Automechanika witnessed its first South African show at NASREC this month. Although new to SA, its roots go way back to 1971 in Frankfurt, where the idea was to showcase automobile parts and repair shop, service station and garage equipment…
By Peter Palm – CAR road test engineer
It was such a success that, not only has it been held in Frankfurt every two years, but has also travelled to 12 other countries, excluding South Africa – which becomes the lucky 13th. Other countries include Canada, Russia, Italy and China.
Messe Frankfurt, owners of the brand, teamed up with local company, Dogan Trading to organize the show. Supporters include the RMI (Retail Motor Industry organisation), NAAMSA, (National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA) and NAACAM (Auto Component and Allied Manufacturers).
Countries represented by international stands included Germany, Italy, Spain, China, Thailand, Turkey, Taiwan, India, Brazil, Argintina and Malaysia. Additional companies erecting individual stands came from the UK, Japan, Greece, Poland, Egypt and Peru.
One of the highlights, organized by Automobil, motor trade magazine of the RMI, was the Innovation Awards, where a number of brilliant ideas nominated by various companies were whittled down to just eight finalists.
A jury of 10 experts analysed the submissions and the winners were announced at the opening ceremony function. First place went to Goodyear for its Max Tyre Technology that reduces fuel consumption through lower rolling resistance, better braking performance in the wet, and longer life.
Second place went to PFK Electronics for its Alcohol Interlock that prevents a driver from starting a vehicle if over the legal limit. Third place went to Bosch for its Aerotwin wiper blades that have a flat styling with no supporting brackets. Bosch had no less than four products in the final field of eight.
A conference was held on the first day with the theme “Survival in these Times: An Industry Perspective”. Brand Pretorius, CEO of McCarthy Motor Holdings said that with new car sales down about 50 per cent from the 2006 peak, nearly 10 000 jobs have already been lost with more to come.
But with further reductions in the interest rate likely, he was optimistic that matters would improve before long. He also stated that the industry’s customer retention drive required more effort. Detlef Braun, management board member of Messe Frankfurt expressed satisfaction with the high quality of the show with 420 exhibitors presenting their particular field of specialization.
One positive aspect, with respect to the automotive component industry, is that the global crisis has resulted in owners are keeping their vehicles for longer periods and therefore requiring more parts and services.
Various company mergers and presentations were presented to the media such as Bosch releasing its latest vehicle diagnostics tester, the KTS 340. This compact, rechargeable battery operated analyzer can now measure eight parameters, adapt to any type of ECU connector whether Bosch or other, and a single DVD provides extensive data on most vehicle models. These even include Technical service bulletins. Operating on a Linux platform and connects to a laptop via a USB port.
Greg Morris, chairman of MicroMega expressed sadness at the closure of the last piston manufacturing factory in SA, Kolbenko, but other avenues will be examined continuously and preservation of jobs remains the top priority. MicroMega has a number of subsidiaries including Deltec, importers of Varta and Optima batteries, BTM bullbars and Pro-Fit who supply Dunair air-conditioning and radiators.
One of the visual highlights of the show was the Barnard 101 a LMP style road car with mid-engined Porsche V8 power aided by twin turbochargers and expected to reach 460 kW. Sleek composite bodywork ensures excellent aerodynamics and low mass resulting in sparkling performance. A minimum of luxuries will be fitted, but can be individually specced. For more information contact Adrian Burford of Roadworx Communications.
Another performance monster on show was the Lamborghini of Dastek owner, Pieter de Weerdt. This car has been tuned using Unichip technology in an attempt to produce the fastest accelerating production-based car on the planet. Calculations showed that the power of the standard Gallardo should be increased from 382 kW to a nice round 1 000 kW.
This obviously required strengthening of the conrods and pistons plus twin turbochargers that have been very neatly nestled into the minimal space available. Additional fuel injectors were needed and this is where the Unichip Q was fine tuned to optimize delivery with another chip to handle the electronic gear changes and the high performance twin plate copper clutch.
Using a boost of 1.2 bar the car now produces just over 1 050 kW allowing a timed acceleration to 300 km/h of 16,5 seconds, with 100 to 200 km/h in 4,5 seconds and 200 to 300 in about 8 seconds. Visit Dastek.
Participants expressed satisfaction with the high standards, results achieved and new contacts made. Detlef Braun, board member of Messe Frankfurt has stated that the next Automechanika SA will be held in March 2011.
Read more about the event in CAR magazine’s upcoming May 2009 issue.
