SMM India 2009

“The maritime industry will become more and more important for India in the coming years,” said Tobias König, Founder and Managing Director of König & Cie. GmbH & Co. KG, an issuing house based in Hamburg, Germany. A representative of König will be present at the accompanying conference at SMM India 2009. This is the first shipbuilding trade fair on the Indian sub-continent, taking place under quality label of SMM, the leading shipbuilding fair. It is organised by Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH (HMC) and the two partners and co-organisers INTER ADS Exhibitions Pvt. Ltd. (the largest Indian trade show organiser) and E. J. Krause & Associates, Inc. (a globally active U.S. event specialist), at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai from 12 to 14 November 2009. A large number of the leading maritime equipment suppliers, mostly from Europe and also from China and Japan, will be there with their latest technology and product developments. The high-calibre conference which accompanies the trade show will feature eminent speakers covering all aspects of India’s maritime industries.

Indian shipbuilders and marine equipment suppliers account for about 50% of the exhibitors at SMM India. They include India’s leading shipbuilding companies such as Alcock Ashdown, Bharati Shipyard, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd., Goa Shipyard, Marman Engg & Shipbuilding Pvt. Ltd. Many of the market leaders from abroad will use their presentations at the new shipbuilding trade fair to enhance their business relations with India as an emerging shipbuilding nation, or to optimise their starting positions in the market. Particularly now, as the global economic crisis gradually comes to an end, India alongside her neighbour China will be among the key driving forces for growth in the global economy. Exhibitors at the first SMM India come from all the areas of maritime equipment – navigation and communication technology, propulsion systems, electronic and electric equipment and systems, and design and service. Europe’s maritime suppliers in particular will make use of this trade fair for faster access to the market. For example Inmarsat from the UK, Pemamek from Finland as a specialist for automated welding processes, and Auramarine also from Finland, a supplier of auxiliary systems for propulsion engineering.

The Chilean/Portuguese company Fundilusa aims to gain a foothold for its marine propulsion systems in the Indian market. Europeans present in Mumbai will include companies from Italy, Greece and Russia.

One of the largest delegations to the host country at SMM India 2009 will be the German suppliers. For the official German pavilion alone, there are ten leading suppliers of maritime equipment and systems – Adco Technik, a glazing specialist much in demand in megayacht and ship building; Boll & Kirch for filters; Cassens & Plath for navigation systems; Hottinger Baldwin as a system supplier for measuring engineering; Hugo Vogelsang for pumps; IMG for maritime services; Minimax for fire fighting systems; MWB Motorenwerke; Pleiger, a supplier of valve controls and systems for measurement of tank contents; and WISKA, a manufacturer of electric and electronic components.

A number of foreign companies are sending their Indian subsidiaries and interest holdings to SMM India 2009, including the American/Canadian crane manufacturer Gantrex, the German deck machinery specialist Hatlapa, and also Siemens, the nozzle and spraying system manufacturer Lechler, and Noske-Kaeser, a supplier of system solutions and components for air-conditioning, ventilation and refrigeration.

The three-day specialist conference at SMM India 2009 comprises seven sessions, where leading international speakers from government, industry and business associations deal with all currently relevant issues of the maritime industry. The main focus is on the Indian shipbuilding and shipping industry. The programme includes policy aspects, finance solutions, the development of infrastructure, logistics, shipbuilding technology and maritime equipment, training of specialists, and problems of maritime safety and security.

The conference sessions will be chaired by personalities who have earned themselves a good name in India’s maritime industries. A.P.V.N. Sarma, Secretary at the Indian Ministry of Shipping, will chair the discussion on the necessary political framework conditions for the maritime industry. The session on Marine Finance will be chaired by N.C. Singhal, Chairman of the Indian shipping company SCI Forbes Ltd. One of the main speakers will be from Koenig & Cie., which sees the growing prosperity of Indian society and the resulting increase in demand for transport capacities as one of the main driving forces of the Indian economy.

Other sessions will be chaired by Commodore M. Jitendaran, Managing Director of the Indian company Cochin Shipyards Ltd, Sudhir Rangnekar, formerly Chairman of the Managing Board of Sical Logistics Ltd., and Capt. Navin Passey, Managing Director of Wallem Ship Management (India) Pvt. Ltd. M.V. Ramamurthy, the President responsible for shipping at Reliance Industry Ltd., will chair sessions with eminent speakers from Singapore, Germany, Russia and Belgium, presenting recent developments in maritime technology and marine equipment. The subjects include navigation technology, modern ship propulsion system, improved methods of container handling in Indian ports, concepts for modernisation of shipyards, etc. In view of the broad field of subjects, the organisers are expecting a great deal of interest from Asia, Europe and America. In cooperation with the Marine and Offshore Equipment Industries Section of VDMA (German Engineering Federation), HMC is organising a four-day delegation trip to Kolkata and Mumbai, including a visit to SMM India, on behalf of and with funding by the German Ministry of Economics and Technology. The participants are 15 industry representatives from the German maritime industry.

(www.smm-india.com)