Automechanika Middle East, the region’s leading trade fair for the auto aftermarket, re-confirmed its pole position in the industry with the latest record breaking installment notching up more than 12,500 visitors. They were rewarded with the chance to meet 811 exhibiting companies attending from 44 countries, registering the event as the most international so far.
Whilst countries such as Germany, the US and Japan lead the automotive industry, this year’s show presented them and also many substantial national groups from other parts of the world. Examples include Australia, Brazil and even Peru, all of whom were participating at Automechanika Middle East to assert their claim over the region’s flourishing vehicle spare parts and accessories market, worth more than US$12.6Billion.
Spain’s participation generated a positive response, best described by Mr. David Fernandez Pablo, General Manager of L&D Aromaticos. He said “our experience in Automechanika Middle East has been extraordinarily beneficial and we are completely satisfied with results we obtained. In the previous years we participated in other exhibitions in Dubai, but the results were completely less than the ones we had in Automechanika.” He also noted that “Automechanika Middle East will become the second most important exhibition in the world after Automechanika Frankfurt”.
Being represented at Automechanika Middle East for the first time, Masahiro Shiiya, Deputy General Manager of Aisin Seiki summarises the event:
“The show has been organized exceedingly well. We welcomed many visitors, numerous potential sales leads, and it helps us to source market intelligence. We see the show growing more and we will be back next year for sure”.
A similar experience was voiced by Mr. Bimal Gandhi of FAG Middle East. He said they had “met potential clients from all over the Middle East, namely, Iran, Syria, Egypt and Kuwait. We had a very good response and many good sales leads.” Above all he rates the Automechanika Middle East as “the best show in the region.”
In addition to important endorsements from the international and local trade, the organisers have confirmed that Automechanika Middle East now ranks amongst the world’s top ten aftermarket events.
Mr. Michael Dehn, Exhibition Manager of Automechanika Middle East said “this is not just a sales claim, but something being fed back to us by our exhibitors and associations. The facts speak for themselves in terms of number of exhibitors and visitors. We look forward to another record breaking show next year.” So enthusiastic are the organisers that dates for the next Automechanika Middle East have already been set for 1 – 3 June, 2008.
In their next event, the organisers are further increasing the segmentation of the exhibition into product groups. With such a positive feedback from the motorsport, tuning and performance section, more resources will be allocated to create the region’s largest sourcing platform for all professional customizing and performance companies.
Mr. Eckhard Pruy, the CEO of Messe Frankfurt Middle East, organisers of Automechanika Middle East, said the Dubai edition ranks second in terms of size amongst the company’s global circuit of 12 Automechanika trade fairs . “This is one of our flagship events. In Germany it attracts 160,000 visitors and over 4,600 exhibitors. We aim to use our experience from Frankfurt and the international reach we have achieved throughout the world, from South America to China, to ensure that exhibitors and visitors to the Middle East show share the same great experience. We’re certainly on track for this in Dubai.”
