Less than a year out from Electra Mining Africa 2026 (EMA26), the exhibition is already 90% sold, demonstrating the strong industry support for the show, says event organiser Montgomery Group Africa portfolio director Charlene Hefer.

“The mining, manufacturing, engineering and safety companies know the value of planning ahead. They’re already thinking about how to show up, how to stand out and how to make the most of the opportunity at the show.”

She notes that EMA recorded its biggest ever event in 2024 with 950 exhibitors, 40 000 m2 net exhibition space, six exhibition halls, four outside exhibition areas and just under 40 000 visitors. “EMA26 is set to be even bigger.”

Hefer points out that an additional outside area, the Orange Zone, has been opened up. Moreover, there is a new Career and Skills Hub, and additional activations are being finalised to enhance visitor experience.

Further, the event will improve upon additions from the EMA24 campaign, including the Inward Buying Programme. EMA works with capital equipment representative organisation South African Capital Equipment Export Council (SACEEC) to bring companies and buyers to EMA26 from African and South American countries, among others.

“We are excited to work with SACEEC for 2026 to expand and grow the Inward Buying Programme, with a special focus on bringing additional delegates to the show from neighbouring African countries.”

Another initiative developed with SACEEC, the New Products & Innovation Awards, has seen awards entries increase over the last editions. With more categories set to be added for 2026, EMA is expecting an even greater number of entries, enabling it to highlight the latest products and innovations in pre-show coverage, which increases visibility for exhibitors and helps visitors plan their day.

EMA26 will also expand its paid-for visitor campaign, the Diamond Select programme – called the Platinum programme in 2024. “The uptake on it was phenomenal. It attracted high-level visitors who had time constraints, enabling them to book in advance, pay a fee, park at the FNB stadium and be transported straight across the bridge to Nasrec and the Expo Centre, into a beautiful marquee where they could plan their visit, and enjoy complimentary refreshments and use of the conference facilities for the duration of their visit. This campaign will be enhanced for 2026 aligned with feedback received from the 2024 visitors, although it is still limited and exclusive.”

Many of the new additions have resulted from exhibitor and visitor feedback.

“These insights help to formulate the event plan, taking into consideration new trends, direction for new initiatives and identifying any gaps across operations, sales and marketing. The team pushes itself to come up with new ideas and to innovate; as industries continue to evolve, so does EMA,” Hefer comments.

This approach has evidently paid off as, in addition to positive feedback from surveys, visitor research by enterprise management platform and consultancy Explori – undertaken during EMA24 – ranked the exhibition within the top 2% of all trade visitor events benchmarked by Explori globally.

“As the largest show of its kind in Southern Africa and one of the largest mining and industrial shows globally, EMA is the place where buyers and sellers meet to do business, contributing to the stimulation of trade in the industrial, manufacturing and mining industries. Maintaining the event’s ability to offer excellent networking opportunities and showcasing new and innovative exhibitor content is key to EMA’s continuing to be a must-attend, revered event.”

Building the EMA Community

Both large organisations and small, medium- sized and microenterprises are represented at EMA, with some companies having exhibited since the first show in 1972. The show has become an institution in its 53 years.

While mining is still at its core, the trade show has diversified and broadened its reach across industrial, automation, manufacturing, power, electrical and transport, aligning with industry needs.

“Technology across every sector is probably one of the biggest changes the show has seen. Automation, for example, has grown significantly, filling the Hall 7 to capacity in 2024. To provide extra space, half of Hall 10 will also be focused on Automation in 2026,” says Hefer.

Expanding and strengthening the EMA community creates more opportunities for connections, collaboration and growth.

Consequently, early engagement with exhibitors is key. “Understanding their focus ahead of the show – from new product launches and innovations to live demonstrations and activities – allows us to share these highlights with the wider community. We also want to know whether exhibitors are seeking distributors, resellers or interns, so we can help foster the right connections.”

Hefer notes that informative content will be shared across multiple channels, including webinars, feature articles, social media and other activations, to ensure that participants know what to expect and can plan their days for maximum benefit.

“We are looking forward to sharing details of this brand-new approach during our Exhibitor Briefing. Replacing our standard morning briefing get-together, exhibitors will be able to enjoy a fun, interactive full day that features a briefing segment, an exhibitor training session, and fun activations throughout to make the day memorable,” Hefer concludes.