A tropical trade fair

When it comes to major international manufacturing and metalworking trade shows, North America has IMTS, Europe has EMO, Asia has JIMTOF and Latin America has FEIMEC.

The fourth edition of the biennial and Brazilian-based Feira Internacional de Máquinas e Equipmentos, or International Machinery and Equipment Exposition, took place May 7-11 at the São Paulo Expo Exhibition & Convention Center. An initiative of ABIMAQ (Brazilian Association of the Machinery and Equipment Industry) and promoted and organized by Informa Markets Latam, FEIMEC 2024 featured more than 1,100 exhibitors from 37 countries, with some 400 companies on the waiting list, and attracted more than 65,000 visitors, according to show organizers.

This Chicago-based trade magazine editor was invited by Brazil Machinery Solutions (BMS), an export incentive program for Brazilian machinery and equipment industries, to attend the event along with an editor from Mexico and one from South Africa.

“With each edition, FEIMEC consolidates itself as a hub for generating knowledge, experiences, networking and business opportunities, thanks to the trust of thousands of companies in the event’s potential to bring together and encourage commercial partnerships across various segments represented here,” stated Marco Basso, chairman of Informa Markets, in his welcome message.

Presented here is a roundup of the various exhibits visited in connection with the BMS’ Industry Image Project.

A Romi machine outfitted with a collaborative robot for automated loading and unloading. Image courtesy of A. Richter ” data-entity-type=”file” data-entity-uuid=”acf681ab-e98c-419e-8e01-3c99ab5f5653″ height=”412″ src=”/wp-content/uploads/legacy/inline-images/Romi%201.jpg” width=”733″ />

Santa Bárbara d’Oeste-headquartered Romi S.A.’s stand in the center of the exhibition hall displayed a variety of its CNC machine tools, such as the 5-axis DCM 620-5F that allows machining of parts with simple and complex geometries in a single setup. Rafael Boldorini, general manager – overseas, said Romi builds about 2,200 machines annually at its facilities in Brazil and Germany, with roughly 70% sold in Brazil. The 94-year-old company has eight subsidiaries, including Romi Machine Tools Ltd. in Erlanger, Kentucky. Romi provides direct sales in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, while selling through distributors in the other states. Boldorini noted that the Centur 35 lathe is the best seller in the U.S.

Another machine tool builder that was visited was São Paulo-based Ergomat Indústria e Comércio Ltda. A featured machine at the exhibit was the A 25 E automatic lathe, which enables up to five simultaneous tools in a part. The design of the cam-operated screw machine was developed in the 1940s, said Tadeu Marcelino, foreign trade manager for Ergomat, adding that the “purely mechanical” machine is faster than a CNC one and is well-suited for high-volume production of cylindrical parts with short cycle times. Those parts include bullets, bone screws, manifolds and connections. CNC machines were also displayed, such as the TBA 65 Next multiple-carriage CNC automatic lathe for complete machining in one setup using the subspindle and the TNG 42 universal CNC automatic lathe with a “gang” toolholder table with up to 10 positions for short chip-to-chip times.