A further satisfied business was Imex Tyres, who commented: “Our attendance at the expo has brought us major enquiries relating to various exports opportunities as well as new business prospects for our markets. We’ll be back in 2010.” And Srinivasan Ramamurthy, head of international marketing for Indian retreader Elgitread commented: “We were charged up on the second day of the show with quality enquiries from prospective customers and were able establish new contacts through this show. We look forward to participating in Tyrexpo Asia in 2009 to gain further mileage from ECI organised exhibitions.” Another company who will be returning for the next show in two years time is Leen van’t Hof of Dutch retreader and wholesaler Bandenmarkt, who has already confirmed a doubling of stand space for 2010. He said: “Participating in Tyrexpo Africa was a pleasure. After a first, hesitating event in 2006, this exposition was better visited, especially with delegates from other African countries.” Joaquin Gonzalez, chief operating officer for Tire Group Inc of the United States, said he hoped the show would help expand his company’s trading presence in the region: “The Africa show without a doubt was a complete success for us, due to the amount of new leads generated from it. This is a market we have done some on-and-off business but never on a consistent basis. Hopefully with this expo and the new leads generated, we can forge some great relationships and find some solid distributors to expand our brand. Independently audited figures released by show organiser ECI International confirm a healthy six per cent increase in visitor numbers, up to 2,478 compared to the inaugural event in 2006