AMTIL held a celebration at Austech 2019 in Melbourne on 16 May to mark the 20th anniversary of its formation in 1999.
Established in 1999, AMTIL (the Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Limited) is the peak national body representing the advanced manufacturing sector in Australia. The anniversary event was celebrated with an exclusive cocktail reception at the AMTIL stand within the Austech exhibition, attended by AMTIL members and staff, along with several key industry figures. AMTIL’s CEO Shane Infanti was on hand to cut the cake, in what was something of a dual celebration in the middle of a highly successful Austech exhibition.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years,” said Infanti. “We’ve loved every minute of it, and we’re looking forward to continuing to support Australian manufacturing for many more years to come. And it’s great that we’ve been able to hold this celebration with Austech 2019 on track to be one of the most successful shows we’ve ever run.”
Co-located with National Manufacturing Week (NMW), Austech is Australia’s premier advanced manufacturing and machine tool exhibition. Austech 2019 got underway on 14 May at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, and the exhibition has seen a very strong turnout in terms of visitor numbers and high levels of interest at the stands.
Official figures for the first day of the event show that Austech and NMW attracted a combined total of 2,550 visitors – a very high attendance for first day and an increase of more than 40% compared with the first-day attendance two years ago. Visitor numbers have remained consistently high as the week has progressed, with the strong turnout clearly in evidence on the expo floor. Many exhibitors have been reporting brisk traffic on their stands, leading to high numbers of promising leads and potential sales.
Austech 2019 had already been breaking records well before its doors opened. With more than 150 organisations exhibiting, and many of them taking significantly larger stands than in previous years, the exhibition floor space covers more than 6,000sqm – a footprint unprecedented in Austech’s twenty-year history. Austech 2019 was also the fastest to sell out in terms of exhibition space for more than a decade.
Expectations are now high for the overall attendance at Austech 2019, which will continue till 4.00pm on Friday 17 May.