Raj Manek’s efforts paying off
Messe Frankfurt is the world’s largest organisation for trade fairs. Among the various brands it owns, Automechanika is considered one of the most popular and globally spread out events for several years.
With India emerging a bigger industrial power with its growing automobile production and sales, Messe Frankfurt has decided to bring its world renowned Automechanika brand into India in association with Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), the apex body for auto component manufacturers in the country.
The fair, titled ‘ACMA Automechanika’, scheduled to be held in New Delhi during February 7-10 next, is expected to match the international standard of quality in all aspects.
This was disclosed by Mr. Raj Manek, Managing Director, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt. Ltd., in an exclusive interview to MOTORINDIA on the sidelines of the recently-held Automechanika Frankfurt.
In fact, the credit for bringing back Automechanika to India undoubtedly goes to Mr. Raj who has taken an extremely sincere approach to the issue. After a gap of 12 years, he has proved himself instrumental for combining Messe Frankfurt and ACMA, both with a rich tradition in their respective fields. In fact, it is a winning strategy for both the organisations to work together rather than compete with each other.
Referring to the expected response for ACMA Automechanika, Mr. Raj said even though the event was launched last June, the overall response so far for it has been quite overwhelming. For instance, out of 4,500 sq. metres booked at Pragati Maidan for the event, 2,500 sq. metres have already been sold out. With the more enquiries on hand, the show is expected to be fully sold out soon. With its global standard, the event will also attract good participation from overseas Country Pavilions from Germany, the UK, Russia, Taiwan, Australia and Italy. The show will definitely have its greater focus on aftermarket products such as auto components, accessories, tyres, batteries, lubes, garage equipments, etc., and will open up business opportunities for leading trade visitors.
According to Mr. Raj, with the support of ACMA there will also be an international conference for knowledge transfer among the attendees. With this new chapter of Messe Frankfurt and ACMA joining together, there will be a further expansion of activities between to the two in the coming years. For instance, there will be an ACMA pavilion in different Automechanika events worldwide, including in Shanghai, Dubai, Turkey, Argentina and Mexico.
It is interesting to note that Messe Frankfurt has also entered into an MoU with India’s other leading associations like CII to further explore partnership in different fields. The future plans on the anvil include regional auto shows to be held in smaller towns such as Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Chandigarh, with a view to keeping the Automechanika brand flying high.
Mr. Raj also referred to the just concluded Automechanika Frankfurt, and said a record number of 165 Indian companies participated in it directly as well as through ACMA and EEPCINDIA tie-up. Since India is one of the most favoured markets, the Indian participants did a reasonably good business at the fair.