It was expected to be one of those many inaugural events that just fade away form memory once the event gets underway and after it gets over. But the inauguration ceremony at Engeetech turned out to be a platform where speaker after speaker discussed in detail the problems faced by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country, with particular reference to the State of Tamilnadu.

The second edition of the Engeetech series of exhibition on industrial products, organised by IPFonline Limited in association with ASK Trade & Exhibitions, opened at the Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai, on 10 February 2011. The four-day event was formally inaugurated by S Sivagnanam, Director of the MSME Development Institute, Chennai, in the presence of K Sampath, President, Hosur Small and Tiny Industries Association (HOSTIA), Bodgan George, AGM - Business Development, Sri City, and K R Gnanasambandan, Vice President, Tamilnadu Small and Tiny Industries Association (TANSTIA). Also present on the occasion were Linus Lobo, Chief Operating Officer, IPFonline Limited, and K Nandagopal, CEO, ASK Trade & Exhibitions.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Mr Sivagnanam outlined the various facilities available with the Ministry of MSME and called upon small and medium enterprises to take advantage of the financial assistance being offered to them by the Centre and State governments in order to stay updated about the latest development in manufacturing technologies.

Mr Sivagnanam said there was a lack of awareness among SMEs about the funding and financial assistance being extended to them by the Government and explained that SMEs, when they participate in regional trade fairs through the Department of MSME, could avail of reimbursement of the participation fee to the tune of Rs 20,000/-. Similar assistance is also extended to those SMEs that take part in events happening outside India, he said.

He also pointed out that SMEs that go in for standard approvals like BIS, CE, ISO, Star rating could get their certification fees reimbursed by the Department of MSME once the approvals were got. Compli-menting SMEs for their role in the economic growth of the country, he said the SME model of business was one reason for India having withstood recession even as developed economies floundered. Earlier, addressing the gathering, Mr Gnanasambandan lamented that there was disconnect between the departments concerned in interpreting the policies announced by the government. Pointing out that TN had the most number of sick industrial units in the SME sector, he suggested that dedicated industrial estates be set up to cater to the needs of PSUs.

Echoing his views, Mr Sampath said the rising cost of raw material, combined with competition from Turkey and China, were making it difficult for SMEs to be profitable. To counter this, he stressed the need for cluster-based approached to manufacturing.

All the speakers were unanimous in their opinion that events like Engeetech acted as an opportunity for SMEs to do a SWOT analysis of their businesses. Being entrepreneurs themselves, the speakers acknowledged the role of Industrial Products Finder in disseminating product-and-technology-based information, and urged IPF to extend its service to include a customer care centre about topics relating to business and industry.

Now to the business part of Engeetech: footfalls, though they started sluggishly, picked up momentum from day two. By this time, most of the organisational hiccups were attended to leaving the exhibitors only to wait for the crowds to turn up. And most of them were not disappointed. A sizeable stream of visitors kept trickling in over the four days leaving the participants happy. A scrutiny of the visitor profile revealed that people from different departments of Hyundai Motor India, Schwing Stetter, CUMI, M&M, Southern Railway, Engine Factory Avadi, Autoliv, Valeo, BGR Energy, and Blue Dart besides others had made a quiet visit to the event. Also among visitors were financial analysts, consultants, architects, and electrical and mechanical designers.

With such a diverse profile of visitors, the exhibitors, in hindsight, should have had a satisfying four days stay in Chennai. The event had a sprinkling of companies from across the country and they did not have much to complain about except on the first day, which was understandable. Companies like Associated Toolings, Kolkata; Barnas International, Chennai; and Sakthi Body Works, Chennai, were participating for the first time in a trade fair in Chennai and were keen on establishing the brand identity. (Visit http://engeetech chennai.ipftradefairs.com for details of participants and products exhibited at the event).

The list of satisfied participants would include Anil Agencies, Bois Technologies, Guindy Machine Tools, Millenia Hitech, Nanthu Enterprises, and Sri City - all from Chennai; and Vijay Air Control, Bangalore; Novelty Impex, Rajasthan; Rollsmooth Engineering, Gujarat; and Consortech Tools, Pune.

Not only business visitors, companies that had confirmed their participation the next edition of Engeetech too were there to check the organising capabilities of IPFonline Limited. Going by their observations, Engeetech Bangalore (21-24 July 2011, Palace Grounds) will be a success. And going by the proceedings at the four-day event, the organisers are confident that it would indeed be so.