Exhibitors praise TyrexpoAsia09 as dates confirmed for 2011

Visitor numbers and reaction ‘more than acceptable’ in prevailing market conditions

Exhibitors attending the seventh staging of TyrexpoAsia in Singapore have praised the exhibition for exceeding expectations in the global recession.

Despite many tyre businesses cutting international travel budgets, the three-day show still managed to attract a total of 2,985 visitors, just five per cent fewer than for the last staging in March 2007.

Exhibitor numbers were up eight per cent at 135, although total exhibition floor space remained the same as companies opted for more economic stand design.

"Every show organiser wants to increase visitor numbers show-on-show but in these tough times we are very pleased that so many still decided to travel. We view that performance as more than acceptable taking everything into account," said Paul Farrant, managing director of show organiser ECI International.

As expected, local and regional delegates from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, China and Thailand provided the greatest number of visitors, but overall 77 countries were represented at the Singapore Expo Centre.

Paul Farrant also confirmed that the exhibition will again be held at the Singapore Expo centre in two years time, with the new dates confirmed as 29, 30 and 31 March 2011. "We have no hesitation in returning to Singapore, which is a popular and proven destination for this show. By scheduling the exhibition for March we will continue to avoid other competing events in the region and are being consistent to help our exhibitors and visitors with their forward planning and marketing."

Among exhibitors declaring their satisfaction was Hercules Tire’s corporate business development officer, Joe Rechia. "The show as excellent, we were very busy and have made a ton of contacts. The quality of people was very good. I’m very happy," he said.

Rajesh K.Vyas, senior general manager (exports) for Indian tyre maker BKT said his stand was ‘very busy’. "We attended to build our brand and expand our customer base, particularly in Asia and Australasia. The show has been very busy," he said.

Neil Ganz, executive vice president of US tyre maker GPX International combined a presence at the show with a dealer conference for more than 30 of the company’s distributors drawn from 15 Asian countries. "Combining the two events made good sense. We met new customers as well as bringing our existing network together. Asia is a fast growing market for us, with sales up 40% in the region so far in 2009."

Paul Hsu of first-time exhibitor Nankang is another happy customer. "It is a very professional show for serious buyers. We have met contacts from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Phillipines, Dubai, Iran, Australia and many others. We hope to get several new agents from these people."

One company riding out the recession in positive fashion is UK-based Monarch Vulcanising Systems. "Our core business is supplying tyre repair equipment so these services are very much in demand as users choose to repair damaged tyres, rather than simply replace them with new products," says company president Toni Elderfield. "We’re really pleased; we’ve had plenty of good leads from the show."

Maksim Syslov, director with Belshina Asia, which recently established a base in Singapore, has already confirmed his company’s intention to exhibit at the next TyrexpoAsia. "We like this show, it is well run and well organised, we’ll be back again in 2011," he confirmed.

T K Rao of Singapore’s Mindtrac said he was pleasantly surprised at the reaction:" I am more optimistic now than before the show. I thought it might be a real struggle but I’ve been pleasantly surprised that it didn’t turn out that way."

Keith Jarman from US tyre tools and equipment manufacturer AME, commented:

"We considered not exhibiting due to the economic slowdown, but actually experienced a phenomenal show! We met distributors not only throughout Southeast Asia, but Europe and Africa and the Middle East. I’m thoroughly impressed with the quality of the people attending the show."

And Xia Xu from China’s Enjoy Tyres, who exhibited with UK distributor Bond International, said: "We were delighted to see so many international visitors. We are looking ahead to future business; we know the recession will be a temporary problem."

Rowena Suthers: sales@eci-international.com