Held between 16 and 18 February at the Durban Exhibition Centre, the KwaZulu-Natal Industrial Technology Exhibition (KITE) 2022 was the first trade show of its kind in South Africa to open its doors after an industry trade show hiatus of almost two years.
“The excitement was tangible as the 80 exhibitors awaited the arrival of the thousands of visitors and was equally evident in the long queue that had formed to register on day one of the Expo. This clearly underlined that an event which allows visitors and suppliers to interact on a more personal level was sorely overdue and we are thrilled to have initiated the reopening of trade shows in a controlled manner, with all Covid-19 safety regulations in place,” says Gary Corin, MD of Specialised Exhibitions.
“The hosting of KITE in KwaZulu-Natal was the culmination of many months of behind-the-scenes work which began with the launch of the Restart Expo in November 2020. We have had extremely positive feedback from both our exhibitors and visitors, who unanimously agreed that the expo provided them with the unique opportunity to cement existing relationships, develop new relationships and network with peers,” says Charlene Hefer, portfolio director at Specialised Exhibitions.
Positive exhibitor feedback
“KITE gives the public the opportunity to see new products to the market in an easy to access manner. The long-term benefits of the momentum created by being at KITE are immeasurable. There is a lot of competition in Durban and because we can showcase our current and new product lines, KITE provides us with a definite edge. We had a brilliant response to our PV/solar systems and fire detection products,” says Stevan Elion from Switch Technique.
“We were very impressed by the qualified leads we have received at KITE 2022. Some of the larger, blue-chip companies have shown great interest in our technology, with specific emphasis on the robotics, the vision camera and our quality control products. The latter is of specific importance to companies like the large automotive manufacturers, where each component must be correct and accounted for. Automation complements the human factor in all our solutions and KITE has allowed us to demonstrate this to visitors. It’s refreshing to see a number of educators at the show this year – they are the conduits for our future engineers and technicians and KITE is helping to introduce them to the suppliers who can equip them and their students through knowledge-sharing,” say Werner Das and Peter Thomson from Omron.
In addition to a diverse array of industrial technology products and services, visitors were able to expand their knowledge base at the free-to-attend SAIMechE (The South African Institution of Mechanical Engineering) Seminar Theatre sessions and the well-attended, paid-for LEEASA (Lifting Equipment Engineering Association of South Africa) conference.
“We are thrilled with the success of KITE 2022 and we are already well into the throes of preparing for KITE 2023, which will take place at the Durban Exhibition Centre from 19 to 21 July 2023. A number of current exhibitors have already signed up for the next expo, so we encourage suppliers of industrial technology products and services to reserve their exhibition stands as soon as possible,” says Hefer.
To find out more information about exhibiting at KITE 2023, visit the website at www.kznindustrial.co.za
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