Beijing's record-breaking BICES 2011

BICES 2011 equipment exhibition attracted unprecedented levels of visitors, according to the organisers

With China's construction market booming and the world's largest infrastructure investment programme in full swing, the country is seeing a huge growth in demand for new machines. Manufacturers from inside the country as well as international firms are keen to boost sales in the country and develop market shares. As a result, promotion is a key issue and all manufacturers, Chinese and international, are focusing on major events such as the BICES 2011 exhibition held in the Beijing Jiuhua International Exhibition Centre (18- 21 October).

With China's construction market in such a strong position (and at the time of writing), the 2011 event was seeing a 25% growth from the previous event in terms of the number of the exhibitors, now in excess of 1,200, as well as the floor space for the exhibition. Equipment manufacturers including 178 Caterpillar, 695 Doosan, 217 Fayat, 233 Hitachi 2200 Kobelco, 2300 Komatsu, 269 LiuGong, 1170 Sany, 1171 Shantui, SHANZHOUNG, 2721 XIAGONG, 2490 XCMG and 1175 Zoomlion, were exhibiting, and engine firms were well represented with 201 Deutz, 2723 Fiat Powertrain, 2724 Isuzu and 1265 Kubota. Key parts suppliers included Sauer-1434 Danfoss, HAWE and 2725 Nabtesco.

The covered area of the show, around 70,000m² in three indoor halls was part of the total show area extending close to 200,000m² including the outdoor exhibits.

BICES 2011 has also seen records fall in terms of the scope of the exhibits and the scale. According to the organisers, the BICES event is the largest exhibition of this type in the Asia Pacific region during 2011.

 A huge growth in the number of international exhibitors resulted in the setting up of an independent international pavilion by the organisers, with China's larger domestic companies exhibiting as group enterprises with larger show areas than at the previous event.

A key theme of the event, sustainable technologies in China, was developed as the country becomes increasingly aware of the need to reduce engine emissions and carbon footprints, and comes as advanced diesel technologies from firms such as 196 Cummins, Deutz, 2729 Fiat, ISUZU, 299 Perkins and 2728 Toyota, are unveiled.

The construction equipment market has been identified by China's government as being of strategic importance for future economic growth, and BICES 2011 received support from the country's Ministry of Industry and Information.

Visitor invitations were sent out to over 40 domestic and international industry associations, and nearly 20 visitor delegations from Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Brazil, Ghana and Syria, confirmed their participation in BICES.