– Number 13 strengthened us from the beginning. Everything went well. A long way has come from the Ural regional to the main industrial exhibition; we usually say Russia, but if you look at the composition of our participants, we can safely say Eurasia. Because they have all arrived! We have 11 delegations headed by foreign ministers and more than 35 business delegations from around the world. These are, of course, our closest neighbors, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. This, of course, is our magnificent partner country – the Republic of Belarus. But also countries abroad: the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and many, many different countries. You can’t list them all! So the first point: INNOPROM is still a global platform. The second point is the content part: you yourself probably noticed that the exposition is filled to the brim. Even in the galleries between the pavilions there are stands of companies! We have reached the limits of the Yekaterinburg EXPO site, and this cannot but rejoice. Most of the stands are heavy machinery, software and the most advanced machines. And literally at every booth there is at least one exhibit that is truly a premiere.
How do you evaluate the INNOPROM 2023 business program?
Anton Atrashkin: First of all, we can recall the main plenary session, which was attended by three prime ministers and 11 ministers from different countries. But INNOPROM’s business program is not limited to this main session. It also has hundreds of events, including within the framework of the conference on new industrial technologies, on personnel, on work with suppliers, on new materials – all these are opportunities for company representatives to communicate with each other, meet , shake hands. One of our formats for personal networking is the platform of Russian business representatives. 55 sales representatives, each occupied a separate table, and any company, from KAMAZ to representatives of small businesses, had the opportunity to sit down with any sales representative in Russia from all over the world, ask questions about entering the market of this country. I think this is a great platform. And of course I’ll mention our vendor forum. Ten purchasing managers from the largest Russian companies met with small and medium-sized companies for two days in a row, each of which had 10-15 minutes to sell their product to the purchasing managers.
Tell us about the premieres of the industrial exhibition
Anton Atrashkin: We have never pursued the goal of surprising anyone at the exhibition. For this, there is Disneyland or the Tretyakov Gallery, where you can get a lot of visual aesthetic impressions. Our task has always been to create a trading platform. For this technology, this product to meet its first customer. And there are a lot of them, starting with the Nevsky tram, which the Transport Systems company offers to the market, this is a completely new model, it is almost completely localized. These trams are already running in St. Petersburg, a completely new model has been presented at INNOPROM, with great expectations for the markets of other regions of Russia. This is a huge number of drones for a variety of purposes, for industry, for agriculture, and companies are showing them here for the first time. A very big advance in INNOPROM in the field of pharmaceutical products and medical equipment. Historically, we did not focus in this direction, but every year small corners were formed at the exhibition, which were dedicated to them. Now this direction is presented here extensively. And it’s no coincidence that this year’s national industry award winner is Metiz Production, maker of high-tech prosthetics.
There was a feeling that interregional cooperation in INNOPROM had reached a new level.
Anton Atrashkin: This is absolutely true. We had 25 regional shows this year. And many governors and deputy governors came to lead their delegations. But on the international side, we also had a large delegation of Akims from Uzbekistan, Khakims from Kazakhstan, and heads of regions from our wonderful partner country, the Republic of Belarus. And on every corner, in B2B zones, at our evening events, there were plenty of opportunities for such direct interregional communication. And for this it is not necessary to sit in a large hall, in armchairs. They need to communicate informally. But great deals and interesting projects often start with this informal communication. One year ago, in 2022, we came up with the theme of this year’s INNOPROM “Sustainable production, renewal strategy”. And it seems to me that we are not very wrong on the subject, because the issue of sustainability is something that really worries industrialists a lot.
Can you make any announcement of INNOPROM-2024?
Anton Atrashkin: It’s no secret that we are starting preparations for the next year directly during INNOPROM. Already now, many companies are ready to reserve the same sites where they are today. It is very important for us because it is the correct signal. We are going in the right direction, we are developing in the right way, and this creates the right emotion.
Surprisingly, many of our Chinese participants, who came to INNOPROM for the first time, told me today that they are ready to negotiate on 2024. Therefore, I speak to you, summarizing the results of INNOPROM-2023, but with thought and the heart, of course, already in 2024.
