Canada in the global spotlight at Bauma 2019

Massive trade show presents opportunity for Canadian mining supply companies

The bauma trade fair, held every three years, is the world’s largest construction and mining equipment show, with the last exhibition in 2016 drawing nearly 600,000 visitors to Munich over seven days.

This year’s show, held Apr. 8-14, is expected to be even bigger.

That could be a good thing for the official partner country of bauma 2019 – Canada.

While the Canadian presence at the show is dwarfed by exhibitors and delegates from the European Union – there were only 1,580 Canadian visitors in 2016 – the organizer is hoping to increase those numbers this year.

Canada was chosen as a partner country because it is the seventh largest market for the construction industry and among the top five producing countries for almost all mineral resources.

Klaus Dittrich, chairman of organizer Messe Munchen, says that with the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) coming into effect, there’s a stronger incentive for Canadians to attend.

“Strong free trade is a basic requirement for good business. CETA, the free trade agreement between the EU and Canada, will lend fresh impetus to bilateral trade. This is why we want to use Bauma 2019 and the opportunities afforded by the partner country concept to bind our industries even closer together,” Dittrich said in an emailed response to questions.

At bauma 2016, nearly 139,000 visitors – or 24% – were from the mining sector. About 20% of the trade show’s exhibitors serve the mining industry.

This year, the organizers expect 39 Canadian exhibitors, 14 of them organized in a joint booth in the mining hall (hall C2), one of 18 halls that together total 614,000 sq. metres of exhibition space.

As partner country at the 32nd edition of Bauma, Canada will enjoy special exposure.

“Visitors of bauma 2019 will gain a deeper insight into the Canadian market,” Dittrich said. “With our supporting program, they will get information on current projects in the construction and mining sector in one of the most important commodity-producing countries. In the Canada Visitor Lounge, visitors can meet top investors and companies from Canada and at the Canadian Pavilion they will gain an overview about business and investment opportunities. Current construction and mining projects will be presented at the bauma Forum, also a perfect place for networking.”

One of the top trends to note at this year’s show is the ongoing digitalization of the construction and mining industries, which will also be reflected in onsite experiences.

“At bauma 2019, visitors will be able to experience the digital construction site with the help of virtual and augmented reality – for example, at our VR Experience at Hall B0,” Dittrich said. “For the first time, companies can even present themselves completely digitally. The VR Experience is not only a special happening, it also offers a high level of added value for everyday business.

“Completely new opportunities are available in the areas of planning and development, but also for training, advanced training, and sales. Anyone wanting to train their apprentices under realistic conditions – in machine maintenance, for example – or looking to explain the inner workings of a crane to the customer, no longer has to even leave the site.”

For more information, see https://www.bauma.de/index-2.html.