EMAQH 2007

What was I doing there? Well, it doesn’t matter, I was there. You always learn something new.
There were two exhibitions at La Rural. The first one had a higher flow of visitors, was called “Caminos y Sabores” (Roads and Flavors), and was about regional foods—though it must be said that it ran for less time and I think the exhibition hall was smaller. The second one was through the other entrance: the 22nd International Machine Tool, Tools, and Related Equipment Exhibition (EMAQH).

Admission was $15 pesos for visitors. You had to fill out some details and answer four or five questions, and then move on to accreditation. There, they handed you a badge to hang around your neck, and you were good to go. The line didn't take long, at least for those who arrived early; by late afternoon, the number of visitors had increased considerably, leading to longer queues. Upon entering, they scanned your neck badge, which had a barcode, and that was it—you were inside the exhibition.

In a country with little industrialization and a basically agrarian foundation like ours, I imagine these exhibitions are a good thing. I don't know if they are held in the provinces—I have my doubts and dare to say very few smaller ones take place, if any, though I don't know for sure, especially when the interior of the country is where resources need to be tapped the most to boost the nation's potential.

The visitors were almost entirely men—the working class, from the little I could see and hear, especially when the place reached full capacity. Very few women visitors. Many young people compared to middle-aged ones.

In the accreditation area, there was a sign stating that taking photos was prohibited and that a special permit was required. Although I complied with this rule, I saw many people who didn't, perhaps out of ignorance because the sign wasn't very visible. Truth be told, prohibiting that seemed like total nonsense to me—some took photos and several were filming with their cell phones.

As with any exhibition, when something happened, everyone walking by would suddenly cluster around it. Here, the highlights ranged from watching a robotic welding arm in action to heavy metal sheet drills.

From what I could gather, the show was aimed at small-to-medium businesses and up, which doesn't mean self-employed workers couldn't find machinery suited for them. I think most people went out of curiosity—to learn and discover improved or innovative tools and machinery with an eye toward the future—along with a large quantity of machines for big companies. I estimate (a personal guess, possibly wrong) that prices ranged in many cases between $200,000 and $500,000 USD due to their size, plus the fact that machines this large cannot be mass-produced like cars, for instance. In some cases, when a unit was sold, they would attach a sign saying "Sold to...".

The noise of the machines was constant, from engines to pumps, welders, cutters, milling machines, presses, lathes, etc.—there was a bit of everything. Like at any expo, brochures and flyers were the main things handed out at every booth, along with a few CDs, small gift bags, and pens.

Walking through the whole place took about two hours. By late afternoon, the number of visitors had grown considerably—not only visible inside the exhibition itself, but also in the line of people queuing outside. Very interesting.

(Originally published on July 14, 2007)