Ugol Rossii 2013 highlights safety and innovation

With over 760 exhibitors from 25 countries, Russia’s leading mining equipment show, Ugol Rossii & Mining, was recently held for the 20th time . Some 25,000 visitors gathered information on the latest technologies at the Kuzbasskaya Yarmarka Exhibition Centre in Novokuznetsk from 4 to 7 June. The organisers Messe Düsseldorf GmbH and Kuzbass Fair stated that this year’s event represented the largest and most international trade fair ever held in Novokuznetsk.

In a total exhibition area of 41,500 m2 in addition to companies from the Russian Federation there were also 192 international exhibitors from Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Kazakhstan, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan, and the UK exhibiting their products. In addition to this, there were joint stands from the United Kingdom (ABMEC), Poland and the Czech Republic. Forming part of a strong German presence a dozen exhibitors from North Rhine-Westphalia also attended as part of a small, subsidised unified group.

The organisers went on to quote some testimonials from exhibitors: “The Russian market is an important market for us. One of three markets. Ugol Rossii & Mining is the industry meeting point for us and therefore a key fixture in our agenda. For our industry this is the most important place. Therefore we met the three most important customers on the first day of the trade fair already,” says Frank Kriechel, Head of the Product/Market Segment Mining Europe at ContiTech Transportbandsysteme. “For the mining industry Ugol Rossii & Mining is the most important event of the year. Here in the Kuzbass basin you meet all key accounts in one place,” says Richard Kandzia, Proxy & Sales Manager Materials Handling at Thiele in Iserlohn. Finally, commenting on the trade fair, Thomas Blak, Sales Engineer at Eickhoff Bergbautechnik in Bochum, said: “As coal mining in Germany is dwindling the Russian mining industry with giant potential is getting more and more important and this is why we are represented at Ugol Rossii & Mining every year.”

A focal theme f0r 2013 was safety and health at the workplace, as the Russian state is asking for more safety precautions and nearly all companies are investing in the expansion of their capacities to meet this demand. Approximately 40 companies presented technologies for the early detection of, and protection against explosive gases as well as personal protective equipment as part of a Special Show entitled “Safety and Health at Work“, within the wider event.