The four renowned metal trade fairs, wire India, Tube India, METEC India and India Essen Welding & Cutting concluded on a high note at the Bombay Exhibition Center. Held from 23-25  November after a long 4 years gap, the enthusiasm of the industry was an encouraging sight to witness. For years, the Metal Fairs, organized by Messe Düsseldorf India, have hosted the biggest gathering for the Indian and International wire, cable, tube, metallurgical processes, cutting and welding industries. This year, the fairs received an even greater response due to the industry’s  hankering for in-person meetings and pandemic- recovery efforts with 17350 attendees walking in to witness the show.

The show kicked off with the inauguration ceremony in the presence of some of the key industry stakeholders from Italian Trade Agency, Steel Wire Manufacturers Association of India, Weldmesh  Manufacturer’s Association, International Tube Association, Association of Welding Products Manufacturers and Jindal Steel & Power among others. Diverse and integrated showcase by 398 exhibitors The exhibition halls presented 398 companies from 21 countries showcasing their most innovative products, technologies and services; hence offering ample opportunities for the buyers to compare and choose the most- suited partners for their business. Alongside many Indian exhibitors, companies from Austria, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, USA, and Vietnam gave the visitors a glimpse into the global trends.

Spread over an impressive area of 23,000 square meters and supported by Government of India’s Make in India program, the well-structured trade fair quartet featured an array of products and technologies. 236 exhibitors showcased their wire manufacturing machinery, wires, cables, fastener and spring machinery at the 8th edition of wire India. 9th edition of Tube India concluded with 68 brands showcasing tube and pipe machinery, raw materials, tubes and machinery. In its 8th year, METEC India brought together 31 companies from the domain of plant and equipment for steel making, iron making, shaping of steel, casting and pouring of molten steel and more. Co- organized with Messe Essen, the 9th edition of India Essen Welding & Cutting displayed cutting edge joining, surfacing and cutting technologies and processes from 63 exhibitors.

3 country pavilions presented by Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (Germany), Italian Trade Agency and Swiss Competence Cluster were buzzing with visitors across the three days. Buyers greatly appreciated the diversity of high-profile international companies and products that gives the event its global appeal.

Alongside the exhibition, the show also organized 3 parallel conferences which were well-attended by the delegates on all 3 days. ‘Polymers in Cables & Wires’ conference, co-organized by Colour Publications, talked about special polymers and additives in wires and cables. International Tube Association (ITA) co-organized the conference about the innovations in tubes and pipes. The speakers included pioneers and experts from the industry who shared their perspectives with the audience. “Vision 2047 – Mission 500 MT Steel Production – The Journey Ahead” conference, co-organized by Steel & Metallurgy, was represented by a good mix of industry veterans as well as policymakers from Ministry of Steel and Steel Authority of India Ltd.

Glad to see the good mix of delegates who attended the conference, Sanjay S Sahni, President – ITA (International Tube Association) India Chapter and Executive-in-charge, Tubes Division, Tata  steel said, “The 3 day Expo organized by Messe Düsseldorf India has concluded with high energy and enthusiasm, as organizations across the globe participated in this event. This is a great platform created by MDI. With support from this platform, ITA – India chapter also organized a seminar on ‘Emerging technologies and innovations in Tubes and Pipes industry’. We received an overwhelming response from the participants for the conference.” Visitors at India Essen Welding & Cutting participated in the Welder’s Competition, organised by Association of Welding Products Manufacturers (AWPM). Any more info about Welder’s competition. “In India, the welding fraternity is small and we saw a good crowd come in at the event and people who came
mattered the most. It’s a good show, I appreciate the efforts of your team to bring in the visitors and we see the results coming through”, said Nimesh Chinoy from Sigma Weld who participated at India Essen Welding and Cutting.

The energy on the floor across the 3 days was unmatched. The show floors were busy with networking, fruitful synergies and long-lasting connections being made. The exhibitors talked about how they were impressed by the footfalls and the profile of trade visitors that walked up to their booths. Great decision-making skills and good technical expertise were the hallmarks of all the trade visitors.

“We received a lot of clients at the event and had a lot of meetings around the exhibition where customers from the management-level visited and took the opportunity to discuss projects and also bi-lateral issues. India is expanding and there are a lot of plans, including not only the Make in India initiative by Narendra Modi but also about infrastructure projects, high-speed rails & train and others. India is and will be a booming market and we are happy to be here.” said Burkhard Dahmen, President & CEO – SMS group GmbH, an exhibitor at METEC India.

B Kamal Babu, Managing Director of Mikrotek, which is one of the regular exhibiting companies of wire India, said, “All the cable industry is in and around Mumbai and Ahmedabad. wire India in Mumbai is the perfect place to get the quality visitors. This year has, especially, been great. We feel that the number of visitors are more than double compared to 2018”

“We see participation from various organizations from India and across the world. We got overwhelming responses as many industry professionals and key stakeholders visited and interacted  through this platform. In this expo, we showcased all our product offerings and application areas, our subject matter experts from all the areas were available at the stall to interact with our esteemed stakeholders” expressed Sanjay S Sahni, Executive-in-Charge, Tubes Division – Tata Steel. The exhibition with a blend of insightful conferences, live demonstrations by exhibitors gave visitors ample opportunities to network and close deals for future business. Appreciating the great response for the trade fairs, Thomas Schlitt, Managing Director – Messe Düsseldorf
India, says “The Indian Metal Fairs have once again been very well-received by the industry. We have seen spectacular growth this year, in terms of the exhibitors, trade visitors as well as the international participation. It fills me with a great sense of satisfaction that the 4 trade fairs have successfully contributed in enabling interactions shaping the industry’s future. The growth of the trade will be fueled by connections made here, opening new avenues for the metal industry.” V. R. Sharma, Vice chairman of Jindal Steel & Power talks about his experience, “Most of the Indian steel companies were present at METEC as it is a very good platform to connect the suppliers and buyers. I am sure, in times to come, METEC in India will take a much greater shape as India is the 2nd largest producer of steel so we need much more elaborate exhibitions. I am hopeful that METEC India will play a very lead role in bringing  more and more suppliers and customers under one umbrella.”

“Messe Düsseldorf India and Messe Essen have made it possible with the IEWC Show to get the welding fraternity together physically after more than 3 years of learning to connect online. The Indian government is quite focused at this time with its Make in India initiative. The world is looking at India today due to the global  geo-political situation. We at AWPM are happy that the show has opened plethora of opportunities for all stakeholders”, says Pankaj Jain, Chairman – Association of Welding Products Manufacturers & Managing Director – Wearresist Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
wire India, Tube India, METEC India and India Essen Welding & Cutting will return to Mumbai from 27-29 November 2024 at Bombay Exhibition Center.

The show was supported by key industry associations including International Wire and Cable Exhibitors Association (IWCEA), International Wire & Machinery Association (IWMA), Steel Wire Manufacturers Association of India (SWMAI), Weldmesh Manufacturer’s Association (WMA), Wire and Cable Industry Suppliers Association (WCISA), Cable & Wire Machinery Manufacturers Association of India (CMMAI), Italian Wire Machinery Manufacturers Association (ACIMAF), Sponge Iron Manufacturers Association (SIMA), International Tube Association – (ITA) – India Chapter, Steel Users Federation of India (SUFI), DVS – German Welding Society, German Engineering Federation (VDMA), Association of Welding Products Manufacturers (AWPM) & Indian Welding Society (IWS).