kabo Molimi, Client Relationship Manager at Rand Merchant Bank Botswana, and Charles Siwawa, Chief Executive Officer at Botswana Chamber of Mines. The seminars were well attended and we received very good visitor feedback.
Many of this year’s exhibitors have already signed for exhibition space at the September 2017 show, with additional stand reserves pending confirmation.
“As an international mining, industrial, power generation and machine tools event with leading brand exhibitors and a rich seminar offering, Electra Mining Botswana is here to stay and we look to further grow the show in 2017,” said Corin.
