Auto Testing Expo draws 150 exhibitors

The second edition of the Automotive Testing Expo is all set to be held at the Chennai Trade Centre at Nandambakkam, Chennai, between March 6-8. The expo will concentrate primarily on test equipment manufacturers and service providers which handle all aspects of testing like evaluation, quality engineering technologies, services and equipments.

Going by the buzz created in the Indian automobile sector by the previous expo held in Hyderabad two years ago, this edition is all set to be a cracker of a show. Expect to meet some of the world’s leading automotive test equipment manufacturers and test service providers who will display the very latest technologies aimed at the Indian automotive industry.

Interestingly, the last edition came on the back of India's successful riding of the global economic slowdown. Held in February 2010, it saw nearly 100 companies showcase their hi-tech wares.

This year’s expo comes bang in the middle of what looks like a slowdown in the Indian automobile growth story. According to Dominic Cundy, sales and marketing director in UKIP Media and Events, the organiser of the Automotive Testing Expo 2012, this year’s event will play host to many more exhibitors. “This year, there’ll be nearly 150 companies,” he says. Even though the expo covers almost all aspects related to testing and analysis, Cundy says, “the most covered is engine testing.” A lesson learnt from the previous edition and implemented by the organisers this year is to keep the expo closed for public visitors and open only to industry-related personnel.

The 2010 expo had drawn a large number of business visitors, especially from OEMs and components suppliers. Given that this year’s edition is being held in Chennai, “the home of many Indian car manufacturers,” as Cundy puts it, it is only natural to expect more ardent participation from both vehicle manufacturers and the component industry. Most stakeholders of the Indian automotive industry see the expo as a knowledge-sharing platform. Alongside the exhibition, the organisers have also scheduled 10 technical workshops that have representatives from industry leaders like Honeywell, Bruel & Kjaer, Moog, Horiba India and ETAS covering a wide spectrum of topics starting from the use of torque sensors for data acquisition, NVH testing, impact testing to visualisation and motion analysis and transmission testing. The workshops are open to all visitors.

The testing expo has its roots in Germany. Cundy says, “It began in Germany in 1999. Since then we have launched it in Detroit, Shanghai, India and in 2013 it will be held in Seoul.” Despite being a niche expo, Cundy says that the Indian edition is the smallest. "However," he adds, “the plan is to grow it significantly over the next few years.”

Autocar Professional is the media partner for this event and will publish an extensive report in the forthcoming March 15 issue. Stay tuned.

KARTHIK H