Featuring 184 exhibitors from as many as 26 countries and country pavilions from the likes of Turkey, Taiwan, China and India, the inaugural edition of Automechanika Jeddah, got off to an impressive start in the Red Sea port city and commercial hub. The Saudi Arabian debut of the worldwide Automechanika brand is the 15th of its kind around the world and the second in the Middle East organized by Messe Frankfurt, apart from the Dubai edition. Running from January 26 to 28 at the Jeddah Centre for Forum and Events, the exhibition being organized in conjunction with ACE Group, has attracted a wide representation of international and regional brands looking to gain a foothold in the booming Saudi automotive aftermarket. With 70 percent of participating exhibitors originating from outside the region, the strong international interest underlines the huge market potential held out by the Kingdom's automotive sector. According to analysts Frost & Sullivan, the demand for spare parts in Saudi Arabia, which was valued at $3.8 billion (SR14.24 billion) in 2013, is expected to grow at a healthy 7.7 percent annually over the next five years to reach $5.5 billion (SR20.62 billion) by 2020. "Automechanika Jeddah, which is our first adventure in Saudi is indeed a significant milestone event for us as organizers," said Ahmed Pauwels, CEO of Messe Frankfurt Middle East. "Since setting up our Dubai subsidiary of Messe Frankfurt in 2002, we have, including Automechanika Jeddah, built up a successful portfolio of nine world-class trade shows and 13 conferences. "Automechanika Jeddah underlines both the importance of Saudi Arabia's booming automotive aftermarket, and also emphasises our growing stature in the Middle East; we are no longer just a ‘UAE' company, but a ‘Middle East' company," Pauwels added. Michael Johannes, Vice President Mobility and Logistics, Messe Frankfurt Exhibitions GmbH, said: "Since it was founded in 1971, the Automechanika brand has become the leading international trade fair for the automobile sector worldwide. Automechanika fairs are now held at over a dozen other venues around the world. Apart from Automechanika Jeddah, the newest member to the Automechanika family of events will be Automechanika Birmingham in the United Kingdom, which makes its debut in June 2016. "The Automechanika brand and its events around the globe are backed by around 16,000 exhibitors and 600,000 visitors. Moreover, we are expanding our range of events for the automotive and transport and logistics sectors. Thus, Messe Frankfurt already holds a series of new fairs and conferences for the automobile, bike, bus, boat and truck segments. They include the Automotive Engineering Show in India, Busworld Russia powered by Autotrans, Capas Chengdu in China, Comtrans in Russia (the world's second-biggest truck show), Eurasia Moto Bike Expo in Istanbul and the Johannesburg Boat Show, as well as conferences such as the Connected Mobility Conference in the USA. In the logistics field, we organise, inter alia, conferences on the supply chain and logistics & mobility. Another highlight is Scalex East Africa, a new trade fair for supply chain and logistics in Kenya, which will make its debut in March 2016," Johannes stated. Muwaffaq Al-Harith, Chairman of the ACE Group, remarked: "Two very common factors symbolize this major international event. Automechanika is the largest aftermarket show for spare parts and accessories in the world and is being organized in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – the Middle East's largest market for automobiles, spare parts and accessories. ACE's endeavor, over the years, has been to identify markets and provide commercial opportunities in the most buoyant industry sectors and our partnership with Messe Frankfurt and the realization of Automechanika Jeddah is one step in that direction. "The need for the Saudi and international counterparts to share knowledge, finding the best suppliers and entering into joint ventures, dealer and distributorships, is crucial in today's business environment; and I am sure that Automechanika Jeddah will provide that platform to the business community in Saudi Arabia to reap the benefits from this specialized event," Al-Harith added. In the limelight from the first day itself, were the latest offerings from the show's 16 launch partners, who pulled out the stops in attracting regional buyers to their exhibits. They included: 3M Saudi Arabia, Abdul Zahir Basheer Automotive Trading, Ample Auto Tech, Eurolub, Juffali Industrial Products Company (JIPCO), Ecobrex Brakes, Lorry Genuine Parts, Luthra Industrial, Martins Industries, Mineral Circles Bearings, Saudi German Brake Manufacturing, Steel Impex & Industries, Sun Global, Supra Rubber Industries, Universal Energy Storage, and Yousef Ahmed Rashid Aldossary and Sons Co. Mineral Circle Bearings, the first company from the UAE to provide bearings for every Japanese, Korean, European, and American car make, has its sights firmly on the Saudi market, and is looking for 15 percent growth in business in the Kingdom for 2016. Managing Director Hassanein Alwan said: "As launch partners, our participation is not limited to growing our market base nor showcasing our latest products. We see this event as a platform to educate the consumers about quality bearings as well as a medium to understand the market trends through face to face interaction with clients. Saudi Arabia is the largest market for cars with over 5 million vehicles on the roads to date. It's vast land mass and cheap petrol is a recipe for a high demand for automotive products. These together with its population, which is the highest in GCC, makes it a significant market for the bearing industry." Leading manufacturer and exporter of steering and suspension parts, Ample Auto is one of 43 Indian exhibitors eager to tap into Saudi's vast market for heavy duty vehicles, passenger vehicles, and agricultural vehicles. Arvind Chaudhary, Managing Director of Ample Auto, said: "We realize that Middle Eastern automotive market is quality conscious and we are here to deliver quality and price-competitive ATEK products. We hope to meet the gap between quality and price prevalent in the market." Saudi based launch partner JIPCO - the exclusive distributor of Mercedes-Benz vans, trucks and buses, as well as Unimog, Freightliner and Western Star trucks in the Kingdom - is looking to expand its already vast footprint in the market. Boudewijn Heilijgers, General Manager of JIPCO said: "We plan for significant growth in the Saudi spare parts market and in anticipation of this are opening additional spare parts outlets. We now have spare parts outlets in Jeddah (2), Mecca, Abha / KhamisMushait (2), Jizan, Riyadh (3),Qassim, Dammam, Hofuf, Jubail (under construction) and Medina (under construction)." Universal Energy Storage, a Thai manufacturer of suspension parts and batteries is at Automechanika Jeddah to get a better understanding of the Saudi market. Somy Massoud, Export Manager at Universal Energy Storage said: "Our expectations as a launch partner is to be able to obtain better range of contacts in the Saudi market and have a better understanding of this large market. It is a largely untapped market from our side with large potential. As such I would say for our divisions/group it is quite an important segment that we feel is largely under serviced." Automechanika Jeddah encompasses the six core product sections of Parts & Components; Electronics & Systems: Accessories & Tuning; Repair & Maintenance; Tyres & Batteries; and Service Station & Car Wash. The trade show delivers the latest innovations and solutions in the fields of parts, systems, tuning, workshop equipment, bodywork & paintwork, car wash, IT & Management and the latest automobile services. It also serves as unmatched platform for the world's leading auto aftermarket suppliers and manufacturers to establish long-lasting business relationships with buyers and distributers from throughout Saudi Arabia.
