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PANAMA SHOW
Panama Show the Focus for Central American Retread Sector
Group have not made this mistake. They have seen that the strength of the Chinese tyre industry globally means that it has to be supported and accommodated, but in a way that does not have a negative impact on the culture and feel of the show. The organisers also made sure that the first two halls of the exhibition had a good mix of both local and international exhibitors giving the impression of a really international event. Many of the Chinese new tyre suppliers were concentrated in a single hall towards the rear of the show, and, as a result, the Chinese market style atmosphere that tends to pervade many shows these days, with visitors being accosted in the halls by scores of sales reps, was only really prevalent in this one hall. This helped to preserve the more
Mexican tread rubber manufacturer Hules Banda also prepared a presentation on the importance of trade associations in the Latin American retreading industry. This was intended to be given by the company’s General Director Heriberto Romero, but he was unable to attend due to the passing of his father, Don Heriberto Romero, so the presentation was carried out by Juan Carlos Hernandez. A traditional Mexican tribute of 30 seconds of silence followed by the same period of applause was given for Mr Romero.
Also relevant to the retreading sector was a presentation given by Jean Alexander Barros of Vipal Mexico, who talked about the importance of efficient tyre management.
The Latin American Tyre Expo was
The chief difficulty faced by exhibition organisers these days is the regionalisation of trade shows. As the Latin Expo Group, the organisers of the North American Tire & Retread Expo recently found out, it is nowadays almost impossible to justify an annual tyre exhibition focused primarily on retreading for the North American market. The company’s much more established Latin American & Caribbean Tyre Expo, however, is a different kettle of fish completely.
The show, which took place from 14- 16 June at the Atlapa Convention Center in Panama is clearly a viable event for the Central American and Caribbean region, also attracting
global tyre shows. It’s
clear that this is a good
show, so why overdo it?
One thing which was
clear was the intelligent
thought the organisers
had put to improving
the layout of the halls
and the flow of visitors
through the exhibition.
The infrequently visited
upstairs hall used in
previous exhibitions
had been scrapped and
replaced with a hall on
a lower floor, which was positioned so that it was on one of the main walking routes through the exhibition, making for a more even
international character of the rest of the show.
The exhibition was backed up with a strong conference schedule held on 15 June, which included a number of presentations, which were of particular interest to the retreading sector. Particularly relevant was the keynote presentation by David Shaw of Tire Industry Research speaking on “The Chinese Industry and the cost of Tyres”. This was backed up by Walt Weller, Senior VP at Double Coin speaking on the subject of “Chinese Tyres and Retreading – Facts and Fiction”. A longer analysis of these two presentations is provided elsewhere in this magazine.
well supported by representatives from the retread sector. The key
Latin American tread rubber and accessory suppliers Galgo, Hules Banda, Vipal and Dobermann all had a significant presence at the show. Indian suppliers Tolins and Elgi were also present as were equipment suppliers Shamrock Marketing and Italmatic, Daeho from Korea and Anji from China. The casing supply trade was represented by Kargro, Lakin and Casings Australia, European passenger retreaders Insa Turbo, Nortenha and Radburg all had stands, whilst the Latin American tyre repair sector was represented by Vermar and Tirso Gomez.
many visitors from parts of South America. The show was busy at times although some visitors suggested it was not as busy as in previous years, which leads me to wonder whether it might not be more effective for exhibitors and visitors alike if the event were held every two years like most other
flow of traffic.
The Latin American Tyre Expo is also a good example of how exhibitors from the Chinese tyre industry can add to a show. Some exhibition organisers have, in the past, made the mistake of adding countless Chinese tyre suppliers at the expense of local exhibitors. The Latin Expo
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