bauma CONEXPO AFRICA trade show ‘discontinued’

By Michael Degan, Fluid Power Journal Editor |

The bauma CONEXPO AFRICA trade show, which was canceled this year in Johannesburg due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been discontinued by the show’s organizer, Messe München GmbH, the company announced.

The company cited ongoing concerns about the pandemic and other market conditions, which have “had a noticeable impact on the South African Trade Fair market,” bauma said on its website.

“In the light of these market conditions, Messe München GmbH is realigning its market activities and has decided to discontinue bauma CONEXPO AFRICA as an independent event,” the company said on the bauma.de website.

Messe München, organizers of bauma, bauma China, and bauma CONEXPO AFRICA, cited COVID-19 as causing the show’s closure. It said in a statement: “The Coronavirus pandemic had and still has a huge impact on the business activities for all trade show organizers worldwide and certainly also for Messe München. The further development of the pandemic as well as the political and economic parameters for the construction and mining industry will stay unforeseeable for the upcoming years, especially when we look in the scope of Sub Sahara region and not only South Africa.

“As it has always been the key goal to make bauma CONEXPO AFRICA a show for the Sub Sahara region it seems very unlikely under the current conditions to meet the requirement of the industry in the future. In the light of these market conditions, the management of Messe München GmbH has decided to realign its market activities and to discontinue it as an independent event.”

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers announced the news on its website. Addressing companies in the construction and mining industries that may have planned to exhibit at the trade show, AEM took the opportunity to remind those companies that they could exhibit at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG show in Las Vegas in March 2023, which AEM organizes.

“AEM would like to remind member companies who were planning to exhibit at bauma CONEXPO AFRICA that sales for CONEXPO-CON/AGG and the co-located IFPE, the world’s largest construction trade show in North America, are now open,” AEM said on its website.