Suggestions of strong growth in New Zealand’s manufacturing and engineering sectors have been borne out with local and overseas professionals touting the highly successful engineering, machinery and electronics exhibition EMEX 2010, recently held at the ASB Showgrounds in Auckland.

The success of this event backs up recent performance of manufacturing index (PMI) figures that show consistent and sustained growth, with an April figure of 58.9 (anything above 50 shows manufacturing is expanding). It is the second largest employment sector in the country, and largest in Auckland.

Now Kiwi-owned, EMEX has thrilled its new owners and management team, XPO Exhibitions. Brent Spillane says he was initially apprehensive given the shaky economy, but has been overwhelmed by the success of the event. “I spent a lot of time at EMEX walking the halls and talking to exhibitors and visitors. Constant positive feedback and reports of strong sales at both the low and high-value ends, with a good number of substantial machines sold on the floor, was an excellent sign of how good the manufacturing and engineering sectors are at present. As one exhibitor told me: ‘The show has been a financial success for us. I have never in all my time coming to these shows seen so many business owners attend as visitors’.

“It was interesting to hear ANZ economist Khoon Goh, who spoke to a packed audience, note that the economy is improving and that this message translated to our trade visitors as a good time to buy capital equipment. There were very few ‘tyre-kickers’ among a very high quality of visitors and, as mentioned, a lot of sales were made. Confidence in sustained growth is high too, with a higher proportion of exhibitors than normal already  One of the exhibitors over the moon with EMEX 2010 is LZ Electrix Ltd. “EMEX has taken us from being a small business into the medium size business market overnight,” says managing director Liberio Riosa. “We made contacts with two government departments looking for lighting upgrades, as well as many other high potential leads. We put a lot of effort into our presence at EMEX, and it paid off. For anyone wondering if it’s a good investment, it is – go for it. It’s a real stepping stone for business success.

Another exhibitor, and key supplier in the manufacturing and engineering sectors, is BOC. Australian-based marketing specialist for BOC, Michelle Coffey notes the strength of the Kiwi sector. “We had a great three days at EMEX 2010, and the reported growth was reflected in the response we had.

“We had a lot of interest from key people in the New Zealand manufacturing and engineering community. EMEX assisted us in building and maintaining relationships with current customers as well as highlighting our products and services to prospective customers in a growing and dynamic market. While the number of visitors was down a little, the people that did attend were in top positions and had purchasing power. It was a great platform to launch our new Smootharc range of welding equipment to the vibrant New Zealand market.’

EMEX is a biennial event that supports and strengthens New Zealand industry through technology, innovation and education. Sales manager Rob Lavender says the feedback has been fantastic. “EMEX 2010 was alive, exciting and simply a buzz. People were saying it really was a world class event. Feedback from exhibitors and visitors proves that EMEX is New Zealand’s leading showcase for products and processes in the manufacturing, electronics and machine tool sector.

Ken Durbin of Cigweld agrees. “We’re a leading global welding and cutting manufacturer. EMEX is an integral part of our strategic business marketing plan, and is a showcase for us. Business was very good, and it’s pleasing to see the confidence that we’ve all heard about translate into action. We secured incremental sales leads, as well as put our brands up front and personal to a strong market.

“For anyone tossing up whether or not to invest in the manufacturing and engineering sectors with exhibitions space at the next EMEX, my recommendation is to do it. It’s a good platform. If you haven’t been there before, and you want to multi level market, then EMEX is a sound place to execute if you have a strategic plan to follow and do more, building off it.

“For people in industry who haven’t taken the opportunity to visit EMEX, you really should. It’s a good place to spend some time at. You can compare, discuss and do homework on products and processes, in the event you are considering a process shift. You can also speak to top technical personnel on many of the stands.

XPO Exhibitions’ Brent Spillane says one of the key factors to the event’s success has been that they have maintained the same expert event team and have a strong commitment to ensuring EMEX remains a world-class event. “We’re not going away. In fact, we plan to grow EMEX and further support manufacturing and engineering in this country. There’s some feeling that the Kiwi event is, size for size, stronger than its Australian counterpart, and we intend to continue to stay ahead. EMEX attracts a high calibre of buyers as well as sellers, and we work hard to match buyers with sellers to make this is a genuine business tool.

Discon Products imports and exports abrasives and associated products. Adrian Bogalo says the company had over 100 quality leads for trade customers. “We have mainly distribution-based sales. EMEX allows us to showcase our specialist lines and custom design products to trade users (who we don’t often see) throughout New Zealand. We had several immediate custom-design product opportunities and solid leads for new product range expansion. We focused our display on our niche specialised and custom products and customers responded.

Rob Lavender says the timing of EMEX helped both exhibitors and visitors take advantage of the improvement in the New Zealand and world economic climate. “Many industry decision makers attended EMEX 2010 to investigate new manufacturing methods and purchase items to help develop and sustain their businesses further.

“We’re on track to make EMEX 2012 a bigger and better event. Nearly 30% of the floor space was already rebooked in the first week after the show. If you are serious about this industry and looking for an even bigger and better engineering mechanical or electronic fix EMEX 2012 will be a must attend event.

EMEX 2012 is expected to attract more than 150 exhibiting companies from New Zealand and overseas. Both the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ) and the Industrial & Engineering Distributors Association (IDEA) support the event.