CII and ICEMA jointly showcased the CE industry at EXCON 2015, the 8th International Construction Equipment and Construction Technology Trade Fair, from 25-29 November 2015, at the BIEC grounds in Bengaluru.

EXCON 2015 attracted 850 exhibitors, including 275 foreign companies, to participate in this mega event. The exhibits were spread over a display area spanning 20,000 sq m, comprising outdoor area as well as four indoor halls. China, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Finland, Sweden, Turkey and UK had their own country specific pavilions.

The exhibitors? profile covered manufacturers in every CE segment like earth moving, road compaction, asphalt and concrete paving, asphalt mix plants, concrete machinery, crushing and screening, material handling, underground excavation, on highway trucks, mining trucks, forklifts, mini construction equipment, component and spare parts suppliers, technology solution providers etc and a large number of SMEs. This mega event was flagged off by Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways. During his inaugural, he said that issues have been resolved for 90 per cent of 380 projects after his take over. He added that this is an important time for the country, on how we can work fast. Interestingly, as his take on environment, he urged the equipment manufacturers to build ethanol and bio-diesel engine vehicles instead of diesel.

Over a hundred new products were launched, during the exhibition, by various equipment manufacturers, reflecting the buoyant mood of the industry. Some of the notable launches were by JCB, Schwing Stetter and XCMG combine; Larsen & Tuobro Construction Equipment along with Komatsu and Scania Trucks; Volvo Trucks, VE Commercial Vehicles, Tata Motors, Tata Hitachi, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, Puzzolana, Caterpillar and Doosan Infracore India. Other recognised industry leaders like Atlas Copco, Kelly Material Handling, KYB Conmat, Kobelco, LeeBoy, Ajax Fiori, Palfinger, Ammann Apollo etc, had also put up impressive displays of their product ranges. The event was replete with live demos of equipment and visitor entertainment sessions.

Most unlike its yester-edition, EXCON 2015 witnessed throngs of prospective customers descending on the venue, with a predefined agenda to discuss and finalise business with their respective targeted suppliers. Preempting a positive buyer sentiment many companies provided end to end facilitation enabling them close business deals at their stall itself. JCB had kiosks for various equipment finance companies inside their stall while Caterpillar promoted the 360 degree customer approach and Volvo Finance was present in their stall. Many exhibitors claimed to have closed a large number of orders during the course of the event.

Overall, the venue was abuzz with meaningful inter action between exhibitors, customers and visitors. A very buoyant mood prevailed during the show.