Always focus on “People First” strategy. Aim to build a strong customer relationship and then do continuous improvement to add more value to sq.mt. sold.
ES. Please give us a brief overview of your role and responsibilities as the Executive Director, Trade Fairs at IMTMA?
Guru Prasath. It has been a great privilege for me to be associated with the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA) in the role as Executive Director – Trade Fairs. I took over the responsibilities of managing the trade fairs portfolio at a time when businesses globally were badly hit, due to Covid situation. By June 2022, we successfully organised IMTEX Forming, and then closely followed with IMTEX 2023 (metal cutting) in Jan 2023. Both these shows were hugely successfully and recently we concluded IMTEX 2024. These trade fairs provided the much-needed fillip to our members and exhibitors with excellent business enquiries/orders, provided a positive business environment and stability across manufacturing domains.
IMTEXs and our regional trade fairs, and other events viz. conferences summits etc. all made quick robust comeback with bigger and better results, and thus gave good fillip to manufacturing businesses across the industries. As we look forward, and look ahead with our upcoming trade fairs and events lined up, we are fully geared up to raise the bar, set new benchmarks and standards and aiming to achieve new milestones.
As the Executive Director- Trade Fairs at IMTMA, I work closely with our member organisations, committee members, exhibitors, global associations and communities in the machine tool industries. I also work closely with other numerous exhibition industry stakeholders, friends within the exhibition communities to leverage, share and adopt best practices and as well to set new standards for our trade fairs and to further create networking opportunities.
As well, in my role, I work closely with our senior committee members & secretariat, to chart the future strategy for our trade fairs and events business, for everyone’s benefit.
ES. What were the key highlights of the recently concluded IMTEX FORMING 2024? What are the primary objectives behind organizing trade fairs in the machine tool industry, from IMTMA’s perspective?
Guru Prasath. The recently concluded IMTEX FORMING 2024 is hailed as Asia’s largest exhibition on metal forming and manufacturing technologies. The exhibition grew in size by about 80%. Business orders in the range of ₹ 500 – 550 Cr ($ 60 Mn) and enquiries in the range of ₹ 4,500 – 5,000 Cr ($ 590 Mn) were generated as reported on the last day of the show. More than 625+ exhibitors from 20 countries exhibited upcoming technologies and trends in metal forming. The exhibition attracted 44,779 visitors to witness the advancements in presses, bending, welding and joining, high-speed laser machines, robotics, automation in sheet metal working, etc.
IMTEX is IMTMA’s flagship show and by organizing IMTEX (focusing on metal cutting machine tools) and IMTEX FORMING (focusing on metal forming machine tools), it has been enhancing trade and commerce by connecting the global machine tool community with India and enhancing its development.
ES. How do trade fairs organized by IMTMA contribute to the growth and development of the Indian machine tool industry?
Guru Prasath. IMTMA organizes IMTEX, IMTEX FORMING, and regional machine tool expos viz. Pune Machine Tool Expo, Delhi Machine Tool Expo, and smaller format events in tier 2 & tier 3 cities to bring technologies to the doorsteps of industries in India. It is important to note that trade fairs such as these set the ball rolling for achieving a set of goals, most of these being oriented toward meeting marketing and sales goals.
Personal contact, direct communication with visitors, live experience of products and technologies, obtaining market intelligence, etc. help the Indian machine tool industry stay abreast of the latest developments and trends.
ES. With the increasing digitalization of events, how does IMTMA adapt to stay relevant in organizing IMTEX? What was the significance of technology in the show?
Guru Prasath. Moving with the times, IMTEX FORMING incorporated digitalization in a big way. Visitor registration was done using QR code scanning, and freight vehicle movement during setup and dismantling was completely digitalized. Service providers coming into the venue for setup and dismantling were completely paperless, a first of its kind in the exhibition industry, gaining access based on their biometrics.
Furthermore, the exhibitor manual was uploaded online, webinar series were conducted to help companies get an understanding of the operations part. IMTEX web app allowed visitors to get first-hand information about the exhibition and e-invites were also sent in addition to the physical copies. Overall, technology was highly significant and played a crucial role in terms of organizing a hassle-free exhibition for exhibitors, visitors, and all other stakeholders.
ES. What are your plans for 2024? Are there any new initiatives or projects on the horizon for IMTMA?
Guru Prasath. IMTMA is organizing the third edition of its regional machine tool show – Pune Machine Tool Expo alongside FACTEQ, a first-of-its-kind exhibition on factory equipment from 23 to 26 May 2024 at the Pune International Exhibition and Convention Center, Moshi, Pune. The Pune Machine Tool Expo will bring technologies and solutions to the doorsteps of the regional industries in India.
The 9th edition of the Machine Tool Industry Summit will be held in Goa to provide a forum to the entire machine tool fraternity including the machine tool builders, sub-suppliers, accessories, and allied equipment manufacturers, vendors, R&D institutions, industry experts and individuals to network, collate ideas and set forth a process of organized thinking, analysis and deliberations.
The 7th edition of the Symposium on Automation & Robotics will also be held later this year focusing on the development of new technologies, the application of Industry 4.0, and the use of automation in diverse manufacturing processes.
ES. Venue selection, undoubtedly is a primal decision to make, how do you see Bangalore International Exhibition Centre as a venue ideally positioned to attract its target audience?
Guru Prasath. The infrastructure at BIEC is suitable not only for large exhibitions but also for mega conferences to be held with great ease. The large columnless exhibition halls can accommodate more than 20,000 people in a single valedictory session, making it a preferred venue for large conferences.
Built by IMTMA the exhibition and conference space at BIEC covers around 77,200 square metres including five halls and an exclusive Conference Centre with six halls spanning an area of 5,600 square metres that can accommodate around 50 to 1,500 people.
Other amenities like a food court with a fine dining area and international food brands, a registration area with over 40 plug-and-play counters, ample parking space, and other facilities make BIEC an exceptional venue of choice for exhibitions and conferences.
ES. What message would you like to give to the exhibition industry at this time?
Guru Prasath. Always focus on “People First” strategy. Aim to build a strong customer relationship and then do continuous improvement to add more value to sqm sold. Focus on improving the customer and visitor experiences and focus to do it rightly. This mantra is more important than ever, and hence continuous improvement on all areas of exhibition management is required – sales, marketing and operations.
