Company Announcement  - India will add its own innovative flair to this year’s SA Industry and Technology Fair with its first-ever national pavilion at the show. India is renowned for its engineering expertise, and the pavilion will showcase a vast array of innovative technologies and industrial products to visitors. INDUTEC takes place from 20-22 May 2015 at Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand. “India and South Africa have enjoyed an enduring and profitable business partnership over many years,” says Mrs Ruchi Ghanashyam, High Commissioner of India for South Africa. “INDUTEC significantly enhances this by providing an industry-focused platform for India to showcase its many innovative technologies and quality industrial products.

“Many Indian companies have been doing business in South Africa for decades; we would like to create even more business opportunities for Indian businessmen in both India and South Africa. I am confident that INDUTEC will help us achieve this, not just in South Africa but in the rest of Africa as well.”  “This year, India celebrates the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Ghandi’s return to India from South Africa in 1915, and we are definitely planning to make it a memorable one,” adds Mrs Ghanashyam. “South Africa is very close to my heart because it was Mahatma Ghandi’s home and the place where he started his nation-changing mission.”

Trade between South Africa and India has surged in recent years, reaching the 2014 bi-lateral trade agreement target of $15-million at the end of last year. India has set the new target for 2018 at $18-million. “Africa’s growing need for new infrastructure coincides with India’s plan to increase investment in the continent’s industrial, economic and social sectors,” says John Thomson of Exhibition Management Services, organisers of INDUTEC.  These dual objectives will coalesce at INDUTEC when African utilities providers come to the show in search of new technologies and expertise, which Indian companies can provide.”

Last year’s INDUTEC show had high-level business visitors from 14 African countries including Algeria, Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria, Namibia and Zimbabwe. “The show’s multi-sector focus and international networking reach makes it a highly effective platform for people and companies operating in industrial sectors to find new products, services, suppliers, markets, business opportunities and customers, at one comprehensive event,” adds Thomson.

Engineering: Top in India

India’s engineering sector is a top contributor to the country’s exports, contributing 20% of the total. The country mainly exports products such as; fasteners, engineering transport equipment, castings, a variety of machinery and equipment, forgings and capital goods.  

“India exported engineering machinery and products worth over $300-million during 2013 and 2014, with the US and Europe buying 60% of that total,” says Thomson. “Having the Indian pavilion at INDUTEC will be of great benefit to both India and South Africa, as it showcases a wealth of exciting Indian products to South Africa and the wider African engineering market.”

Pre-Planning for Success     

EMS has introduced a free Business Matchmaking app (application) for this year’s INDUTEC. “This app will allow visitors to profile companies that offer the products they are interested in and make appointments – all from their phones or tablets,” concludes Thomson.