Namrata Kath Hazarika | 27 Nov, 2008
In an exclusive interview to SME Times, Mandeep Singh, Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Director of Reed Exhibitions said that the forthcoming COMPONEX NEPCON would provide the latest trends in technological breakthrough & innovative and cost effective solutions for the industry in an arena designed to encourage business opportunity.

Excerpts of the interview...

Recently, Reed Exhibitions India along with the Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA) has entered into a three-year agreement to support electronic components, materials and production equipment exhibitions across India. Could you shed some light on this?
Mandeep Singh: Reed Exhibitions India recognizes ELCINA as the premier trade body and this tie-up is quite encouraging for the electronics industry which needs mega platforms for addressing their knowledge requirements on the latest in the sector as well as opportunities for networking and business growth.

ELCINA has been well known as an interactive forum for electronics and IT manufacturers while Reed is the world's leading exhibitions organizer that brought together over six million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business in 2007 alone. This unique tie up is a consolidated effort towards the promotion of the electronic manufacturing in India through the B2B networking platform throughout the country.

Companies from the electronic industry, semiconductors, power electronics, electronic display, printed circuit boards, test & measurement instruments, etc. will come and display their products in these exhibitions.

People from across different sectors like Information Technology, Communications Technology, Medical Technology, Electrical & Electronics Technology and Engineering Institutions will come together in the exhibitions.

These exhibitions will help in strengthening relationships with existing customers and in uncovering new business opportunities through partnerships and collaborations. These will also give industry knowledge of emerging market trends, innovations and developments.

Reed Exhibitions is about to hold an event "COMPONEX NEPCON" in the month of February next year. Could you let us know who are going to participate in this exhibition and how are you encouraging exhibitors and visitors in order to generate business opportunities? Are international exporters and manufacturers also participating?
Mandeep Singh: Exhibitors from fields like components, semiconductors, cables and connectors, electronics display, power electronics, micro controllers and Production Technology and Equipments: SMT, PCB, EMS packaging, tools, dies and moulds, R&D services, embedded systems would be a part of the exhibition.

There would be visitors from varied fields like information technology, communication technology, electrical and electronics technology, medical technology, aerospace technology, consumer electronics, automotive electronics, quality control, government officials, etc.

COMPONEX NEPCON would provide the latest trends in technological breakthrough & innovative and cost effective solutions for the industry in an arena designed to encourage business opportunity.

It would give an opportunity to network with key industry influencers in the national and international arena, integrate new innovations into one’s business, catch up with industry innovations and technology transfer and establish new contacts.

At COMPONEX NEPCON, our emphasis is on offering our exhibitors, visitors and the industry the power of New-new business, new products, new trends & technologies, new contacts and new ideas. There would be other special programmes like industry leadership programmes, conferences and seminar forum for the visitors.

International exporters & manufacturers are also participating in this fair - Advance Tech Services Pvt Ltd., American CT, Bergen Systems Pvt Ltd, Deca Switchlab India Pvt Ltd., Essemtec AG, HCOM Sonar India Pvt Ltd., Inde Enterprises, Linpo Electronics Ltd., Qmax Test Instruments Pvt Ltd, Rabyte, S.M Semiconductor, Transtechnology Pte. Ltd to name a few.

ELCINA has always remained committed to the promotion of electronics manufacturing culture in the country focusing on components - the building blocks of electronics industry. How is Reed Exhibitions focusing on helping them to strengthen relationships with existing customers and uncover new business opportunities through partnerships and collaborations?
Mandeep Singh: The association has been successfully transforming the face of the electronics industry in India. For instance, the COMPONEX NEPCON exhibition aims to address the growing electronics sector, located in the National Capital Region of India.

The city has been witnessing a huge and fast growing market for telecommunication, consumer electronics, information technology, engineering and automotive components.

The ELCINA pavilion provides an opportunity to showcase the indigenous components manufacturing strengths and will feature innovative and lucrative solutions for the industry in an arena designed to encourage business opportunities for exhibitors and visitors at South Asia’s most trusted EMS trade fair the 15th edition of the International exhibition & conference, COMPONEX NEPCON INDIA 2009.

Do these kinds of business to business meet become a marketing mix, which gives industry knowledge of emerging market trends, innovations and developments? What is your take on this?
Mandeep Singh: Exhibitions are extremely instrumental in facilitating the introductory meetings with exactly who you want to meet. It is only business-to-business (B2B) exhibitions that match the supply and demand through sophisticated marketing campaigns.

World-renowned industry leaders present the latest industry thoughts and forums that are tailored to visitor requirements. These exhibitions are an influential and highly cost-effective business tool - as well as being significant wealth generators in their own way.

These business to business meets are a major source for industrial and commercial development. They provide a highly flexible environment in which a wide range of sales and marketing objectives can be achieved, from generating sales leads and launching new products, to building brand image, maintaining customer relations and appointing new agents.

Such meets are also one of the quickest and most cost-effective means of exploring and entering new export markets.

Today local electronics manufacturers have revised their projections to a severe downturn of up to 10%, from an earlier flat growth forecast, as buyers are canceling orders due to the global financial crisis. Factories are likely to reduce work hours and even retrench to cope. What is your take on this? Do you think the upcoming event "COMPONEX NEPCON" will give buyers a platform to get new business so that they can mitigate these problems?
Mandeep Singh: No doubt we are going through a period of the economic slow down this time which has led to reduced buying & selling, layoffs, etc. But what we are offering is something to tide over the repercussions of this phase of reduced buying.

We are offering a platform, a solution to these problems by opening up new avenues for buyers and sellers to come together, all at without having to incur any additional costs like advertising or sales promotion events etc.

Every time you organize events you are definitely using some strategy to attract buyers, what kind of strategy you are using to attract buyers currently in a situation of global meltdown? Do you think the financial constraints the companies are facing in this period will drive potential buyers in the coming event?
Mandeep Singh: Again, we would like to reinforce exhibitions as being a cost effective option which can be used as a cheap alternative as compared to the high costs incurred in advertising or other sales promotion efforts.

Exhibitions are a recognized launch pad for new products, and an extremely time-efficient way to keep up to date with the latest innovations.

The exhibitors and visitors from around the world get a platform which is regarded as the center of business information and market access.

What is the participation of the Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs) in the event of COMPONEX NEPCON?
Mandeep Singh: Small and medium enterprises are playing a pivotal role in this exhibition. In fact, a significant number of the enterprises participating in this exhibition belong to the SME sector which hail from the national capital region of Delhi which has been witnessing a huge and fast growing market for PCs, mobile phones, consumer, engineering and automotive components.

All this has further boosted the growth of small and medium enterprises in north India who are also witnessing the benefits of participating in trade exhibitions such as COMPONEX NEPCON.