Page 14 - MMI-SeptOct2021 SM upload

IMTEX 1982 IMTEX 1986

Source: IMTMA

Over the
last two dian manufacturers together to New initiatives invented upon building our own
decades, share competencies and utilize The year 1991 was a benchmark exhibition infrastructure which
IMTMA has opportunities profitability. An one for Indian economy and busi- gave birth to the Bangalore Inter-
worked all-India machine tool exhibition nesses. This was the year when national Exhibition Centre (BIEC)
very close-
ly with the became highly relevant. India the Government finally broke in Bangalore with support from
Ministry didn’t have any at that time and the shackles of the license raj and the Government of India and the
of Heavy in 1968 the idea was proposed ushered in liberalism. This led to Government of Karnataka.
Industries and an organizing committee the birth of several new gener- BIEC has played a great support-
who has with Naval Godrej as Chairman ation entrepreneurs in machine ing role in the development of the
supported
the Ma- was formed to make it happen. tools and we began witnessing Machine Tool industry by being
chine Tool This gave birth to the first-ever entrepreneurship driven machine the venue for IMTEX. This infra-
industry IMTEX at Bombay in 1969. It took tool companies starting from the structure was developed to host
through Naval Godrej less than a year to mid-1990s to 2000s, bringing CNC large-scale engineering shows
several of garner all available resources and technologies which revolution- and with an objective to support
its ini- the Manufacturing industry.
tiatives present to the industry the first ized the industry, back then.
such as All India Machine Tool Exhibition The Association began promot- BIEC is India’s first LEED certified
Advanced in 1969. The journey had begun. ing the machine tool industry Green Exhibition and Conference
Machine It was indeed a bold step for a with more rigour as demand Facility. Halls 4 and 5 have been
Tool De- fledgling industry. The success from Auto industry as well as conferred with ‘Gold’ rating by
velopment Indian Green Building Council
Centre, of the exhibition gave the indus- some new industrial sectors
Advanced try the much-needed confidence picked up. Many more initiatives (IGBC) and US Green Building
Machine to march ahead with its activi- were added to IMTMA’s portfo- Council (USGBC).
Tool Test- ties in full steam. IMTMA never lio as well. Meanwhile IMTEX Over the last two decades, we
ing Facility, looked back. continued to grow by several have worked very closely with
Tumakuru the Ministry of Heavy Industries
Machine IMTEX became IMTMA’s ulti- notches in Mumbai and Delhi,
Tool Park, mate tool to make the machine the cities where it used to be or- who has supported our industry
etc. tool industry competitive. The ganized. During this journey we through several of its initiatives
exhibition was planned once
every three years to match the IMTEX 1989
product development cycle in
the industry. Later it was sched-
uled once in two years and after-
wards with the paradigm shifts in
technology, it became an annual
event. It evolved from a knowl-
edge exchange tool to an industry
empowering platform to address
and influence government pol-
icies and a support system for
IMTMA members to ride through Source: IMTMA
economic upheavals.

14 | September-October 2021 Modern Manufacturing India