BC India 2013 is a special edition and it has grown tremendously, even in times of general economic slowdown. We will have more exhibition space than in 2011, more exhibitors and expect more visitors. The positive feed?back from exhibitors and visitors showed us that there was a need for a construction equipment show in Mumbai and that we introduced the show at the right time, says Thomas Loffler, Chief Executive Officer, bC Expo India. In a chat with Equipment India, Thomas stresses the fact that they will be able to offer all visitors an even more repre?sentative market place at bC India 2013.

The inaugural edition of bC India was a huge success. How prepared is bC India 2013 to meet all expectations?
True, bC India 2011 was a success beyond expectations. Therefore, we are proud that we will be able to offer all visitors an even more representative marketplace at bC India 2013. We have more exhibitors, covering more space than in 2011. Our target was 700 exhibitors which we have crossed a few weeks ago - even in this difficult economical situation. Another point which will be beneficial for the visitors is that certain key players which were not represented at bC India 2011, will be participating at the 2013 edition, such as JCB, Hyundai, Case, XCMG, Mitsubishi, Cifa, Tadano, Zoomlion-Electromech and many more. Hardly any exhibitors have cancelled their participation. Nearly all other key players which trusted our brand already in 2011 will participate in 2013 again. These are for example, Caterpillar, Fayat Group, Kobelco, Liebherr, LiuGong, Manitowoc, Putzmeister, Sany, Schwing Stetter, Terex, Volvo, Wirtgen and many more.

How will the 2013 edition differ from the last edition?
bC India 2013 is a special edition and it has grown tremendously, even in times of general economic slowdown. We will have more exhibition space than in 2011, more exhibitors and expect more visitors. The positive feedback from exhibitors and visitors showed us that there was a need for a construction equipment show in Mumbai and that we introduced the show at the right time

What are the areas you have improved upon bC India 2011?
At bC India 2011, we had a long waiting list as we did not expect such a high space demand by our exhibitors. Therefore for 2013, we made sure that more exhibition space will be available. We increased the space from 88,000 to 150,000 sq m in order to accommodate more exhibitors with higher space requirements. The marketing campaigns went very well so that we can proudly say that we are on track with regard to our targets. We have allocated space for 701 exhibitors and new exhibitors are still applying for small exhibition stands. With regards to the visitors, a survey conducted during bC India 2011 helped us to identify the channels through which most visitors were attracted to the show. Accordingly, for 2013, we focused on the successful channels in order to reach out to an even higher amount of target audience than in 2011. Just to give one example: we have increased our online marketing activities for 2013 as we found out that lots of buyers visited bC India 2011 as they learnt about our show on the internet. The result is a 50 per cent increase regarding the online visitor registration compared to 2011 ? quite promising!

What is the growth percentage of exhibitors from Indian players?
Compared to 146 Indian exhibitors in 2011, 263 will be participating at the coming event which is a growth of 80 per cent and a proof that the success of bC India 2011 encouraged a lot more Indian companies to exhibit at our event ? a great result for us.

What is the number of international pavilions for bC India 2013? What is the growth percentage, compared to bC India 2011?
Just as in 2011, eight country pavilions will show technologies and innovations at bC India 2013. We will be seeing official pavilions from China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain and UK. With regard to international exhibitors in general we grew from 382 exhibitors in 2011 to 438 exhibitors at bC India 2013.

How visitor-friendly are the stall groupings and allocation?
Compared to bC India 2011, we have two separated exhibition halls at the upcoming event. This helps us enormously in creating different clusters. Even within the halls, the same product groups are allocated together. This makes it easy for the visitor to compare products of the same segment. In the outdoor area it is a bit more difficult to create clusters as the crane manufacturers have to be allocated away from each other in order to avoid boom collisions in case of strong winds. Safety is a very important issue for us. Helmets will be mandatory in the build-up period as well as safety ropes for workers working above three metre height. Dealers of safety equipment will be on-site to sell or hire out its helmets and safety ropes.

What has been the progress regarding online registration?
The online registration is going well. Visitors from 71 countries have already registered for bC India 2013. The big advantage of registering online is that the ticket will be free of charge. Visitors who register on-site will have to pay Rs 300 for a day pass or Rs 500 for all four show days. That helps us to keep the quality of visitors very high. Another advantage and innovation is that after registering online, the visitor receives his valid ticket by email. It just needs to be printed ?and ho gaya! The process takes less than five minute and is available till January 31, 2013. Afterwards, visitors can registers at the exhibition itself

How do you assess the current Indian CE market scenario and its growth prospects?
Currently, various effects like the general economic downturn, high interest rates as well as a weak Indian rupee have affected the CE market. Our colleagues from the research organisation Off-Highway Research forecasts that the year 2012 will end with around 66,000 sold units of construction equipment which is lower than in 2011. However, they assume the market will improve in 2013 to a similar level of around 2011 to around 72,000 units. They forecast a figure of 105,000 sold units by the end of 2016. Looking at the need for infrastructure developments in India in the long run, the CE market has a promising future. We hope that bC India 2013 will contribute to improve current market sentiments.

What contributory role does bC India expect to play?
The Bauma Conexpo Show - bC India, is a marketplace where buyers and sellers of construction equipment come together. We do not expect bC India to have an influence on the factors mentioned by you as we are speaking about a national phenomena, which an exhibition is unlikely to change. However, we hope that bC India will create confidence in the market in order to boost sentiments and make the business situation improve.

What is your take on the downward trend in the Chinese CE market? What was the trend at bauma China?
Similar to the Indian scenario, I believe the situation in China will improve, looking at the huge potential. China is a huge country where especially in the second and third tier cities a lot of infrastructure development is going to happen in the future. This year?s bauma China underlined this assumption. Some 2,718 exhibitors from 38 countries covered 300,000 sq m of exhibition space. With regards to the number of exhibitors, this is an increase of 46 per cent compared to bauma China 2010. Space-wise we are talking about a growth of 30 per cent. In four exhibition days, around 180,000 trade visitors came to see the event, which is 16 per cent more than in 2010; the figures speak for themselves.