According to Reed Exhibitions exhibition director Robby Clark things are looking good.

Yes, it is true the mining sector is in a bit of a down phase at the moment. Iron ore prices have slumped. Coal prices have plummeted. Things are tough out there.

Is attending a trade show the best thing to be doing?

It could be argued that yes, it is.

One thing about the downturn is that it has turned the spotlight onto productivity.

That is one of the big drawcards for attending AIMEX because just about every exhibitor there will be keen to explain how their products can do just that.

“Now more than ever people have to wave the flag and let people know that they are in business,” Clark said.

When Australia’s Mining Monthly spoke to Clark, Reeds had already signed up Cummins, Eaton, Flexco, Hexago, SEW Eurodrive, Davey Bickford and Hitachi.

However, the big names such as Caterpillar, Komatsu, Atlas Copco and Sandvik are not on the exhibitors list. At least not yet, according to Clark.

It should be noted though that when the previous AIMEX was held in 2013 Caterpillar decided it would hold its own press event up in Brisbane. It actually flew mining journalists attending AIMEX up to Queensland so they could take part.

So what does Clark say to those who believe that AIMEX is being greedy?

“My understanding, as the new guy, is that when Reed decided to go biennial they did conduct research and the overwhelming feedback was that the industry would support a two-year cycle,” he said.

“It’s worth noting that despite Minexpo [held every four years], all the other mining events are held every two years.”

Clark believes the Reed model with two regional events in the even years with AIMEX occurring in the odd years works well.

“What we’re aiming for is a major exhibition that people should come to,” he said.

“The most important thing is where we are at. We’ve just kicked over 400 exhibitors. In 2013 we had just a fraction under 600.”

While it is still early days, it appears the main supplier categories seem to be open cut services, repairs and maintenance.

“Everyone has been dropping the words such as innovation and productivity but we haven’t seen yet how that will translate onto the exhibition floor,” Clark said.

“Automation is another thing we’re hearing about a lot.”

There is little doubt some companies will find it hard to justify the expense of exhibiting. After all, it is not just the costs of stands, staff and accommodation. There are the costs of transporting the equipment to the show and getting it into a fit state to put on display.

This is the mining industry where a wheel loader can be a couple of storeys tall. It costs tens of thousands of dollars to detail a dump truck. That is after the expense of getting it there.

Clark said what he had found was that most exhibitors still had marketing dollars to spend – they were just not spending as much as they used to.

“I’d like to think AIMEX is still a market leading event,” he said.

“What I’d like to see is instead of an exhibitor saying they are not going to exhibit at all, they just downsize their exhibit.”

On the conference side, Northparkes managing director Stephanie Loader and Centennial Coal managing director David Moult have been confirmed as speakers.

The Meet the Buyers program is also on the agenda again.

“We’re working with Austrade to bring international buyers to the show,” Clark said.

“Plus we have a person on staff to get the local mine buyers on.”

AIMEX is also going on the road, in a manner of speaking. A couple of weeks ago representatives from the show went out to Centennial Coal.

“It’s all about getting in front of the industry and telling the industry’s story,” Clark said.