Arrived back yesterday morning from Mumbai, after spending a week there, Bloolop having a booth at the Indian Amusement Industry’s annual showcase, the IAAPI Trade Show.
IAAPI (The Indian Association of Amusement Parks & Industries) put on a great show and it was judged a tremendous success by everyone I spoke to. The hall and number of exhibitors (76) made it big enough to be successful but small enough for there to be something of a family feel; most of the exhbitors got to know each other and the visitors, whilst not coming thick and fast as they do at, for example, the IAAPA Expo, were of a high quality, my own feedback mirroring that of many others who thought the high percentage of serious players and buyers in the amusement industry in attendance more than made up for the occasional lulls in footfall.
Whilst the bulk of the exhibitors were Indian there were a good number of overseas companies in attendance; Clostermann Design , TUV Nord and Fab/ Zierer from Germany, Gateway, Smartbridge and Intercard from the US, Coin-Tech from Argentina and Switzerland’s Westech amongst them.
Gateway’s Michael Turner had seen tremendous changes over the three years he had been exhibiting at the show: "There are more exhibitors and more visitors than any previous year and the venue itself has changed dramatically since last year. In ’07 there were frequent power cuts and the hall itself (still at the Bombay Exhibtion Centre but a different building) did not have adequate AC, making it a rather uncomfortable and a difficult environment." It was obvious the organisers have stepped up their game and the venue this year worked well, with the care and attention that went into its organisation abundantly clear.
The Indian exhibitors included most of the country’s major names such as Hindustan Amusement Machines, Arihant Industrial Corp, Nicco Parks, International Amusement Limited and Parkash Vikem together with many others, exhibiting everything from cricket bowling machines (C.Read. Bowled . By a large machine. Score minus 37, 180 balls, ten fours, 5 sixes, 11 dismissals) and bumper cars to waterslides and coasters.
Overall the event was a great success, for sure there are improvements to be made (Internet access and nail down those carpets guys!) but if IAAPI continue to innovate and invest then the show will grow and grow.
