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ADI Expo in South Africa a success

Local security distributor ADI Global Distribution held its first expo since 2007 in South Africa in July with exceptional results. The ADI Expo concept has met with resounding success in Europe and the US, and 2016 was the first time the company held a similar concept in South Africa.

The ADI Expo allows the distributor’s partners to set up stands in the exhibition hall where they are visited by consultants, installers, systems integrators and end-users. The idea is to provide an open platform for partners to expand their networks in the security industry and convince the visitors of the quality of their various products.

There are no big stands at the ADI Expo, each partner is allocated the same amount of space where they can set up banners and a table top display. This avoids one-upmanship and allows everyone to focus on the products and solutions on display.

Gordon Moore.

Held at Emperor’s Palace, the event attracted 34 of ADI South Africa’s suppliers. ADI’s country manager, Gordon Moore, says the response to the Expo was overwhelming, with more exhibitors signing up than expected. In addition, the presentations offered at the event were well attended throughout the Expo. The presentations delivered over the two days covered a broad range of topics, from intrusion detection to alarms, CCTV to ANPR, as well as storage, access control and the role of the cloud in the security industry.

Brendon Land.

Brendon Land, GM for ADI in the MEA region, adds that the visitor turnout was also above expectation, with a large number of end-users registering at the last moment. More importantly, only a fraction of those registering to attend the free event were no-shows, highlighting the popularity of the event.

The partners exhibiting were also extremely positive about the event, highlighting the quality of the visitors attending and their ability to make meaningful contacts and develop significant leads throughout the two-day event.

The South African Expo saw a number of long-standing ADI partners showing their wares, with a few newer partners taking the opportunity to introduce themselves to the visitors. There were also a number of partners of ADI’s global operations that formally introduced themselves to the South African market, taking the Expo as an opportunity to start their own expansion in the region.

Both Land and Moore expressed their intention to continue the ADI Expo tradition in future, with the same venue already booked for next year’s event, although the space occupied will grow to handle additional exhibitors. Both admit they would like to take the show to other areas of the country, but the timing and logistics are proving to be an issue. Over time, as the ADI brand is established in sub-Saharan Africa, the Expo may also move north to other African destinations.

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