The event was a major success with increased visitor numbers and happy exhibitors. It attracted 6,494 visitors in total, with 5,907 unique visits – an increase from 2017 representing the growth and opportunities in the region.
Visitors travelled from all over Africa with the top 10 countries from outside of South Africa being: Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, Swaziland, Lesotho, Angola, Malawi, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Representation from other countries also included: Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Ivory Coast, Mauritius and Uganda.
As well as see the latest machinery, products and software solutions, visitors were able to take part in a range of educational features; the textile experience, a hands-on workshop where printers could learn different techniques by Charlie Taublieb, T-shirt and bag printing workshops, CorelDraw workshops, the Speed Wrap Challenge and Business Opportunities in print and signage, which were held on various exhibitors’ stands.
Exhibitors were extremely positive about the quality and quantity of visitors:
‘We sold all the machines on our stand to visitors from around South Africa and also Malawi, Zambia and Namibia. The show attracted serious buyers and quality customers,’ said Coenraad Kuipers, Titan-Jet Africa.
‘We obtained good quality leads and there was a constant flow of visitors throughout the day. We received very positive feedback from existing clients,’ said Larry Smith, SA Argus.
‘The show was good, we had a good flow of traffic to our stand and great interest in our full range of products,’ said Sean Conrad, Wilec.
‘The show was attended by a higher percentage of serious buyers this year than in prior years. We launched Anapurna H1650i LED printer,’ were happy with the number of leads that we generated for our newly said Dave Reynolds, Agfa Graphics.
‘We had a great response from show visitors to the specials offered by Mutoh Japan,’ said Craig Carstens, MIPS Technologies.
‘It was a very successful show, with lots of interest, particularly from Ghana, Zambia and Congo,’ said Dean Dupen, Rep-Tech (ScreenTec partner).