The success of a tradeshow largely depends on the number of serious visitors it is able to pull together. Once a tradeshow is able to do this, translating queries into real term business is just a matter of time. The Modern Machine Shop 2008 organised at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from April 25-29 gave most exhibitors a good reason to feel ebullient. The show was able to spread its charm and bring in some good business visitors.

Organised by Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA), the show turned out to be an effective B2B platform addressing up-gradation of machine and job shops to improve productivity & quality and achieve manufacturing flexibility. The five-day show displayed metalworking machinery, low-cost automation, material handling, quality control systems and equipment, off-the shelf production aids and accessories.

One of the unique features of the exhibition was 'Model Machine Shop' which showcased modern manufacturing workshop incorporating proven and cost-effective techniques. The concept was meant to be suitably modified for specific needs.

Speaking on the occasion, NK Dhande, President, IMTMA said, "This is the first edition of the show and is one of its kind in South East Asia. We have decided to organise the show every two years all over India where you will get to see every component of the modern manufacturing shop floor on display."

The show, which was, organised over 60,000 sq feet area of the venue had about 111 exhibitors including 24 overseas. The countries which participated in the show included Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Italy, Turkey, UK and Germany. The five-day show, which had, exhibits worth more than Rs 40 crore is expected to generate 10,000 business visitors.

Talking on the relevance of the show to India, Dhande said, "India is the 10th largest market of machine/tool consumption and in terms of production it is the 16th largest." Dhande further said organising the show in Delhi was motivated by the fact that it had a good venue in Pragati Maidan and Delhi NCR also happened to be one of the important machine tool hubs.

The exhibitors who came from different parts of the country were by and large satisfied with the response they received at the show. One of the key factors that helped the show garner a good crowd of exhibitors was the credibility of the organiser. The IMTMA is a well-known name in machine and tool segment and has a good number of industries as its members.

Amit Goel of Micromatic Machine Tools who had put up his stall said, "The IMTMA is a well-known body and maintains transparency in its dealings. Moreover, it has a good network and knows how to pull the crowd, which is crucial for every exhibitor."

Goel said that he received more than 25-30 visitors on the first day out of which 15 were real enquiries. "The Model Machine Shop was one of the unique features of the exhibition, which guided industries on productivity and efficiency," said Goel, impressed with the modular show.

H Madhusudan, Vice President, Electronica HiTech said, "One of the reasons we participated in the show was to capture the North Indian market. We are a new Company and the exhibition provided a good platform to showcase our products," Madhusudan received about 33 enquiries on the first day worth Rs 6 crore and was optimistic of the outcome.

Madusudan however lamented that he came to know of the show only two months back as this was the first edition. "The organiser in their manual had mentioned that they would have four halls for the exhibitors but could get barely exhibitors only for two halls," he said.

Sachin Agarwal of SS Tools, a Delhi-based Company, who was one of the exhibitors said, "It's the quality of visitors rather than their number that matters. Even one visitor who gives business is more than 20 who come here on pleasure-trip."

Agarwal however believes in the dictum that 'you have to be seen to sell'. "The exhibition is a good platform to market your products and is an important part of the marketing strategy," said Agarwal who received more than 20 visitors on the first day of the show.