Relieving landfills, winning drinking water, making greater use of waste water—from October 15 to 17, at IFAT India 2018 in Mumbai, the environmental technology industry devoted itself to the challenges of the Indian subcontinent. The focus was on water, sewage, solid waste and recycling. The record attendance of 7499 visitorsproves: the demand for environmental solutions in India is increasing.

 

Stefan Rummel, Managing Director of Messe München, states,“The Indian environmental market is gathering momentum. Topics such as seawater desalination, treatment of industrial wastewater and the expansion of the waste disposal systems are moving the industry in the country.”

 

Bhupinder Singh, CEO of the organizer Messe Muenchen Indiaspeaks of an excellent trade show result: “242 exhibitors (2017:184) unveiled their latest solutions and technological developments for the environmental technology industry spread over 11,000 square meters of exhibition space. This healthy growth rate of 40 percent has showcased India’s potential with regards to environmental technologies.”

 

The countries with the most exhibitors includedGermany, USA, China,Korea and Switzerland. IFAT India’s new Innovation Pavilion,a joint booth for international environmental projects,offeredtheideal platform for international technology transfer and for establishing contacts to potential customers.

 

Another premiere at the show was the Buyer Seller Forum with the aim to bring together technology providers and buyers. The forum was an ideal framework for individual business meetings that the IFAT India organizers had arranged. Mr. Pravin Singh, Marketing Manager, Andritz Technology Ltd was enthusiastic: “The Buyers Seller Forum is an exceptional platform to meet, interact and understand the potential customers. It creates a win-win situation for buyers and sellers.”

 

Exchange at expert level

The industry not only exchanged information at the booths, but also in the supporting program. How can India solve the acute lack of water? How can the public and the informal sectors work together more closely in waste disposal? The topics were tailored to the market requirements of the subcontinent. The workshops, panel discussions and specialist presentations were conducted by many partner associations of IFAT India and its parent trade fair IFAT in Munich, Germany.

Many new supporters, including national and international associations, participated at the show. Mr. Claus Mertes, General Manager, DME (German Association for Desalination)expressed:“IFAT India was an excellent opportunity to get a deeper insight into the current developments in the desalination market of India.”The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) was co-host of this event for the very first time.

 

Mr. Rajeev Kuknur, Deputy Municipal Commissioner, MCGM: “We are glad to be co-hosting IFAT India 2018 as it is one of the most effective trade fairs in the industry for environmental technologies. This is one of the best ways to choose the latest technologies for our future needs.”

 

IFAT India 2019 in Mumbai and in Delhi

Based on industry need there will be two editions of IFAT India in 2019: IFAT India will take place from October,16 to 18in BEC, Mumbai and from December 5 to 7 in NSIC Grounds, New Delhi.

 

Mr. Bhupinder Singh concluded,“IFAT India 2018 has demonstrated again that India is not only in urgent need, but also in search of environmental technology. With an additional event in Delhi, we aim to fulfil this demand, to achieve closer proximity to the North Indian industryand to the political levels.”