The biennial Automechanika Kuala Lumpur show – Malaysia’s leading regional trade fair for the automotive service industry targeting trade visitors from ASEAN – was a tremendous success this year. The 10th edition of Automechanika Kuala Lumpur, held 23 – 25 March at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, welcomed 246 exhibitors from 18 countries and regions. This year also saw 5,677 visitors from 71 countries and regions.
A few alterations in the format of the show occurred in the 2017 edition. According to Deputy General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai) Co Ltd Ms Fiona Chiew, the changes proved to be successful. Ms Chiew said: “The 10th edition of the show has been favourable and also a milestone. We are pleased to have positive feedback from the exhibitors and visitors, especially regarding the new initiatives to provide an all-inclusive sourcing, training and entertainment platform for the attendees this year. We will continue to provide what’s necessary for this industry and what will be needed for the industry to stay ahead in the Southeast Asia market.”
10th edition recentres focus and amps up on sourcing, training and entertainment
To expand the product sourcing net within the region, Automechanika Kuala Lumpur 2017 presented an expansive variety of products ranging from traditional equipment to advanced solutions including remote diagnosis, tools, electronics & systems, accessories & customising and parts & components.
Both exhibitors and visitors alike used the show as an essential business destination to explore collaboration opportunities in the ASEAN automotive market. Mr Damon Chang from Dorman Products of the US, visited the show in order to observe the product availability and level of advancement from the automotive suppliers within Southeast Asia. He said: “We found a few potential suppliers from Mainland China, Taiwan and Malaysia for different products including repair parts and components. They are supplying what we’re looking for. From the show and the events, we found that the technology level of the automotive industry here in Malaysia is much more developed compared to other Asian countries.”
Mr Chia See Yong, General Manager, Launch Tech (M) SDN BHD has been exhibiting at the fair for several editions and feels that it is a well-structured marketplace for the industry attracting high quality visitors. He said: “The show is a highly efficient sourcing and marketing platform for us to increase our branding awareness. It is playing a major driving role in the development of the Malaysian and Southeast Asian automotive aftermarket services industry. Key players from all over the region come here to source new products from international brands and workshop technicians come to learn the latest skills from industry experts.”
Automechanika Kuala Lumpur 2017, which attracted important buyers from all over the world including BMW, DENSO, Federal Mogul, Gates, HITACHI, Huawei, MANN + HUMMEL, Mitsuboshi, Panasonic, Petronas, Proton, Schaeffler, Shell, SNR, Sony and ZF, greatly expanded exhibitors’ sales network.
Mr Hidenori Uchiumi, Marketing Assistant Manager Corporate Planning Division, Yamada Corporation from Japan agrees that the show is an ideal location to look for quality business partners to strengthen their sales channels. Mr Uchiumi said: “This is a good chance to promote our new and highly mobile grease pump; it’s relatively unique to this market. While at the fair, we’ve met with some potential distributors from Malaysia, Eastern Europe and Western Asia who expressed interest in our products. I am very happy with the results.”
With the increasing penetration of connectivity in the automotive sector, there was a growing participation of IT management solutions providers at Automechanika Kuala Lumpur. Dew Touch Innovations from Singapore was one of the companies and Mr Chua Aik Boon, Business Development Director believed their participation was beneficial to their business: “We provide automotive solutions including systems for auto spare parts management. The show is a platform for us to expose our products to markets that we never thought of including, such as emerging countries like Myanmar and Pakistan.”
Specialised training highlights hot and useful topics
The exhibition included the Collision Repair Training Workshop and Autotronics Workshop for Working Mechanics. Both training sessions were headed by international speakers addressing hot topics, fulfilling the current market needs.
The Collision Repair Training Workshop was organised for the first time by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd and I-CAR (the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair). Mr Mark Czvitkovits, CEO of I-CAR Australia, hosted the Collision Repair Training Workshop and found the first cooperation between the show and the training workshop to be very successful. Regarding the workshop he said: “There were a lot of questions from the technicians in the training so I think it was certainly beneficial. From the technicians’ point-of-view, it is important to learn what’s new in technology, different measurements and to see the equipment as collision repair is a global issue and it keeps changing.”
The training was well-attended by local industry peers and also from Asian countries like India and Singapore. An attendee, Mr Franco Chan, Product Manager for Newera Autotech SDN BHD was impressed by what the training offered. He said: “The Collision Repair Training Workshop was very well conducted. I have gained useful knowledge which will help me in my daily activity.”
Another training workshop addressing industry hot topics was the Autotronics Workshop for Working Mechanics, which was organised by the Central Pahang Automobile Repairers' Association and Aurora Supplies Sdn Bhd. The goal of this workshop was to help workshop technicians to manage the complexity of automotive electronics.
Mr Lee Sin Pei, Aurora Autotech SDN BHD was the Workshop speaker and he expressed why this is such an important topic in the Malaysian aftermarket service industry. He explained: “During the event, we have shared with technicians best practices of numerous every-day issues to enrich their skill level. The training here offers me an opportunity to contribute my expertise to help our industry players to enhance their industrial intelligence.”
The ability to participate in these workshops is an advantage of Automechanika Kuala Lumpur and many visitors are eager to jump at the chance. One such attendee was Mr Low Pai Khoon, a technician with Eng Sin Pencelup Tayar from Malaysia, he said: “I’ve experienced many technical issues that were discussed today in the seminar. Now I know they can very easily be identified and fixed. I appreciate that the workshop focuses on troubleshooting for common issues we face in our daily work.”
Competitions provide visitor entertainment and industry networking opportunities
The EMMA Malaysia Final debuted at Automechanika Kuala Lumpur 2017 with more than 70 modified cars from ASEAN countries, including: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. The audio installations and the customised outlook of the cars aroused the interests of die-hard fans, automotive retailers, end-users and there were also some dancing performances to create a vivid atmosphere on the third show day.
The host of the event, Mr Howie Choo, Committee Member, Auto Audio, Accessories and Air-Condition Traders Association of Malaysia (AAA) spoke about the competition. Mr Choo said: “We are glad to work closely with the show organiser to upgrade the whole electronics industry in Malaysia by organising this event. In Malaysia, the car warranty would be voided if the OEM car is customised. Through the show we are hoping to increase people’s interest in car audio to accumulate industry associations’ support and negotiate with the local government in allowing customisation and tuning of car audio systems as long as it’s not against safety issues.”
In addition to the EMMA Malaysia Final, the popular Mechanics Challenge was also held during Automechanika Kuala Lumpur 2017. Sponsored by Mazda and Sonic, the event not only provided a good platform for the participants to compete for the prize, but also they are able to learn, use the latest tools and share the experience with each other.
The competition’s champion, Mr Alex Tiu, Business Development Manager from Newera was contented to win the prize and the experience during the challenge. He said: “I want to thank the organisers of Automechanika Kuala Lumpur to provide a platform for us to show our skills. During the competition, we learned how to work as a team and to complete all the tasks and assignments within the time given. I'm proud of my team because we gave our best until the final round.”
Automechanika Kuala Lumpur is a biennial event organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, co-organised by Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI) and is endorsed by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE). The exhibition is a multi-functional platform, attracting wide media coverage and partners’ support. It is the only trade fair merging repair and maintenance with smart technology within the ASEAN region. The next edition will be held 21 – 23 March 2019 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Malaysia.
For further information about Automechanika Kuala Lumpur, please visit www.automechanika-kl.com or email: autoasia@hongkong.messefrankfurt.com.
Automechanika Kuala Lumpur is one of 17 Automechanika fairs held in Africa, Asia, Europe and North, Central and South America.
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