Exhibitors commend Tyrexpo Africa as visitor numbers increase for third staging of exhibition Sir Tom Farmer stars in show’s first tyre industry conference Delegates and exhibitors from more than 60 countries met to do business in Johannesburg, South Africa in early March, contributing to a highly successful third staging of Tyrexpo Africa. Show organiser ECI International was particularly pleased that the exhibition successfully withstood the challenges posed to all businesses in the sector by the global recession and emerged with confidence as a result. ECI sales director Rowena Suthers, comments: “The real success of Tyrexpo Africa was the positive attitude of everyone involved. The global recession has affected every business in some way, but the quality of visitors who came to Johannesburg with the intention of meeting new suppliers and doing business was extremely impressive. The fact that they came in increased numbers compared to the last show in 2008 was a great bonus and demonstrated that many people in the industry are feeling more positive than they were at the end of last year.“ Independently audited figures confirm a healthy increase in visitor numbers to southern Africa’s only dedicated tyre and equipment exhibition. The 5% increase in visitor numbers to 2,602, compared to the 2008 exhibition, was confirmed by a busy trading environment which has been praised by the record number of 135 exhibitors. ECI says this further endorses the role for a quality, niche-market tyre and workshop equipment trade event. Charl de Villiers, managing director of Tyrecor agrees, saying: “Tyrexpo Africa 2010 has given Tyrecor / Infinity the platform to further grow our presence in the Southern African markets; this has not only given us the much needed exposure on a regional level but also afforded us the opportunity to give our current customer base in South Africa a glimpse of what can be expected in years to come.