Tradeshows have been yielding good results for exhibitors and organisers alike. But what if things go awry, thwarting the expectations of one, at the cost of the other? It was precisely the scenario during the recently organised Lift and Escalator Expo 2008 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, where exhibitors’ complaint of a raw deal.

Organised by Media Exposition & Events, the three-day show concluded here on August 4, 2008 with many of the exhibitors complaining against the undelivered promises. It was not only the exhibitors who found themselves stranded, but also the visitors who had little choice to select from.

Shekhar Rao, a Bangalore-based businessman who came to the show to buy escalator for his new venture in Karnataka had little choice as there were only five companies dealing with lifts and escalators in the show. "Had I known this, I would have planned to make individual visits to these manufacturers instead of coming to the show," said Rao.

India's lift and escalator business is high on trajectory growth as construction industry booms and new malls come up in B-class cities. According to experts, thousands of lifts and escalators are being installed every year. Last year alone, Delhi Metro ordered some 400 escalators for its ongoing project in the Capital. With the average cost of escalators coming to Rs 15-20 lakhs per unit, it's a multi-crore business now.

Organising a platform to exhibit these products has equally become an uneasy task, as the lift and escalator clusters are dispersed in various parts of the country. Mumbai enjoys a singular position with more than 50-60 manufacturers whereas Delhi has only couple of them.

"The last time that we participated in the show was in Mumbai. Although the show had good number of exhibitors, it couldn't generate enough business. Here in Delhi, it's the same situation. It's too small an exhibition to participate. Last year, the organiser had planned to organise this event but had to cancel because they couldn't get enough exhibitors," said Prabhat Bhardwaj, MD of PM Vertical Solution.

"Participating in a show is investment-intensive, both in terms of money and time. We had Company people who travelled all the way from Germany to participate in the show and all we got was 5-6 visitors a day. From the next time we are not going to participate in the show, even for free," said Bhardwaj adding, "The worst part was that the organiser had clubbed lift and escalator show with sundry products like pickles, food products and crockery and cutleries."

A similar view was expressed by Ravi Sharma of Ram Ratna Group, a Delhi-based company which deals in 4 Level Puzzle Parking, Tower Parking and Twin Car Parking System. "The organiser had promised an International show but there was no one from any other countries. Not only this, there were no major builders, architect or construction company from India who came to participate in the show," Ravi said.

Ravi had other complaint against the organiser, "In the layout, I was allotted a stall at the very entrance, but when I came here, I was told to move to the rear of the hall. Why can't we be told of change, if any, in advance," complaint Ravi who received a meagre 3-4 visitor out of 15-20, each day.

Another exhibitor, Arun Aggarwal of Apex Elevators seemed less dissatisfied and said the response was good in terms of visitors. But he too was unhappy over the clubbing of exhibits. "There was a complete chaos. No one could figure out where the show on lift and escalators was going on," said Aggarwal.

There was one exhibitor who felt that organising a show on lift and escalator was a welcome step. "This is for the first time that such a show is being organised in Delhi. But to make such shows successful, other players including manufacturers of spare parts should also be included," said Pankaj Arora, Project Director, Beacon Elevators & Escalators.

Giving the show a rating of 7/10, Pankaj who has been exporting his units to countries like Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries, said that creating an awareness in the NCR regions and satellite towns of Delhi was crucial to make such shows successful. "It's a sector in which post-sell service and maintenance play an important role and there are a lot of potential buyers and users of these products in the neighbouring towns. So, their involvement is equally important," Pankaj stated.