COVER STORY – JOHANNESBURG EXPO CENTRE

Johannesburg Expo Centre is ready to welcome you back

The Johannesburg Expo Centre (JEC), south of Johannesburg, is renowned as one of the country’s most sought after venues for some of the country’s most iconic events… unfortunately everything came to a standstill a year ago, with the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A year later, the business events industry is ready to start up again. Johannesburg Expo Centre is ready to welcome you back.

The Johannesburg Expo Centre should be top of mind when it comes to planning large-scale events and exhibitions for a variety of reasons. The venue’s flexibility allows it to handle any occasion - being equipped to host both indoor and outdoor events, depending on your needs. Whether your event requires quiet boardrooms for private meetings, extensive floor space for exhibits, a dance floor to host thousands of people or fresco refreshment stations, the JEC has the multi-purpose facilities to accommodate all of this and more.

The JEC has no shortage of space either with its 150 000m² of space to host mass events. Coupled with that, when it comes to parking, the venue offers secure parking for 20 000 vehicles, ensuring that exhibitors and guests alike can find parking with ease and get straight to business. The JEC is also hailed as one of the most accessible venues in the country with accessibility from all major highways and even a helipad on-site for registered helicopter landing needs. Its location is ideal for travellers, with five-star hotels in the vicinity and a mere thirty minutes from both international airports.

The JEC’s mission is to harness professionalism, flexibility and hospitality to offer clients world-class service; and to ensure that their experience always exceeds their expectations.

Message from the CEO

Adele Hartdegen, chief executive officer of Johannesburg Expo Centre.

“If we can convey one single message from the year 2020, it is that we have missed you, we miss the face-to-face interactions with our clients as much as we missed the close contact with our loved ones during the hard lockdown and we simply can’t wait to welcome you back!

“Whilst the global pandemic has had a very detrimental impact on our industry, at JEC we have tried our level best to retain an attitude of gratitude and make the best of the challenges faced. We have been fortunate as a venue that to date no retrenchments have been necessary and, in fact, we have grown and developed our staff complement during this time, to ensure we are able to offer an even better service when we do reopen.”

“If anything, the pandemic has made it clear that our industry is still relevant in the marketing mix, so often we would discuss and deliberate on the what-andwhen of digital, and now, we have all the answers. Surely digital has its place, but the last few months have proven that we cannot recreate our value-add to the marketing world by going digital only; face-to-face events remain business drivers and we do believe that, across all sectors of the events and business events industry, our clientele and visitors miss us just as much as we miss them!”

Support role

During 2020, JEC was involved in a few community projects, offering support where possible. From sponsoring masks for learners during Mandela month, to becoming involved with a donation programme for sanitary products for girls and sponsoring food parcels for families in the local community.

JEC continues to actively drive projects with local EME’s and NGO’s to assist these entities in their development and connect them to the right people to facilitate training and development. The most recent interactions have been a closer working relationship with Soweto Tourism and the on-site EME Ethos Productions. The aim is to continuously aid the development of these entities by giving them first option on selected projects and dedicating time from our senior management team to refine their strategies and business processes.

In support of SOJO (South of Johannesburg) Tourism, and developing the image of the South of Johannesburg, as a tourism destination, the Johannesburg Expo Centre hosted some of the Mrs SA finalists of 2019. Amongst the beautiful ladies was Mrs SA runner up 2019 Enolcia Strever, Tandi Potgieter Mrs SA Personality 2019, 2018 Finalist Samantha Retief as well as Keketso Buhle Mthethwa and runner up of Idols Jacques Terre'Blanche as their photographer. The purpose of this tour was to expose public figures and influencers to what the South of Johannesburg has to offer to local tourism. The ladies were treated to champagne and snacks in our perfectly manicured gardens followed by a tour by golf cart around the venue and the current medical facilities.

The last few months for JEC has been full-on business unusual, with the field hospital being on site for nearly a year. The venue had to learn how to and adapt to suppling a 24/7 service to our end client and creating a safe and happy environment for both our workforce, contractors, patients and the medical staff.

The Restart Expo was hosted in November 2020, in partnership with Specialised Exhibitions. The initiative was a joint idea developed by the respective leaders of the two entities. The objective of the event was to present the business events industry to the correct government departments to prove that the industry is capable of operating safely and adhering to regulations during this pandemic; that our industry is by no means comparable to mass gatherings and that the industry is essential to the GDP of the country, as it creates many job opportunities and involves many entities that are owned and managed by entrepreneurs. The main objective of the project was to present a post-show dossier to the Minister of Tourism, to urge her to consider allowing venues, especially ICC’s with large capacity to operate at fifty per cent capacity, but without the 250 pax limit.

The dossier was submitted in December 2020 and the feedback from the Minister regarding the event was positive. Unfortunately, due to the second wave of Covid-19 later in December and into January, circumstances changed yet again, and we had to allocate time for the infection rate to slow down before making another approach to government.

Upskilling

“As a manager, I have always believed in developing the current staff in your employ before searching externally to employ. Team members with a positive attitude and willingness to learn are your greatest assets in any business,” Ms Hartdegen said.

Matthew Motswakae, Dumisani Zondi and Prince Moloi have all been with the learning curve, but through exceptional dedication and a positive mindset, these gentleman took the challenge head-on.

They are now portfolio managers at JEC. “This is one of the greatest success stories of 2020 for the venue. Seeing staff grow and develop whilst taking full responsibility for a whole range of new tasks is truly rewarding for us in management. We are extremely proud of these individuals and we look forward to seeing them reach great heights in the coming years.

“In line with our training and upskilling directive, we are also installing some workstations at the operational site office. This allows our other maintenance team members to have access to a personal computer to develop their computer skills, and access online resource portals to grow their knowledge base,” Ms Hartdegen said.

