Stamp of approval

Next year will see the inaugural Bauma Africa exhibition held from 18 to 21 September in Johannesburg, South Africa. The original Bauma exhibition is held in Munich, Germany every three years and at 550,000 m², it is by far the largest construction equipment event in the world.

The last ten years has seen the launch of the Bauma China exhibition in Shanghai as well as the BC India exhibition in Mumbai, which is organised in cooperation with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), which runs the ConExpo show in Las Vegas, US.

So the announcement of Bauma Africa is a significant step for the Southern African market, as general manager of organiser Messe München International (MMI) South Africa, Elaine Crewe explained, "It is an emerging market. Messe München put in a lot of research. They want to come into Africa in a sustainable way and be here for a long time.

"There are numerous exhibitions here focussed on mining. Obviously Bauma is a lot more focussed on the construction machinery market, and there has been a gap in the market for a show like this."

And according to Ms Crewe, even with a year to go the exhibition is going to be bigger than the initial estimate of 20,000 m2. "We've had a great response from the industry and many of the key players have committed to the event. We also have a lot of international exhibitors coming into the show, and of course we will have a lot of African exhibitors," she said.

The show will be held at the Gallagher Convention Centre, which Ms Crewe describes as "An exceptional venue." She added, "It's well located, and the infrastructure has improved a lot following the World Cup."

Gary Bell, chief executive of South Africa's most prominent construction equipment maker, Bell Equipment, said, "An international exhibition of this stature in sub-Saharan Africa has been long awaited and we at Bell Equipment look forward to supporting an event which will have positive spin-offs for the region, the construction industry and our customers."