Orgainsed by the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA), IMTEX 2017 & Tooltech 2017 recently concluded at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) in Bengaluru. Spread across six halls over an area of 66,000 sq mts, the exhibition registered a footfall of 75,440 visitors, where over a thousand machines in operational mode were showcased.
The event was inaugurated by Shri Siddaramaiah, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka; Girish Shankar, Secretary (HI), Department of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Government of India; DV Prasad, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Commerce & Industries Department, Government of Karnataka; Dr Naushad Forbes, President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), along with PG Jadeja, CMD, Jyoti CNC Automation & President, IMTMA; P Ramadas, Managing Director, Ace Manufacturing Systems & Vice-President, IMTMA and V Anbu, Director General, IMTMA.
Speaking on IMTEX 2017, Jadeja opined that the exhibition has yet again provided a platform for the launch of new machines with latest technologies related to the machine tool industry. “Technologies, such as Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, 3D printing, etc attracted large number of visitors, mostly technology professionals including 158 trade delegations from public and private sectors, such as automobiles, auto components, defence, aerospace, railways, power and energy, pharmaceuticals, etc.” Along with the exhibition, BIEC also celebrated its 10th anniversary this year.
Highlights
The seven-day exhibition witnessed international participation from 23 countries including, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Spain, Taiwan and United States of America. Also, orders worth ₹1,670 crore and enquiries to the value of ₹18,989 crore were generated during the exhibition. Compared to IMTEX 2015 & Tooltech 2015, the booked orders have shown an increase of 16%, whereas the generated enquiries increased by 21%.
Speaking on the new hall added to the exhibition ground, V Anbu, Director General, IMTMA, said, “With the addition of a newly constructed state-of-the-art hall measuring 17,500 sq mts, IMTMA was able to provide more space for exhibitors to showcase machines which in turn translated into more orders and enquiries than ever before.”
A major highlight of the show was the ‘International Buyer Seller Meet’ organised by IMTMA and EEPC (Engineering Export Promotion Council), which saw participation of 57 international buyers from 19 countries. The show also hosted student-centric programmes, such as i2 Academia Pavilion with a participation of forty academic institutes; Jagruti (a programme to orient engineering students with emerging technologies) with a participation of 31 engineering students and Connect (an awareness programme for young engineers visiting IMTEX), which included sessions addressed by CEOs of machine tool manufacturing companies with a participation of 31 engineering colleges.
The event also witnessed Milind Kelkar, Executive Director, GrindMaster and Mohini Kelkar, Managing Director, GrindMaster, being felicitated with the IMTMA Premier Outstanding Entrepreneur Award in memory of Vinod Doshi for their remarkable contribution to the manufacturing industry.
The next edition of IMTEX will be held in January 2019.
