The three-day India Gem & Jewellery Machinery Expo (IGJME) held at Surat drew to a close on Sunday with the flow of visitors peaking during the second half of the final day and exhibitors giving an overall positive rating to the second edition of the ‘machinery-only’ fair.

While more then a few participants pointed out areas where improvement was needed, they also expressed the confidence that the show would grow in the coming years and develop as a strong platform catering to the machinery and technology needs of the industry.

"The audience is just right – they are the production people who understand machines and know what they need,” said Kathrin Schoenke of Bangalore-based KNS Consulting India. “At IIJS we end up discussing with retailers who may not fullly grasp the technical side of production with the same depth.”

Yoav Efrat of Sarine Technologies was also appreciative of the show. "It has been good,” he says, “because though our company and products are well known across the Indian market, especially among the large manufacturers, this show has given us the opportunity to showcase some of our latest developments to a wider audience.” He did, however, express the hope that it would attract more “key decision makers” in the future.

Gaurang Goradia of ARC Distributors, which had an array of tools for the industry on display was very happy with the show. “We did good business, and had especially strong demand for the good quality imported burrs we offer. There were buyers from all over India – Gujarat, Mumbai, Jaipur, Delhi, the South and East. We will surely be back next year.”

Daniel Benjano, a partner at OGI Systems, was quite ecstatic about the show. The copmany, which has had a representative in India for many years, launched new improved software and systems for inclusion mapping at the show.  “The response we got was excellent – not only were there some great inquiries, there is also possibility of us entering into a new JV in India,” he said.

“We are very satisfied with the response, and have done a lot of good business,” said Mehul Patel of Imaginarium, one of the pioneers of, and now the largest supplier of, CAD-CAM machines and services in the country. “Many jewellers from Mumbai, Delhi and Surat have evinced keen interest in our RPT services.”

While the numbers may not have been as high as expected, visitors who came found that they had a lot to gain. An exhibitor narrated the experience of a large diamond company which had sent two senior persons on Day One to get an overview of the show. They returned the next day with 20 senior employees across departments so that each of them could get acquainted with the latest developments in their field.
While a bit hesitant to be officially quoted, a number of small jewellers who visited the fair said it was a valuable learning experience. As one of them put it, “It would have otherwise taken us many years to learn about so many different technologies, tools and see a range of options for alloys, casting powders and tools”. Another jeweller opined, “We established new contacts to source supplies in the future.”

 Navin Jashnani of Sama Jewellery, Mumbai who visited the show, said that IGJME was a very unique and useful platform. “There are about 15 companies offering RPT services and some excellent gold work in the Turkish pavilion. It’s a fantastic opportunity for jewellers to see new developments and learn about new opportunities,” he said, explaining that at IIJS they were always so busy with clients that there was little chance to pay much attention to the macinery section.