Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA), celebrating 50 years of its flagship IMTEX exhibition, during ‘IMTEX 2019 & Tooltech 2019’ held at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), Bengaluru from 24th to 30th January 2019, has created a new record.
IMTEX 2019 which concluded successfully on 30th January 2019 featured several domestic and foreign visitors who sourced machines for their production units. The exhibition showcased technologies which are vital for moving the Indian manufacturing and machine tool industry forward. Marking 50 years celebration IMTMA introduced a series of new initiatives which were unravelled during the event. Additive Manufacturing and Factory of the Future (Industry 4.0) are seen as technologies heralding a new era in manufacturing. IMTMA had special pavilions and seminars on these. A live demo on implementing Industry 4.0 in Manufacturing was also held at IMTMA Technology Centre during the show. An Experience Zone was set up adjacent to Hall 4 in BIEC. The zone had an archaic collection of IMTEX journey including display of vintage machines from a bygone era, pictures and a short film on IMTEX journey. Celebrating the golden jubilee of IMTEX. IMTMA released an IMTEX Coffee Table Book on 25th January 2019. The book captures the ethos of IMTEX and traces its growth over a timeframe of 50 years since 1969. IMTMA constituted an Eco Design Award to encourage adoption of eco-friendly practices in exhibition stalls. Six companies were conferred with awards in various categories.
An International General Managers’ Meeting was also held during the exhibition to exchange ideas, share knowledge and network. Another attraction for visitors was the presence of two humanoids to connect with technology in the campus during the show. Parallel events organized during IMTEX also had good turnouts. International Buyer-Seller Meet attracted 48 delegates from 13 countries. The i2 Academia Pavilion (a platform for academic institutions to showcase their research for the industry) featured 50 institutions including IITs from Mumbai and Kanpur. The first prize was won by Walchand College of Engineering, Sangli. Manufacturing Quiz Contest featured 130 students from 24 institutions. IMTMA also organized the Jagruti-IMTMA Youth Programme to familiarize engineering students with the machine tool industry. Thirty students from 14 institutions across India attended the programme. An International Seminar on Machining held a day prior to IMTEX on 23rd January 2019 attracted about 350 delegates.
Trade delegations had a strong presence at the show. Overall 154 trade delegations attended the exhibition. Delegations from public sector undertakings such as Bharat Earth Movers Limited, Indian Railways, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Ordnance Factory Board, etc. visited the show. Delegations from industry associations such as Automotive Component Manufacturers’ Association, Tractor and Farm Equipment Limited, and delegations from auto component and automobile sectors such as Ashok Leyland, Bajaj Auto, Hero Motocorp, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Toyota Kirloskar and various other industry sectors also visited the show and transacted business. IMTEX 2019 & Tooltech 2019 has opened the doors for manufacturing industries to embrace new age technologies and become competitive at the global level.
Exhibitor Feedback:
Speaking about IMTEX and Sandvik Coromant’s participation, Michael Eneberg, Sandvik Coromant, President, Sales Area South & East Asia said, “It is indeed pleasure to be part of IMTEX. The trade show always offers an excellent opportunity to meet customers and partners personally in order to optimize future co-operation. We are very excited about partnering with IMTEX as it gives the industry a unique platform to collaborate and network by shaping the future together with our partners and customers. At the trade fair, we are proud to present our high-end solutions all of which are designed to help our customers become more efficient, productive and profitable.”
“True innovation in any industry isn’t just about the hard work. It’s also about quality. We at Hoffmann have been very dedicatedly working towards introducing products that can help revolutionize the machine tools industry. From a performance perspective, our products are great performers and the GARANT family which is one of Hoffmann’s own tool brands, provides some of the finest tools for various sectors. We are delighted to introduce three new tools to our offerings in India, through IMTEX 2019,” said Dr. Christian Kober, Senior Vice President, Asia, Hoffmann Group. The story of IMTEX began five decades ago. Fascinated by the success of International Machine Tool Exhibitions in
Hannover, members of the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA) deemed it necessary to organize machine tool and manufacturing exhibitions of such grand scale within India. The spark was ignited when members of IMTMA organized what was considered to be the most splendid event for the betterment of Indian machine tool industry as well as the country’s larger manufacturing industry. All India Machine Tool Exhibition as it was titled initially was held in 1969 from December 14 to 21 at Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company in Vikhroli, Bombay (now Mumbai). Twenty-six Indian companies all IMTMA members along with Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute and Indian Institute of Technology participated in the first edition of the exhibition held at Godrej & Boyce plant in Vikhroli. A delegation of machine tool dealers from United States of America, Canada and other countries came to witness the developments by Indian manufacturers. The previous edition of IMTEX & Tooltech held in 2017 in BIEC had attracted a footfall of 75,440 visitors. Orders worth Rs. 1,670 crores and enquiries to the value of Rs.18,989 crores were generated in that edition.
About IMTMA
IMTMA is the apex body and single point of contact for machine tool industry in India. IMTMA plays a crucial role in the growth and development of metalworking industry in the country. IMTMA’s initiatives range from policy advocacy, export promotion, trade fairs, mega events, training, seminars, technology missions, publications, etc. IMTMA formed in 1946 has a membership of over 450 members and represents 90% of the organized machine tool and allied equipment manufacturers in the country.
