Opening day numbers were up by more than one thousand visitors in total yesterday as Africa’s leading security and fire focused trade show, Securex South Africa, and the continent’s leading occupational safety and health exhibition, A-OSH EXPO, opened their doors to a keen waiting audience.

The two shows are running over three days at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand from 22 to 24 May. This year saw a combined total across both shows of over 3,700 visitors on the first day, as compared to 2,600 on the first day of 2017.

Celebrating its 25th edition, Securex South Africa 2018 has plenty on offer for the security professional and enthusiast, catering to physical security as well as cyber. Sven Smit, Portfolio Director across both shows, which are organised by Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery, notes that Securex has grown from strength to strength since its early beginnings in 1993, and that it is the largest trade show of its kind in Africa today.

He comments, “This year at Securex, we have over 200 focused exhibiting companies and of these, 50 are first-time exhibitors, showcasing the interest in this market across both the physical and cybersecurity realms. From the brand-new Cyber Lab, which is raising awareness of information security using an interactive approach, and live demonstrations of highly trained security and detection dogs, to facial recognition technology, contactless biometric credentials and security workforce tracking and management solutions – to name but few – we have an overwhelming variety of security offerings on show, demonstrating the latest innovations and expertise. The expo has truly positioned itself as the ideal platform to incubate the broader African security conversation, with our free-to-attend seminars being once again an integral part of the offering.”

Not to be outdone, A-OSH EXPO also showed real growth, expanding to over 100 exhibitors this year. Smit comments, “This is a significant leap and reflects the fact that the topic of occupational health and safety (OHS) is being increasingly recognised across all spheres of employment. Our exhibitors span across such arenas as fire and safety; footwear; safety gear; personal and protective equipment (PPE); spillage; working at heights; gas monitoring / detection; signage and occupational skincare. A-OSH EXPO also offers insights into alcohol testing; medical kits; software to assist with your safety needs planning; training and consulting; health consulting and screening; consulting/laboratory work; certification, and auditing.

“The free-to-attend seminars, managed by the Institute of Safety Management (IOSM) and the South African Protective Equipment Marketing Association (SAPEMA), have once again been jam-packed, with topics including information on new and upcoming OHS legislation and regulations, the impact of the new ergonomics regulations on business, occupational health in the South African workplace, and a number of different topics in the wide-ranging personal and protective equipment (PPE) arena.”

In addition, the PASMA Working at Height Theatre is showcasing this unique area of occupational safety, and the Occu|Fit Wellness Zone brings home the importance of the holistic ‘wellness at work’ experience, including a focus on invisible stresses we don’t always see. Further excellent content was offered by the Fire Protection Association of South Africa through its InFIRes seminar workshop, for valuable information on fire prevention and what to do in the case of a fire.

Additionally, the annual conference of the South African Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Saiosh), which is a paid-for event, ran alongside the annual A-OSH EXPO trade show for the eighth year in a row, presenting its own content session for attending members.

Smit concludes, “The co-location of these two leading expos in the security and occupational health and safety areas brings real value to professionals who work in these fields. The shows have become valuable additions to their working calendars for the learning and networking opportunities that they bring, and we look forward to continuing the growth of Securex South Africa and AOSH EXPO next year.”

For more information, please visit www.securex.co.za or www.aosh.co.za.