MFAI’s Hon Secretary and Head of the Organising Committee, Amit Agarwal is bullish about the scale and impact of the upcoming Triennial Exhibition in February 2020

Q. As secretary of the Association, what is your main agenda for this financial year?  

The main agenda for me as a secretary along with my council is to develop a state-of-the-art industrial hub where metal finishing can be carried out, under one roof keeping in mind the guidelines issues by the Pollution Control Board.

Q. You are also the in-charge of the organising committee for MFAI’s upcoming Triennial Exhibition– what are the big plans for this year? 

As in-charge of the exhibition, I would like to see more and more companies participating with a focus on showcasing products that can absorb or curb pollution generating from surface finishing processes.

Q. In which year did you introduce the Exhibition in MFAI’s calendar and with what objective?  

The concept of exhibition started way back in 1983 in Centaur Hotel Mumbai. Since then, exhibitions have been conducted every three years at various venues throughout India and the tradition has been kept alive till date with member support. This year, we are organising ISF 2020 Regional Interfinish, India. The Conference and Exhibition on Surface Finishing will be held in Mumbai from 26-28 February 2020.

The main objective of these exhibitions is to reach out to all who are involved in surface finishing, such as chemical manufacturers, plants and equipment dealers, those who deal in allied chemicals and accessories, those who provide services, and especially those who are consuming these products.

It is the Association’s aim that every single person connected with surface finishing industry should be represented and visit this exhibition and try and imbibe new technology and techniques into their metal finishing business.

Q. How many participants are you expecting this year and from where? 

We are expecting 110-120 participants to put up their stalls during this exhibition mainly from pan-India, Asia and Europe.

Q. Have you also roped in some big brands as sponsors?

Any event of such magnitude always requires Associates. We have been very fortunate that participants are always eager to contribute to our event in any which way possible. So far, we have eight confirmed associates for this event viz; Macdermid, PMD Chemicals Pvt.Ltd., Grauer & Weil India Ltd., Mahavir Expochem Ltd., Future Coat Technologies, Krishna YPB Electro Chemicals Pvt.Ltd., CMF (Consolidated Metal Finishing Pvt.Ltd.) and Ronuk Industries Ltd. 

Q. What are you doing in terms of media promotion and publicity? 

Keeping in mind the newer media consuming habits of our targets, this year, we have decided to promote ISF 2020 vigorously through social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp messages and e-mails. Of course, the traditional way of promoting our exhibition through road shows across India and print media will also continue.

Q. How is the 2020 edition of the exhibition going to be different from the 2017 edition?  

For starters, this show will be held in Mumbai instead of Delhi, where we hosted 2017 edition. We are hopeful that overseas participation will go up remarkably this year, with the kind of response we have already started getting. We are very optimistic that the footfalls this year are definitely going to double from the last year’s show.

Q. What has been the response to your 26th Certificate Course in Electroplating and Metal Finishing? 

Till date we have received 20 registrations and by the time the course commences we are sure of enrolling more than 40 students in this edition of 26th Certificate Course.

Q. What is different about this year’s edition? 

The curriculum remains more or less the same but will be taught by a new faculty aided by the regular visiting lecturers to ensure more value-transfer to the new generation of trainees. There will be one exclusive lecture on how to control pollution in plating plants with the help of latest technology. This year, the students will be visiting diversified plants on all six days.

In addition, we intend to invite past students to share their experience on how the course has helped them to fulfil their career ambitions. This year, we have decided to record all the lectures which can later be aired far and wide for the benefit of those who cannot attend the lectures in-person in Mumbai. Above all, the sumptuous lunch we serve everyday is a treat in itself for the students.

Q. You have some great faculty on board? How do you manage that? 

The one common feature with the faculty that comes to impart their lectures during the certificate course is that they are driven in sharing their knowledge with the students, so more and more trained people can later join this industry. This is one of their ways to pay back the industry from where they have earned all the name and fame. So everyone is ready to contribute voluntarily.

Q. How has MFAI membership and clout grown over the years? 

It has been a slow and steady growth for MFAI during the past four-five years with membership growing by an average of 60-70 members, per year. We are now known as the premium body serving the best interests of surface industry, across India. We are striving hard to wipe the stigma of being a polluting industry by regularly educating our members on how to minimise pollution by upgrading their choice of chemicals and process. We have been able to achieve international accreditation with Mr. Madhav Singh our Managing Trustee appointed as the Secretary General of IUSF –International Union for Surface Finishing.