A-OSH EXPO, Africa’s leading occupational health and safety (OHS) show, has hosted its largest-ever expo in its eight-year history. Present at the expo were 100 exhibitors and more than 3,300 visitors.

Sven Smit, Portfolio Director at Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery, comments, “These numbers show very clearly how the importance of health and safety at work is becoming increasingly acknowledged by employers across all areas and business verticals, whether blue collar or white.”

The expo, which took place at the end of May 2018 at Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg, was co-located with Securex South Africa, Africa’s leading security and fire trade exhibition, which celebrated its 25th iteration this year. Together, the two shows drew in 10,482 visitors.

A-OSH EXPO the numbers

There were 3,353 visitors to AOSH EXPO this year, of whom nearly a thousand (992) were first-time visitors. They came from 22 visiting countries, including 12 countries within the African region.

Of the local attendees (2,656), almost 90 percent (89,6 percent) were from Gauteng, and almost half (49,6 percent) were aged in the 35 to 50 age group. Just over another quarter (28,3 percent) were between 18 and 35, showing a strong interest from the up and coming younger professionals in the OHS arena.

Quality as well as quantity

But it’s not just about quantity, of course. Drilling into the details of job function shows that an impressive three quarters (75,9 percent) of visitors make or influence purchasing decisions. Almost a fifth of visitors (17,2 percent) are MDs or CEOs of their companies.

“The strong showing of senior management, together with those directly involved in health and safety matters, shows the esteem in which this OHS expo is held by those in the know,” says Smit.

One of the show’s repeat visitors, Francina Ndebele, an occupational health practitioner with the Department of Health noted, “I come to network and to gain information and feel that this forum is one of the best for keeping abreast with new information. The presentations are very informative and the speakers very well prepared. There was an even greater attendance at the seminars for 2018.”

Interest from Africa

The SADEC region once again had the strongest African showing, with Zimbabwe reflecting 22,4 percent of Africa’s visitors, Botswana in second place on 14,5 percent, and Mozambique in third place with 10,5 percent. Next in line were visitors from Zaire, Ghana and Zambia.

“We are very pleased to see the ongoing interest in AOSH EXPO from visitors elsewhere in Africa,” adds Smit, “and to know that we are facilitating conversations and the exchange of ideas in other parts of the continent.”

“We are enormously pleased and proud to facilitate this show and the important role that it plays in facilitating networking, new product offerings and the sharing of valuable information on health and safety issues at work. A-OSH EXPO will be celebrating its ninth birthday in 2019 and we look forward to seeing all the new advancements at next year’s exhibition,” he concludes.

A-OSH EXPO 2019 will take place from 14 to 16 May next year at Gallagher Convention Centre. For more information, please visit www.aosh.co.za, or contact Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery on +27 11 835