Publicado em 15 de julho de 2014

The largest trade show of construction and mining equipment in Latin America is pushing the development of this industry presenting new technologies and promoting business development.

Planned by Sobratema – Brazilian Association of Technology for Construction and Mining, the first M&T EXPO was named First Exhibition of Maintenance, Equipment and Applied Technology and was carried out between September  16 and 20, 1995, in the Bienal Pavillion—located at the Ibirapuera Park, in São Paulo—after a detailed study carried out by the Organizing Committee, led by the engineer Afonso Mamede, at that time vice-president of the association and currently its president. “More than thirty meetings were carried out since December, 1994—when we officially started the event—till its opening”, remembers Mamede.

These meetings were carried out by Sobratema’s board of directors, at that time composed by Carlos Fugazzola Pimenta (president), Jader Fraga dos Santos (technical director), Mário Hamaoka (financial director), Antonio Roberto de Paula Ferreira (communications director), Jorge Saback Vianna (supplies director), the advisers Egberto Rosa Campos, Gino Cucchiari, Jonny Altstadt, Permínio Amorim Neto and Sergio Palazzo, as well as Nelson Costábile,current Special Project Manager of the association, among others.

The first edition was a milestone for equipment industry, with the presence of 7500 visitors, interested in the news presented by 70 exhibitors that represented 95 brands. “It was a demand of the market, since there was no trade show in Brazil directed exclusively to this industry”, emphasizes Mamede. “Till the first M&T EXPO, construction equipment manufacturers had to show their products in events of other industries, trying to get its target public. In addition, there were trade shows turned to our business carried out in foreign countries”, adds him.

At that time, Brazil was passing by a different economic situation, with the opening of importations and cancelling of computing industry reserve. This situation allowed the access to new technologies such as on-board technology. “The moment was ideal to promote an exclusive event for the area, where equipment manufacturers and service renders had the opportunity of show their products, add more visibility to their brands and develop businesses”, analyses Mamede.

In the second edition and in those that followed, M&T EXPO had a growing path and—in the eighth and last edition, carried out in 2012—reached several records, showing 1042 brands and about 3500 different models presented by 494 national and international exhibitors, seen by a qualified public of 54597 Brazilian and foreign professionals.

This expressive growth along almost two decades shows the consolidation of the trade show. After passing by different economic periods, M&T EXPO got an outstanding position: it is considered an important indicator by manufacturers, users and suppliers of construction and mining equipment. In the edition of 2012, part of possible buyers preferred to wait for the trade show to know new equipment features and also to buy new equipment or to end negotiations that were in course. This resulted in a movement of R$ 1.2 billion (estimated), considering concluded sales. In 2009—when economic uncertainties were caused by the international crisis that affected the main nations involved with this industry—the trade show was a water divider when it reached R$ 1 billion in sales, reversing the consequences of this troubled period.

“M&T EXPO is the best place to present new products and technical innovations in construction and mining equipment in Latin America, as well as a reference for the market. That is why this expectation of all people involved—exhibitors and visitors—in knowing what will be presented in the trade show before defining the path of their business”, explains Mamede. “The participation of the main manufacturers and the visitation of businessmen, engineers and professionals of main contractors and mining companies confirm this positioning”, adds him.

Communication

According to the president of Sobratema, this outstanding feature of contribution in changing the path and the mood of construction and mining equipment confirms the role of M&T EXPO as a pusher of technology and market development in this industry. “It is an important differential and an exclusive feature of our trade show”, emphasizes him.

That is why the whole communication project of M&T EXPO 2015 will be focused in its position as an aggregating pole of technology, innovation and business of the industry, as well as a reference for all professionals involved. In addition, the celebration of the 20^th anniversary will be emphasized during the preparation of the event, as well as during the five days of the trade show.

At last, Mamede highlights other features of the trade show such as pioneering, innovation and sustainability. “In 2012 we started a new era in large trade shows using the electronic registration by chip”, tells him. This made possible to know in real time the exact number and the location of all visitors that took part in the event. In the area of sustainability, Sobratema carried out an environmental plan that included a series of sustainable initiatives. Among all programmed actions, stands out the concession of an environmental label for the exhibitors that confirmed the development of activities that reduce emissions as result of the planned actions before, during and after the trade show.