AfriMold exhibition, conference offers trading opportunities

The show is affiliated to EuroMold, one of the most respected exhibitions of its type in Germany, which was introduced to the market in 1994 and local participants will be joined by overseas exhibitors from the UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, Korea and India.

Exhibition MD, Ron MacLarty, says significant opportunities are beginning to open up for the South African tooling, die & mould making industries following the success of the first exhibition last year. Apart from having the best CAD/CAM/CAE technologies on show, visitors will also be able to view the impact and potential of the latest 3D printing technology and additive manufacturing, which enables prototype manufacture and small production runs to specialist customised parts using engineering polymers.

This year's event also sees the entry of laser technology with laser exhibitors and the participation of the CSIR's South African National Laser Association, which will present papers at the three-day conference accompanying the exhibition.

"We are delighted that the laser industry is now strongly involved and very supportive. It will have conference speakers presenting laser technology papers with a delegation from the German Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology and the University of Aachen will also be here in September," said MacLarty.

International opportunities in developing economies

"The recent DieMold India exhibition in Chennai was a real eye-opener for South Africans," said MacLarty. "India has more work than it can cope with and industries there are struggling to get parts and components. I see this as a huge opportunity for the South African industry as we should be supplying India with mould components and services rather than trying to supply an already crowded market in Europe. In these circumstances visitors from India will be of great importance to the local tooling, die & mould making industries."

MacLarty believes that South Africa as a producing nation should in future be attending the other international shows, including DieMold India, RosMold (Russia) and EuroMold (Brazil).

"Local tooling, die & mould making companies need to take advantage of business generation and export opportunities that these shows present and consider making investments to visit and/or participate."

Plastics design competition

The Plastics Institute of South Africa has been very supportive of the exhibition and will be jointly hosting a design competition that will draw on students from Technology University of Tshwane TUT. The competition is based on preventing contamination of rivers and oceans by tiny plastic resin pellets, washed from the factory floor into storm drains. Students will design water drainage screens to trap and hold the pellet. The requirements include cost-efficiency, durability, functionality, environment-friendly, innovative maintenance and service plans and construction using plastic.

Conference papers

Response to the calls for papers for the conference, entitled 'Tooling Technologies 2011 and Beyond', has been strong with full support from the Toolingmaking Association of South Africa (TASA). Topics include international tooling trends, skills development and training, tool design technology and tool manufacturing technology.

Student participation

One of the association's major objectives is to encourage more students and apprentices to train and become involved in the industry, and the organisation has already achieved great success on this front through the TDM Powered programme, which it launched in partnership with the National Tooling Initiative and the DTI in 2010. This year, over 200 students participating in the programme will be attending AfriMold.

"We are excited to be introducing our TDM Powered students to the entire spectrum of the industry at this year's exhibition," said Dirk van Dyk, CEO of the National Tooling Initiative Programme. "The students we took to the conference last year were extremely excited by the prospects and opportunities in South Africa's tool, die and mould-making industry, and this year's programme will expose our students not only to the local industry, but to the opportunities inherent in international collaboration too."

"The conference is going to play a significant role in imparting knowledge and specialist information to the various industries. I believe it will have a positive impact and assist in finding a way to overcome the shortage of skilled engineers and tool & die makers," concluded MacLarty.