The ‘T-GOLD + METS’ Pavilion organised by the HKJJA Exhibition Services Limited and Fiera di Vicenza (FdV) will be staged at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) Hong Kong International Jewellery Show in March 2016. Hong Kong Jewellery speaks with Ken Lo, chairman of Hong Kong Jewellery & Jade Manufacturers Association (HKJJA) METS (Machinery, Equipment, Technology and Supplies for Jewellery & Watch Industry) committee to find out more about the upcoming show.
HKJM: Hong Kong Jewellery
KL: Ken Lo
HKJM: Coming to the third year since METS exhibition started, could you tell us more about the show’s development in the last three years?
KL: The goal of METS is to contribute to the local industry by compensating for the industry’s lack of systematic and comprehensive knowledge of jewellery manufacturing machinery and advanced technology.
As early as 2013 FdV planned to organise a machinery exhibition in Asia. Previously the ‘T-GOLD’ pavilion has been launched in considerable scale at trade shows such as VicenzaOro January. As FdV and HKJJA have developed good mutual understanding through years of cooperation, FdV proposed the idea of co-organising a machinery fair with us in Hong Kong. Failed to reach a consensus, we debuted METS in June 2014 at AsiaWorld-Expo as a stand-alone exhibition while FdV’s ‘T-GOLD’ pavilion entered the HKTDC Hong Kong International Jewellery Show in the same year. In 2015, METS moved to Kowloonbay International Trade and Exhibition Centre, and the discussion with FdV was resumed. Meanwhile, representatives of HKTDC visited METS and suggested the merge of the show with the HKTDC Hong Kong International Jewellery Show in March 2016. The main motives are to concentrate traffic of visitors and to economise on efforts and resources by combining the two shows. Another factor is that the response of ‘T-GOLD’ pavilion in 2015 was dissatisfactory. All these elements together bring about the current trilateral cooperation among HKJJA, HKTDC and FdV.
HKJM: How does the committee improve the upcoming ‘T-GOLD + METS’ Pavilion with the experience from the last two shows?
KL: The two previous shows suffered limitations in terms of location and time, which resulted in a reduction of the number and category of exhibitors. For example, both shows took place in late June yet Europe has its summer vacation in July, which causes inconvenience in machinery transportation and arrangement of staff. As a result, some machinery manufacturers from Europe especially Italy, the heart of jewellery machinery production, could not join our show, which is a loss for us whereas the upcoming ‘T-GOLD + METS’ Pavilion has this obstacle removed. Besides, our experience in administrative tasks such as accommodation incentives for exhibitors help us utilise resources more efficiently this time. Combining the respective delegations of ‘T-GOLD’ and METS, ‘T-GOLD + METS’ Pavilion will see a larger scale. Furthermore, our partnership with HKTDC Hong Kong International Jewellery Show will attract more trade visitors to the pavilion and earn it reputation by creating a virtuous cycle.
HKJM: What are the advantages of this trilateral cooperation?
What difficulties did the committee face?
KL: A key advantage of this cooperation is that it saves us much effort in promotion as the well-established March show attracts the eyes of the global jewellery industry including those who are not manufacturers. Besides we will continue to invite overseas buyers to the show and disseminate show updates. In this exhibition our role is similar to a ‘second landlord’ in that we exercise a dominant role in making most of the decisions. Thanks to our previous experience, the preparation has been smooth so far. The aforementioned advantages boost our confidence as well.
HKJM: Compared to other jewellery fairs of machinery and technology such as the Shenzhen International Jewellery Fair, what is the positioning of ‘T-GOLD + METS’ Pavilion?
KL: Currently jewellery production is mainly located in mainland China, Thailand, India, etc. Despite that the manufacturing industry of Hong Kong has moved to the Mainland, the city remains a free port that connects the East and the West. Overseas buyers and exhibitors must face complex procedures in visa and import certificate applications when attending exhibitions in mainland China. Additionally, convenient logistic services and zero tariff on import or export of goods also add to the advantages of Hong Kong as a trading hub. Compared to Thailand and India, Hong Kong could better serve exhibitors and visitors from mainland China.
HKJM: Will the trilateral cooperation in ‘T-GOLD + METS’ Pavilion continue in 2017?
KL: Though it is too early to comment on the 2016 cooperation, there is unanimity for continuous cooperation unless very serious problems occur.
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