After Delhi and Bangalore, this year’s event moved to Mumbai – India’s Financial Capital, where it had 50% increase in visitors. The exhibition was accompanied by Conference Programme, Workshop for Local Fabricators and Architect’s Forum.
From 7 to 9 March, the Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre in Mumbai was transformed into a meeting place for the fenestration and façade industry: at fensterbau/frontale india, 73 exhibitors (2012: 69) from nine countries presented their latest products and technologies. The event, which was held parallel to ACREX India for the third year in a row, was successful in presenting energy efficient building solutions to architects, planners and builders. With 5,642 highly qualified trade visitors (2012: 3,717), the number has increased by almost 50% in comparison with the previous event. As in previous years, the exhibition was accompanied by a highly interesting conference programme, which offered international and Indian experts the opportunity to network and exchange their knowledge.
As in the previous years, the internationally renowned ift Rosenheim, Germany presented a three-day conference programme, in collaboration with Indian experts from the International Fenestration Forum.
Over a course of six sessions, national and international specialists provided an outlook on the latest trends in science and market scenario. The topics of energy efficiency and quality were dealt with in depth. In addition to recent innovations and technical trends, the subject of the German energy turnaround was also discussed. A highlight of the programme was the special session with Prof. Werner Lang of the Technical University of Munich, who provided insight into the latest façade technologies. His session was followed by a panel discussion on the topic of “Facade Technologies for Future Oriented Buildings – Hope India & Challenges” featuring speakers such as Ruchir Panwar (RSP Design Consultants) Vivek Bhole (Neo Modern Architects), Nilabh Nagar (Architect Hafeez Contractor), Prem Nath (Prem Nath & Associates), Sheetal Rakheja (Design & Development) and V. Suresh (HIRCO). The panel discussion was moderated by Anthony John from Schueco and Ashish Rakheja from AECOM.
The second day of the conference programme also coincided with the International Women’s Day. Prominent women from India’s fenestration industry were honoured for their contribution on this occasion. The recipients included Suhag Khemlani (Clean India Group), Sonali Bedre (Alumayer India), Zeba Anwar (Milestone Aluminium) and Sheetal Rakheja (Design & Development). The move was intended to encourage more women to be part of the growing façade and fenestration Industry in India as their resilience and attention to detail is of paramount importance for the growth of the industry. The accompanying workshop for local fabricators was an effort well appreciated by the industry – as a great initiative – giving “knowledge” back to the Industry. The concept of taking fenestration to the grass root level is seen as crucial to bridge the knowledge gap and ensure installation of a high quality end product.
The exhibition provided the exhibiting companies with excellent business leads, networking opportunities and an insight into the growing Indian Market. 98% were happy with the visitor numbers, 74% rated the quality of the visitors as good or very good. 89% were able to make new business contacts at this year’s event and are expecting follow-up business.
The organiser of the event, the NürnbergMesse Group, along with the supporting organisations, ift Rosenheim and the International Fenestration Forum, were happy with how the event turned out. The exhibition duo will go back at the start of next year – the next exhibition will take place in India’s capital New Delhi, 27 February to 1 March 2014, once again parallel to ACREX India, with the slogan “Back to the roots”.