The Africa Print Expo, held from 9-11 September at Gallagher Convention Centre, attracted 5218 visitors from 25 countries. The top 10 countries with visitors outside of South Africa included: Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, Zambia, Eswatini, Malawi, Namibia, Mauritius and Kenya. Visitors could see new products and business opportunities in digital label printing technology, digital packaging solutions, digital printing presses, binding equipment, screen printing, digital textile printing, ink, software, pad printing, paper and board, litho print solutions and encapsulating / laminating.
Exhibitors had positive feedback about the event:
‘We had a lot of people that said we have very unique products and key technologies. The feedback from visitors was great. A lot of verbal commitments were made. We’ll see what materialises into real sales, but most certainly it’s been a great show for us,’ said Shawn Bezuidenhout, NSI-Label / NSI-4-Africa.
‘We had a lot of customers that arrived ready to buy, but who were also very interested in our new solutions. We must have sold at least five of our new offerings – our Eurotech finishing and wide format solutions. Then in our traditional markets – the Mimaki market – we also did quite a number of transactions. There were good quality customers and we met a lot of interesting new people. It’s also always good to connect with our old customers as well and see what they’re up to, particularly those who are ready to move on, upgrade and see what new technologies we’ve got and how we can help them grow their business,’ said Adam Querido, Graphix Supply World.
‘A major highlight for us was definitely the Change 1 Woman (C1W) networking event. The collaboration between Printing SA, the FESPA Foundation, C1W and FP&M SETA was a great success, and our biggest turnout for C1W yet this year. We were so proud to see how this movement has evolved, and is continuing to grow, and we hope that it continues to do so. The show was very well attended. The first two days were exceptional – we had so many enquiries and we helped so many people. Our stand was full every single hour of the day,’ said Abisha Katerere, Printing SA.
‘People came to the event with either the intention to purchase with a goal in mind, or to see what they were going to purchase in the future. It was definitely a good show,’ said Darryl Braithwaite, Midcomp.
‘The show was very good, with good quality clients. It gave us a nice opportunity to show the entire range that Fujifilm has, like the wide format, print-on-demand and cutting solutions,’ said Anja Kirton, Fujifilm Graphic Communication South Africa.
‘The show was beneficial. We generated a lot of traffic and exposure for our brand,’ said Shiraz Shaik, Eco Signage Supplies.
‘We saw visitors coming in their numbers three days in a row, so that was great for us. We’re always excited to be at the show and to meet new customers,’ said Thomas Smith, Iplastics.
‘We had a lot of international visitors, like people from Zambia and Zimbabwe, who came to see us. We sold some machines to visitors from these countries. We had a couple of clients from Cape Town visiting as well. Regarding our cooperation with Midcomp, we had a lot of interest from their clients coming to look at our products,’ said Gavin Peterson, Clear Solutions.
‘It was absolutely fantastic. We had quality visitors at our stand. People were seriously interested in our products – they weren’t just browsing. It was really good for us. Just on a rough count, we’ve sold approximately six printers, three heat presses, and a few other products. There were lots of new customers, but more importantly a lot of existing customers visited our stand,’ said Charmaine Poulter, Rexx Screen & Digital Supplies.
‘The show was very busy. I was really excited to see all the sales coming through. We already closed a lot of deals at the show. I think it was one of the best shows in the last five years for us, so we felt really positive about it, and will definitely be back again next year,’ said Nardus Mouton, Gencotech Laser Marking.
Judges visited each stand at the expo and judged the stands according to criteria based on design, staff friendliness and professionalism. The results are as follows:
Africa Print Super Mega Custom Stand:
Winner: Sign-Tronic
Africa Print Mega Custom Stand:
Winner: Graphix Supply World
Second: Fujifilm Graphic Communications South Africa
Third: Midcomp
Africa Print Large Custom Stand:
Winner: Mimaki
Second: Fortune Africa
Third: Clear Solutions
Africa Print Medium Custom Stand:
Winner: Graficomp
Second: Hitech Graphics SA
Tie Third: Canon South Africa / WPS
Africa Print Medium Shell Scheme:
Winner: NSI Label
Second: Kyocera Document Solutions South Africa
Third: Photo USA Electronic Graphic Inc.
Africa Print Small Custom Stand:
Winner: FESPA Foundation
Second: Blue Lagoon Media
Third: MIPS
Africa Print Small Shell Scheme:
Winner: Big 5 Distribution & Citizen
Second: Intellistor & Imagemed
Third: JG Electronics
Sign Africa Super Mega Custom Stand:
Winner: Roland DG South Africa
Sign Africa Mega Custom Stand:
Tie Winner: Intamarket / Allrich / Stixo
Tie Second: STP Engineering / GZ Technology
Third: Chemosol
Sign Africa Large Custom Stand:
Winner: Maizey Plastics
Second: Eco Signage Supplies
Third: Kolok Graphic Supplies
Sign Africa Large Shell Scheme:
Winner: Rexx Screen & Digital Supplies
Sign Africa Medium Custom Stand:
Winner: 3A Composites
Second: Titanjet
Tie Third: Hornet Solutions & Signarama / Woodline
Sign Africa Medium Shell Scheme:
Winner: Gencotech Laser Marking
Second: Perfect Laser
Third: Northern Vinyl Supplies & Colorscreen
Sign Africa Small Custom Stand:
Winner: LBY Africa
Tie Second: Zimstone / Kodawari Inks
Tie Third: Pure Event Gear / Gawk
Sign Africa Small Shell Scheme:
Winner: Shams Naturals
Tie Second: ZSK / Mr. Plastic
Third: Hookei SA
Modern Marketing Large Custom Stand:
Winner: Curv Signage Systems
Second: Visual Communications Supplies
Third: Edge Signage And Shopfitting Supplies
Modern Marketing Medium Custom Stand:
Winner: Skyco Technologies
Second: Media Frenzy
Third: PS Branded
Modern Marketing Medium Shell Scheme:
Winner: Lebone Litho Printers
Modern Marketing Small Custom Scheme
Winner: Cover Styl’
Second: 3D Fusion
Third: Visdom
Modern Marketing Small Shell Scheme:
Winner: Twenty Four Store
Second: Pocket Media & Marin’s South Africa
AFRICA PRINT EXPO
+27 11 568 1894
www.africaprintexpo.com
