AIMEX -

PACIFIC 2010 EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS FROM AIMEX EXHIBITORS  

5 February 2010

A contingent of Australian International Marine Export Group (AIMEX) members recently exhibited at the 2010 Pacific International Maritime Exposition held in Sydney, Wednesday 27^th – Friday 29^th January 2010.

The biennial Pacific International Maritime Exposition has become internationally recognised as the premier commercial maritime and naval defence industry forum and trade exhibition in the Asia Pacific region. The exhibition and associated conference program brought together key industry, defence and government decision-makers from Australia, south-east Asia and around the world and represented an ideal medium for communicating information, exchanging ideas and professional networking.

2010 was the first year that AIMEX showcased member companies and it proved a good opportunity for members to expand their business in the commercial marine industry. High profile marine companies including GME, TMQ Electronics, Steber International, Coursemaster Autopilots/HyDrive Engineering and VEEM Engineering/Austral Propellers were on display at the show.

VEEM Engineering Group has been long supporters of this important defence industry event. VEEM showcased both their extensive engineering capabilities and their world-renowned fully CNC propeller products. Australasian Propeller distributor, Stephen Vincent, General Manager - Austral Propellers, was particularly impressed with the strong interest in the VEEM Interceptor pitch adjustment technology.

"Many visitors were keen to understand this technology first hand and this enabled the VEEM Engineers to introduce these potential customers to the full range of VEEM foundry and engineering services. This helped generate a number of strong leads for projects encompassing a broad spectrum of the company’s capabilities" said Vincent. "Both the domestic and overseas visitors appeared to have strong product interest and were keen to understand how we could help them with their future projects - the quality of the contacts made at this show cannot be under-estimated" Vincent added.

Alan Steber, Managing Director of Steber International was very positive about his experience, “As a first timer at Pacific 2010 I was impressed with the Defence Ministers address at the opening ceremony and the New South Wales Premier and her support for NSW and the NSW Maritime Industry Capability, Skills and Innovation Program. This implies that the industry will be backed by federal and state governments in border security and defence. The opportunities could be enormous for AIMEX members’ right across the board and as a leader in the commercial marine industry we look forward to working with the numerous enquiries received from the show. I was very impressed with the attendance numbers and quantity of exhibitors.”

As first time exhibitors, Coursemaster Autopilots and HyDrive Hydraulic Steering Systems were happy with the response they received to their commercial autopilots, steering systems and KVH satellite communications systems. On the last day of the show Ian Briggs, Technical Sales Manager, was awarded the Chairman’s Award for Sales Knowledge and Presentation.

“While I was a little disappointed to learn that a couple of the enquiries for commercial systems were part of the award selection process and not real sales leads, I was honoured to be selected for the Chairman’s Award in such illustrious company” said Ian. “The overall experience for both companies has been very positive and rewarding” Briggs added.

Sean Griffin, General Manager – International Business of GME said “GME had not exhibited at Pacific Maritime for some years, and really went to this year’s show without any great expectations. However we were pleasantly surprised by the genuine interest in our emergency beacons and VHF radios from both Australian and international visitors with a number of strong leads generated.

“The show was extremely well organised, the benefit of participation as a member of the AIMEX pavilion cannot be over stated, as it provided a practical, coordinated approach to the entire event,” Griffin added.

Robert Larder, National Sales Manager TMQ was also a first time exhibitor at the show and found it worthwhile “We experienced some good interest from overseas commercial operators as well as some renewed interest from local boat builders” he said.