Electra Mining's record-breaking performance

Electra Mining’s record-breaking performance

30th October 2024

Taking place at the Expo Centre in Nasrec, Johannesburg, from 2 to 6 September, this year’s Electra Mining Africa was the biggest show in its history. It had 950 exhibitors occupying over 40,000m² of exhibition space across six exhibition halls and four open air exhibit areas.

Electra Mining Africa is the largest mining, electrical, automation, manufacturing, power, and transport trade exhibition in Southern Africa, and one of the largest mining and industrial shows worldwide.

“We have had excellent feedback from our exhibitors,” says Gary Corin, MD of Specialised Exhibitions, which organises the show. “Many of our exhibitors have been exhibiting with us consistently for many years, whilst others were previous exhibitors who came back after a short break, or were exhibiting at Electra Mining Africa for the first time. Those that we have spoken to have met their exhibiting objectives, whether that’s brand awareness or generating sales leads, or both.”

By the end of the show, 39,883 visitors had attended this year’s Electra Mining Africa, which was about 27% higher than the previous show in 2022.

“But it’s not just about the numbers,” explains Corin. “It’s about the quality of the visitors that come through, and it’s been impressive. Visitors were from across the industry sectors represented at the show, looking for the latest products, innovations, and technologies relevant to them … they weren’t disappointed by what they saw. Electra Mining Africa has built its reputation as a platform for trade; the place where buyers and sellers meet to do business, contributing to the stimulation of trade in the industrial, manufacturing, and mining sectors of the South African economy.”

This year’s rendition also saw the addition of a “new products and innovation awards” competition, which attracted entries from local and international manufacturers. “The innovation displayed across the show was of a world-class standard, and this was also reflected in the entries received for the innovation awards competition,” says Charlene Hefer, portfolio director at Specialised Exhibitions. “Many of the new products and innovations are likely to be exported into Africa and other parts of the world in the coming months, now that they have been launched to market at the show.”

Deputy Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Judith Nemadzinga-Tshabalala, was impressed by what she saw at the expo when she visited on the Thursday morning. “From my walkabout it is clear that Electra Mining is booming and growing,” she said, adding that she would like to see the relationship between the expo and her department grow stronger: “Government is interested in such partnership.”

Collaboration: the name of the game

Hefer says that Electra Mining Africa 2024’s success can be attributed to collaboration. “We have a great team who have worked really hard to ensure the success of the show, but it’s also the collaboration we have with the industry associations, the trade media, our suppliers, and, of course, our exhibitors,” she expands. “We launched a brand-new exhibitor training programme this year, and spent three days training just over 350 of our exhibitors. We could see the difference at the show – how they have implemented what they’ve learned. From how they approached build-up and the effort they put into their stands, to the way they were interacting with visitors and how they embraced our theme days, it made a real difference. They took their exhibiting to the next level!”

Corin spoke about the collective when it came to the marketing of the show. “To achieve the number of visitors this year, yes, the marketing was good – but not just ours as organisers. It is the collective effort that makes a show successful. The industry has really bought into this and I think that’s what makes the difference. No individual, no one organisation, can put an event like this together on their own. It was the collective effort of all stakeholders that ensured the success of this year’s show.”

Looking ahead to 2026

Hefer says that planning for Electra Mining Africa 2026 already started a few months ago. “There are many new initiatives in the pipeline and some areas that we want to improve for the next show. We will engage with our exhibitors, visitors, sponsors, associations, and media partners to get their input too. There’s a lot in our planning mix already, but their input is also crucial for us,” she stresses.

Corin reflects on what the industry might look like in 2026. “In two years, new technologies and solutions will be out there, and our exhibitors will be showcasing and demonstrating these innovations and technologies, whatever they will be,” he says. “Artificial intelligence is having a major impact, even in our business: how we communicate, how people register to attend, and tools that help both exhibitors and visitors on site. We don’t even know what will be available in 2026 yet. It will be an exciting couple of years, as the unknown becomes known.”