With almost 1,300 exhibitors, MINExpo in Las Vegas/USA is the world’s largest forum for the mining industry and its suppliers. 27 German companies exhibited at the shared German stand in the North Hall (Figure 1), which was overseen by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), the Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (German Engineering Federation, VDMA) and Messe Düsseldorf. The areas of extraction, safety and ecological recovery in particular were hot topics of discussion. The broad range on show included the processing of ores, coal and other minerals, safety and communication equipment, special applications, tools, recent developments in automation and robotic technology.
In addition, Evonik, GHH Fahr-zeuge, ifm electronic, Stiebel Getriebebau, Putzmeister and many others exhibited at their own stands. Hermann Paus Maschinenfabrik GmbH, Emsbüren/Germany, exhibited special vehicles alongside American partner company NPK inside and outside the hall at the same time (Figure 2). Countless innovations were also on display. In the large-scale equipment hall, e.g., Liebherr made the most of MinExpo with the first public appearance of its new 100 t truck. In the service sector, start-up company talpasolution GmbH, Essen/Germany, presented its real-time data analysis of mining machinery.
Fig. 2. Paus stand in the outside area at the MINExpo. // Bild 2. Messestand der Firma Paus im Außenbereich der MINExpo. Photo/Foto: Martin Striewisch
Exhibitors asked for their thoughts on the trade fair were positive about the number of visitors and the quality of the talks. Outside of the US, growing markets were accounted for in Canada and South American countries, especially in Chile.
Peter von Hartlieb and Dr Andreas Büscher from EnergieAgentur.NRW met with Andrea Moreno, Trade Fair Director at the Association of Industries of Antofagasta and arranged a “German Day” for Exponor 2017 in Chile, in which nine German companies had already expressed an interest during the exploratory talks. Von Hartlieb explains the key focus of the German Day: “For us, it’s a platform for building solid alliances between the Chilean mine operators and German companies which will achieve long-term, measurable success.” Mining Report Glückauf is the media partner for Exponor from 15th to 19th May 2017 and will be accompanied at the trade fair by a special Spanish edition for the very first time. (MS)
