Global Slowdown And Terror Mar ReIndia Expo

Global recession and terrorism cast its dark shadows on the three-day ReIndia
Expo. The event for the re-manufacturing industry was held in Mumbai from March
5 to 7, 2009 at the Bombay Exhibition Center (BEC). The event, organized by
USA-based Recharger Magazine in colla­boration with Trade Expo India Promotion,
was the first in the series of four global events to

be held world-wide by the magazine this year.

Dark clouds

Unfortunately the series did not start off with a bang. The number of
exhibitors at ReIndia this year dropped by 50 percent. Last year, ReIndia had
received a great response from the exhibitors with as many as 60 companies
participating in the event, out of which around 36 were overseas exhibitors. But
this year, only 30 exhibitors from countries like Singapore, Japan, USA, UK and
Taiwan partici­pated in the event. The three-day event saw a footfall of only
1,500. Global and national leaders of re-manufacturing industry like UniNet and
Indian Toners and Developers (ITD) also participated.

“Because of global slowdown and terror attacks on Mumbai, some global
companies did not participate in the expo,” shared Veerendra Chopra of Trade
Expo India Promotions.

CMDA controversy

On the other hand, a controversy also hit the event, with Delhi-based
Computer Media Dealers Association (CMDA) withdraw its support from the expo at
the eleventh hour on account of

lack of co-operation from the organizers of the event (Trade Expo India
Promotions), ill treatment given to their representative and alleged misuse of
CMDA's trademark.

“The organizers of the event promised us a stall free of cost at the event so
that we could use it effectively to display our products. However, later when we
displayed our machines at the provided stall, they stated that we did not posses
the right to put them on display. Besides, they have misused our logo by
mentioning CMDA as the supporting organization of the event, without our
permission,” said Puneet Singhal, President, CMDA.

	Few stalls on display at ReIndia Expo held in Mumbai. The event saw footfall of around 1,500 people

However, Chopra said, “We had alloted a stall to CMDA to use it effectively
for promotion of their association and related activities. However, in the
morning we noticed that a re-manufacturer, also a member of CMDA, had displayed
a huge machine in the stall. We could not have allowed a re-manufacturer to
promote his machine and hence we asked the two represen­tatives to vacate the
stall.”

Reacting to the charge of misuse of logo, Chopra said that the association
had signed an agreement with them that clearly stated that organizing commi­ttee
possessed the right to use their logo as the supporting organization.

The motive

The event was designed to motivate the growing regional industry by
providing a platform for education, product launches, service offerings, peer
networ­king and information sharing. At the end of the event, most of the
exhibitors and organizers found that their objective was met.

“The cartridge re-manufac­turing market in India is only five percent as of
now, but it is likely to grow in the next five to 10 years. Our objective is to
educate people and create awareness, and this has been achieved,” said Wendy
MaRae, Lead Editor, Recharge Magazine.

The exhibitors were also excited about the event, as ReIndia Expo was the
only event exclusively for the re-manufac­turing industry in India. “This is the
most important event for us in South-East Asia and this was the second year of
UniNet Imaging participation in ReIndia,” shared Marcela Gasaz, PR Manager,
UniNet Imaging.

She added that Indian market has huge potential in the entire sub-continent.
When asked about the aim of participation in the event, the PR manager said, “As
an educator of the industry, its our respon­sibility to create education and
awareness on re-manufacturing. We held four classes every day in the event for
cartilage re-manufacturing. As many as 25 people attended these classes in the
stall displayed by us.” The company aims to tap 35 percent of the
re-manufacturing market in India.

The three-day event was packed with educational sessions for the exhibitors
and participants. Prasanto K Roy, Chief Editor, DQ Channels spoke on
environmental issues, while Luke Goldberg of Future Graphics discussed global
market trends. Proovi Chothani of Law Quest threw light on the topic of
intellectual property and legal concerns, while Javier Gonzalez of UniNet talked
on re-manufacturing of HP products.

The event concluded on March 7, 2009 on a dull note, as most of the
exhibitors wrapped up their stalls early, while some of the exhibitors,
especially from overseas, left the venue in morning itself. The next event is
scheduled to be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil entitled 'Reciclamais South American
Expo'.

Akhilesh Shukla

akhileshs@cybermedia.co.in