Fairs give fresh life to Covid-hit industries, says Hibi as Quickerala Machinery & Trade Expo opens in Kochi

Kochi: Events like trade fairs can help revive industries which collapsed during the Covid pandemic, Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden said here on Wednesday.

He was inaugurating the third edition of Malayala Manorama Quickerala Machinery and Trade Expo at Marine Drive ground here. The expo featuring products by nearly 130 machine manufacturers at over 200 stalls will be on till November 18, Saturday.

Joy Mathew, vice president – marketing services and solutions, Malayala Manorama, chaired the inaugural meet. P J Jose, general secretary, Kerala State Small Industries Association; Mujeebur Rahman, president, All Kerala Distributors Association; V P Abdul Salim, district president, Bakers Association; K V Karthikeyan, deputy general manager, Small Industries Development Bank of India and Pradipta Kumar Pradhan, deputy general manager, State Bank of India, spoke at the event.

The exhibition will feature a huge collection of small and big machineries from industry majors across the country.

The items lined up for display include food packing and food processing machines, jalebi makers, laundry machines, waste insinuators, water purifiers, paper bag-making machines, solar products, modern technology pumps, CNC cutting machines, bakery equipment and machines, ice cream making machines, different types of power tools, napkin vending machines, interlock manufacturing machines, chapathy making machines, copra machines, electric coconut graters, flour mill machines, diesel generators and oil cleansing machines.

A discount fair of household items will be held as part of the event. Items such as furniture, coir products, fencing materials, massagers, mop and water tank cleaners, tower fans, chapathy makers, popcorn making machines, power saving bulbs, optical lens and car wash machines will be available at the fair. Food products from restaurant major Paragon will be available at the event.

The event is organised by Manorama Quickerala.com in association with the Kerala State Small Industries Association, Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry, All Kerala Distributors Association and Bakers Association. The expo's banking partner State Bank of India, automotive partner Maruti Suzuki Nexa, MSME partner Small Industries Development Bank of India and furniture partner Wook Looks Furniture have arranged exclusive stalls at the event.

The expo will be open from 11 am to 8 pm on all three days. Seminars on various aspects of entrepreneurship will be held as part of the expo. Entry will be free. For more details, contact 9072005841.