More than 28,000 visitors, over 710 exhibitors, out of which 61 per cent of the exhibitors were international, which is a strong indication of the global interest for the Indian market. Given the current scenario, it is apparent that the latest bC edition indicates a return to growth in the Indian construction market.

Despite the challenging situation in the construction machinery industry, bC India impressively strengthened its position in the Indian market. All in all, 710 exhibitors from 33 countries took part in the second edition of this international trade fair for construction machinery, building material machines, mining equipment and construction vehicles, which occupied 150,000 sq m of exhibition space. The show featured nine national pavilions from China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom. Of the 710 exhibitors, 437 - or 61 per cent - were international exhibitors. More than 28,000 professional visitors attended the show, Thomas L?ffler, Chief Executive Officer of the show's organiser, bC Expo India, looks upon the results favorably, "The visitor numbers are satisfying in times like this. Therefore, I hope that the success of bC India indicates a return to growth in the Indian construction market."

Michael Siebert, Consul General, Germany, said "Despite all the slowdown in the world economy, the Indian construction market is still interesting. 65 per cent of investment in the infrastructure is solely invested in the construction sector." Siebert added," I know a lot of companies who export products manufactured in India through JV or subsidiaries to Asian and African markets and even to the Americas, and this trend will continue to grow. Many German companies are planning to export to India, particularly Maharashtra. In Pune alone, the number of German companies has grown from 120 to 280 in the last five years mainly in the automotive, IT sectors, etc. India is an interesting market with low labour costs."

bC India is a very interesting show. The figures of the show have almost doubled from the first edition. It displays the latest in construction machinery and technology from around the world. Germany is still going very strong despite the slowdown in world economy. It is the biggest economy in Europe and keeping the European Union together. Over the years we will resolve the debt issue with some Euro member countries and India is a very important partner for German business. Economic relations is still going strong between the two countries and with the all needs India still has n infrastructure sector, German materials are very much welcome. It will benefit both sides, Siebert pointed out.

Joachim Schmid, Managing Director, VDMA said, "I think more and more of our companies decide to have assembly and manufacturing in India and I think there is also no problem to do the sourcing in India. So for the future, just look at the population and what all has to be done will be done. So I am quite sure in ten years time, all our big manufactures will have some production here and will be happy with the Indian market." Schmid further added, "India will be amongst the three or four most important markets. The number of pieces of construction equipment sold in India is really significant number. Sooner or later India will overtake Europe or the United States."

"India is a very difficult market for the French companies, but it is full of opportunities. We cannot ignore the Indian market so we are here. We will come with a bigger delegation next time. Around 700 exhibitors at bC India is an incredible figure. We have our international competitors under same roof. It is nice to have the entire construction industry to come together and showcase what they have got. All the visitors who have visited the French pavilion are our target customers, they want to know more and we hope to some serious business partnerships materialising," said Fayssal Majid, Trade Office - Infrastructure, Transport and Industry Dept, UBIFrance. According to Sebastian Popp, Manager?International Markets. "VDMA, its members are from construction equipment and building machinery and we are looking at one of the markets with the greatest potential for the future, India. When I look at the feedback I have received from our member companies, all the German exhibitors are very pleased with this year's event. Both the number and the quality of the visitors have improved compared to last exhibition in 2011."

Joanna Oliver, Director of Global Programmes, Construction Equipment Association (UK), had this to say about the event: "Some of the companies exhibiting here have a long history with India. Most UK companies are here to form partnerships for long term. The number of visitors may not be as high as other exhibitions but the quality of visitors are high this year. We want and have got people who make decisions and we are pleased with the overall bC event. Very well organised!"

Damian Goutier, Managing Director - Asia Pacific, Haulotte Group, said, "This show was a perfect medium to show our commitment to the Indian market, a chance to broadcast our product to a larger scale. The attendance at first edition was not huge compared to Bauma in China but the quality of response was much better. So it was an opportunity for us to get a lot more contacts."

"The overall exhibition is well-managed, and there is much improvement compared to the first edition. bC India is a great platform. It is great to be a part of bC India since we have been involved in so many projects pan-India," said Kapil Bhati, Managing Director, Robbins.

According to AM Muralidharan, President, Volvo Construction Equipment India, Bauma is well connected to construction equipment the world over. So this automatically becomes a great place for all suppliers to come together and showcase their products.

"We have been associated with Bauma for a long time," says Tom Melbye, President, Normet Group. "We have a couple of surprises lined up for bC India this year. bC India is a great platform to establish good customer network and find clients for your business. There is support and solutions for all kinds of construction. We have on offer specialised technical support for the Indian construction industry. I see a lot of international companies here at bC India and we are here to provide comprehensive solutions and provide technology for any construction related problems in India." "In terms of quality, bC India has put a good show. Participation as compared to the last Bauma show in 2011 is much better. The area has also increased and so it gives you more the feeling of a good equipment exhibition. We, in turn, here are able to mobilise a large number of customers. I am happy to see a turnaround of smaller customers showing interest in buying. On YoY, if you look at numbers, the market has been facing a bit of de-growth of say about 3-5 per cent. So we were really in a dilemma if we would get value from this kind of an exhibition. But it has been beyond our expectations. I see a good turnaround of retail customers coming forward and really exploring the purchase of smaller machines," said DK Vyas, Chief Executive Officer, Srei Equipment Finance.

"BC is very popular. It attracts customers from across India. It is much better than last time and much organised. People are making serious enquires about Vermeer. We have several enquiries in hand and we know the final outcome will be very fruitful. We have also launched the new d24x 40 VBM Navigator horizontal directional drill (HDD) in India," stated Ajith Kumar, CEO, Worldwide Machinery Solutions (exclusive Vermeer dealers for India).

"At this show, we have seen many new brand machines which were not available at earlier exhibitions. These are very prominent brands in European markets, North America or the US markets. This is a sign that Indian technology and latest equipment is growing and such exhibitions give them a very strong platform to showcase their manufacturing capabilities, competencies and display their updated equipment ; everybody related to the infrastructure industry will benefit from this," said Ashok P Chhajer, Senior Deputy General Manager-OE Sales, BKT.

Just like at the show's premiere, the high quality of the visitors as well as the organisation of the event were highly appreciated by the exhibitors. Amit Gossain, Vice President Marketing & Business Development with JCB, said "bC India is a very good show with high-quality visitors. Visibility here is extremely good. It is clean, tidy, well set-up and very well managed."