The Securex exhibition and its co-located A-OSH Expo successfully had their twenty-fifth and eighth editions respectively, with several companies using the events as a launch pad for new products and services.
Securex is Africa’s leading security and fire-protection trade exhibition, while A-OSH Expo is the continent’s leading occupational health and safety (OHS) expo.
Securex showcases the security sector’s latest products and services and allows for access to South Africa’s top security experts. The A-OHS Expo showcases a full range of OHS products and services and provides a platform for building business relationships and exchanging knowledge on the latest products, trends and legislation.
Organised by trade show organiser Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery, the events ran from May 22 to 24 at the Gallagher Convention Centre, in Johannesburg, with more than 200 companies having exhibited.
A notable aspect of Securex was its free seminar theatre, which hosted more than 20 new sessions and highlighted critical industry topics, including local legislation and technology trends. Securex also launched a new feature, the Cyber Lab, powered by integrated system solutions provider XGRC Software. This interactive arena provided a dedicated area to raise awareness of information security for visitors.
Industry-FirstsThe event also served as the launch pad for industry-firsts such as Blackphone South Africa, which showcased its Blackphone 2 Android device for the first time in the country, for companies or individuals wanting to protect information on their devices.
The Blackphone 2 runs off a silent operation system, created by software company Silent Circle, and completely encrypts all information. The servers for the device are all based in Switzerland.
India-based technology manufacturer Matrix exhibited its new videoconferencing solution, the first display for South African market. This offering had previously been limited to peer-to-peer videoconferencing, but now allows for the collaboration of multiple systems into a videoconferencing server and, subsequently, for videoconferencing among different video-enabled devices.
The A-OHS show also provided seminars free of charge. Notable exhibitors included the jointly managed companies of Pseudo Scent and DogsSA, which held regular live dog handling demonstrations of highly trained security and detection dogs, focusing on urban man trailing, the detection of narcotics and protection of people.
Pseudo Scent imports pseudo scents from Russia to train dogs that will be used in the field of narcotics and explosives. The dogs are completely safe, as they cannot become habituated to the scent. The company has been active in this area for the past two years.
DogsSA also trains dogs for urban man trailing. For example, should a child go missing, an item of clothing with his/her scent is used by dogs to track the child in an urban environment. The company has been training dogs for almost 30 years.