Celebrating 50 years this year, Electra Mining Africa is pulling out all the stops to deliver an event that continues to serve as an essential and valuable meeting place for industry stakeholders. A place where buyers and sellers come together to connect face-to-face and where innovative products, services and technologies are revealed.

During the five days of the show thousands of people will connect across industries, thousands of products will be on display and thousands of face-to-face interactions will take place. Over 650 companies will be exhibiting this year.

With machinery and equipment on display often high-value items, the show offers a platform for buyers to get up close to the products, see the quality, speak to technical experts and view the live demonstrations. It also offers the opportunity to compare products and brands.  

“There’s a lot that visitors can expect at this year’s Electra Mining Africa,” says Charlene Hefer, portfolio director at Specialised Exhibitions, organisers of the show. “As a 5-in-1 trade show, it covers everything from mining, electrical and automation to manufacturing, power and transport. So there’s a lot to see for everyone in those fields. The Halls are broadly categorised across these sectors whilst the vast outdoor exhibit area generally lends itself to pump and valve exhibits and water activations and those activations with moving parts, like materials handling. We have colour coded the outside areas to enable easier navigation for visitors.”

The automation technology hall is a big addition for the show and is expected to draw a lot of interest. Hefer is delighted to have the support of the SAIMC (the Society for Automation Instrumentation Mechatronics and Control) and values their endorsement and involvement. Automation focussed free-to-attend seminars will take place in Hall 7, hosted by the SAIMC, most of which are accredited and offer CPD points to those that attend.

International participation includes the Austrian, Belgium, German and Italian Pavilions as well as exhibitors from India, Chile, France, Australia, USA, Taiwan, Turkey, Switzerland, UK, Poland and Canada.

“We are expecting many innovative new products, services and technologies to be launched at Electra Mining Africa,” says Hefer. “Loads of live demos have been planned where machinery and products will be seen in action, and the new forklift competition we’ve added to the show in conjunction with Lifting Africa and LEEASA (Lifting Equipment Engineering Association of SA) will be enjoyed by many. It’s where exceptional forklift driver skills will be put to the test.”

The winner of the Forklift Driver Competition will receive a trophy, a cash prize and be crowned the Forklift Driver Champion. Businesses can enter their skilled employees in recognition of their skills, hard work and dedication. Forklift operators can also nominate themselves. Entry is free of charge. All participants need to be in possession of a valid forklift license. The competition aims to recognise and reward highly skilled and safety conscious operators.

Visitors to the show can also look forward to the SAIMechE (South African Institute of Mechanical Engineering) free-to-attend seminars in Hall 9. Topics presented by industry experts will be aligned to the show’s theme days; automation, innovation, safety, future skills and South African Day. Conferences taking place at the show are hosted by Women in Mining South Africa as well as LEEASA.

“We are really looking forward to this year’s show and are proud to be celebrating its 50th anniversary,” concludes Hefer.

Southern Africa’s biggest mining, electrical, automation, manufacturing, power and transport trade exhibition and its line-up of conferences and free-to-attend seminars will be taking place from 5-9 September at the Expo Centre, Nasrec, in Johannesburg.