Electra Mining Africa 2016 - JOHANNESBURG EXPO CENTRE HOSTS - Expo Centre Johannesburg

8     COVER STORY

    JOHANNESBURG EXPO CENTRE HOSTS

    Electra Mining
    Africa 2016
     In the south of Johannesburg, against the
     backdrop of the city’s mine dumps, the Expo
     Centre hosted the largest mining, industrial,
     electrical and power trade show in
     Southern Africa for five full days.

    E
            LECTRA MINING AFRICA is           Expo Centre (JEC), where
            the largest mining, industrial,   it welcomed thousands of
            electrical and power trade        visitors to view the latest
    show in Southern Africa, offering         products, services, technologies
    visitors four shows in one, over five     and trends from local and
    days. The show took place from 12-        international exhibitors.
    16 September at the Johannesburg             “Electra Mining has grown                   For show organisers, Specialised
                                              dramatically to become the second           Exhibitions Montgomery, this will be
                                               largest mining show in the world,”         the second highly successful trade
                                                 says Gary Corin, managing director       show hosted at the JEC in a month.
                                                   of Specialised Exhibitions                “We hosted Interbuild Africa at the
                                                     Montgomery.                          Expo Centre from 17-20 August,”
                                                        “It is the ultimate meeting       says Mr Corin.
                                                        and marketplace for all              “We were able to increase our
                                                          stakeholders involved in        trade visitor numbers from 6 272 in
                                                             mining, construction,        2014 to 7 011 in 2016 and exhibitor
                                                               industrial machine tools   numbers from 300 to 350. We believe
                                                                and power generation      it’s due to the quality and return
                                                               industries, and it is      on investment that exhibitors and
                                                             recognised as a gateway      visitors derive from participating
                                                          into Africa for local and       in these shows and their value-
                                                        global investors.”                adding features.”

COVER STORY            9

  Electra Mining Africa enables           as a meeting point for visitors and
visitors to engage with more than         exhibitors where new developments
850 local and international exhibitors    and challenges are addressed
while sourcing the latest products        and shared.”
and technologies. It is also supported      Enthuses Mr Corin: ‘’With its sheer
by a programme of value-adding            size and the variety of spaces it
conferences and workshops that run        offers, the Expo Centre serves as
alongside the exhibition, focusing on     the perfect venue to host shows of
topical issues that are of benefit to     this nature. Not only does it have
those involved in the industry.           large exhibition halls that are perfect
  “We are proud to be chosen              for large and complex exhibitor
to host trade exhibitions such as         stands, live demonstrations and
Electra Mining and Interbuild Africa,”    interactive product displays; but it        very happy with the quality of food
says JEC chief executive officer,         has conference rooms, restaurants,          served. The cleanliness of the ablution
Craig Newman.                             food kiosks and several ablution            facilities also contributed hugely
  “The international conferences that     facilities, that contribute to its status   towards achieving a fantastic event.”
run alongside them are remarkable         as a world-class facility. ‘’                 If you missed it, you can catch the
and I’ve been impressed with the            “We aim to offer exhibitors, visitors     next instalment of Electra Mining
calibre of content shared, that allows    and delegates a first rate experience,”     Africa from 10-14 September 2018
industry professionals to gain critical   says Mr Newman.                             at the Expo Centre, Nasrec. Find out
industry insights.”                         “From the physical facilities we offer    more at www.electramining.co.za.
  According to Mr Newman, the             to the service we provide, we try to
conferences add critical value to the     ensure that every function takes place
overall visitor experience. “We’ve        as seamlessly and professionally
received feedback that the reason         as possible.”
many visitors attend these exhibitions      The Electra Mining organisers were
is to gain insights on industry trends    more than satisfied with the running
and access important learning             of the show this year. “The service
opportunities,” he says.                  we receive from the Expo Centre is
  “Aside from adding to the               always excellent,” says Mr Corin.
compelling value proposition,               “The exhibition areas are always
conferences and workshops act             well kept, tidy and we have been

10     COVER STORY

     How much
     is enough?
      The Johannesburg Expo Centre is officially one of the top exhibitions
      and events venues in Southern Africa, having achieved the coveted PMR.
      africa Diamond Arrow award in September. The question is: How does the JEC
      manage to retain its world-class status in such a competitive environment?

     C
              RAIG NEWMAN and his                     Confirming that the JEC team is            to any event requirement,” says
              team have kept pace with              still delivering on their objectives, the    Mr Newman.
              the growth and demands                Expo Centre achieved top honours at             “We have a clubhouse which
     of the exhibitions and events                  the PMR.africa Business Excellence           provides the perfect setting for
     industry, sustaining the Expo                  Awards in the category for top               corporate dinners and events, with
     Centre’s reputation as a top South             Exhibitions and Events venue.                the capacity to seat up to 200 people
     African venue.                                   The awards rate South African              and we have other unique features
       “We have been in this industry for           venues according to 17 attributes:           which include a monorail, a helipad,
     long enough to know that change                facilities, catering quality in relation     a 4x4 track, a mini golf course and a
     is the only constant,” says JEC chief          to cost, cleanliness, office facilities,     lake which is used as a stage area for
     executive officer Craig Newman.                parking facilities, reputation, value for    various exhibitions and features.
       “It’s a competitive industry and             money and more.                                 “We also have two large conference
     we are subject to changes due to                 Other attributes include                   rooms where several business
     government, the economy and the                environmentally-friendly structures,         meetings and trade exhibition
     public sector.”                                facilities for disabled persons, security,   conferences take place.”
       As a result, the Expo Centre has             and willingness to go the extra mile.           The secret, it seems, is to be
     spent the past few years making                  Considering the Expo Centre’s multi-       prepared for any eventuality. “In this
     various upgrades and renovations               purpose facilities, which provide more       line of work, one can never afford to be
     to its structure, its facilities and           than 50 000 m2 of indoor space, more         complacent,” says Mr Newman.
     its offering. “We have to ensure that          than 100 000 m2 of versatile outdoor            “Change is an accepted characteristic
     we stay relevant in an environment             space as well as a multi-purpose             of business and we have to stay on our
     that demands excellence in every               arena that can accommodate up to             toes if we want to be around in the
     way,” says Mr Newman.                          20 000 people, the award comes as            next five to 10 years. We must continue
       “There is no room for second-best.           no surprise.                                 to ask ourselves: what more can we
     Our clients must always have the best            “I think our strength lies in the          do for our clients and for the industry?
     possible experience because there              fact that we have a diversity of             And the answer must always be, just a
     may not be a next time.”                       facilities that enable us to cater           little bit more,” he concluded.

     The Expo Centre has recently renovated
     its toilets to ensure that they remain at
     the standard that clients and visitors have
     come to expect. “As a large venue with
     significant foot traffic throughout the
     year, we need to constantly re-invest in
     our facilities to ensure that they never
     fall short,” says Mr Newman. “We have
     always had positive feedback regarding
     the cleanliness and supply of our ablutions,
     which is also thanks to our excellent
     cleaning staff.”