Johannesburg Expo Centre for more than ten years, originally starting out in the maintenance and operational team. They each run their own portfolio now, within the JEC technical department.

Under the guidance of Hannes Venter, general manager at the JEC, these individuals have grown and flourished. Initially, they were a bit hesitant, but as the reality of their new responsibilities dawned upon them, they had to quickly adapt to the change from working as maintenance members, to suddenly having laptops, generating reports, having to plan the activities and monitor results from their assigned team members. In addition to all of this, which was being done whilst adapting to running the venue on a 24/7 basis, ensuring that all assets and back-up equipment was in good, working order. It was a steep

This is what they had to say:

Prince Moloi

“What excites me about my portfolio, as a facility portfolio manager, is that I am now responsible for maintenance and making sure that I meet the needs of the organisation and its employees, to look after all services that make the business or organisation work. I am an excellent listener and communicator to the people who work under me. What excites me most about looking after a large venue, like Johannesburg Expo Centre, is to ensure that everyone who visits has a wonderful experience and that they would like to return again.” Prince Moloi, portfolio manager facilities.

Dumisani Zondi

“Any opportunity and challenge brings new enthusiasm and excitement. My operations portfolio has exposed me to a new outlook on my work and business. The new set of responsibilities serves as a stimulus for new ideas and corporate growth. The best thing about my new role is that I am learning so much all of the time. I am adapting and coping very well under pressure and the experience of learning from the exhibition industry experts is invaluable.” Dumisani Zondi, portfolio manager operations.

Matthew Motswakae

“The most exciting part about my new portfolio is that it’s challenging and has taken me out of my comfort zone. Being in a leadership position requires me to lead by example and always be professional. Taking full responsibility for not only my actions but actions of my team. I'm enjoying every moment of my new journey.” Matthew Motswakae, portfolio manager property.

Some of the JEC team members were asked to share what they missed most.

Refilwe Mokgaotsi

“What I miss most about events is the adrenalin and pace of the event day setup, the magical moment at the end where somehow it all comes together. The moment when guests start arriving and everything is set up. It’s such a rewarding feeling to see how everything comes together and the moment when guests begin to arrive,” Refilwe Mokgaotsi, sales and event co-ordinator.

Believe Sibiya

“The one thing I really miss is that very first meeting with a client. When we sit together, get to know one another, and understand the concept the client has. I become inspired by the thought of making the client’s dreams come to life. Knowing that I have made life easier for the client makes me take pride in the work I would have put in,” Believe Sibiya, sales and event coordinator.

Petronella Malebadi

The most exciting event that I enjoy and miss is the Rand Show. The reason being is because it’s the biggest show during the Easter period where we can bring our family, mostly to enjoy the kid’s entertainment,” Petronella Malebadi, receptionist.

Hannes Venter

“The interactive participation between organisers, service providers and contractors during the planning, the build-up and the event phases. Then the experience once an event had been successfully delivered. I miss the feeling of satisfaction and the adrenalin of putting these events together. It is extremely rewarding, to see the entire event come to life and to acknowledge the talented individuals that made it happen. Mostly, I miss the opportunity to deliver such events,” Hannes Venter, general manager.

A few suppliers share what they miss the most

Ziad Khan

“What we miss the most is the human aspect of contact and conversation, the one-on-one business interaction. Seeing families and just general public enjoying a great day out,” Ziad Khan, ZF Cleaning.

Dian Bekker

“Surely miss the events and exhibitions but what I would say we miss the most is the comforting sound of people enjoying themselves and the buzz and hype around the events and exhibitions. Then also the commitment of everyone putting the event together,” Dian Bekker, Main Event Catering Pty Ltd.

Earl Osborne

“I miss working with the JEC team and the organisers prior to the event and how the event materialises from an idea to an actual event.

Mostly I miss being involved in the actual event and assisting the organisers through either videography, photography, audio service or just information tower activations. I also miss the financial rewards and benefits from the events we work on. Simply, just being able to pay staff and knowing their efforts are rewarded.

“Overall, I miss the life that an event brings to a venue; the comradeship of all the service providers working hand-in-hand to deliver the events and the opportunity to meet new people and patrons and the exposure it gives me into other industries.” Earl Osborne, Ethos Productions.

Organisers share what they really miss the most

Didi Okoro

“Half of the magic of the Rand Show comes from the world-class venue that we host it at. There is no other venue that can offer us the space, diversity and flexibility that Expo Centre does. Over and above the beautiful outdoor scenery, it’s the attention to detail that the venue offers and how they tailor-make solutions for our wide variety of clients.”

On a personal note: Working with the JEC team is always a pleasure. The team is professional, go the extra mile and have integrity throughout all of the dealings. I know they have our best interest at heart. I would recommend them over and over again,” Didi Okoro, head of sales, Dogan Exhibitions and Events.

Joshua Low

“Having worked with Expo Centre since 2013, I have found the venue and staff to be extremely accommodating and always willing to assist, where possible, to ensure the successful delivery of our events. The size of the venue and other infrastructure, make it an ideal venue for large-scale events.” Joshua Low, chief executive officer Messe Frankfurt.

Glynis Du Toit

“Without a doubt, I have missed the planning and execution of events. As it is a large event, incorporating many different facets that are pivotal to the success of the show and client satisfaction, the physical interaction with quality key suppliers, the venue and the incredible team of people I work with over the year of planning, has also left a huge gap. As all event companies know, the build-up is filled with excitement and exhilaration seeing everything come together and when that ribbon is cut and the event is declared open for business. The atmosphere is electric and knowing your event has provided the platform for millions of dollars of business to be concluded on the exhibition floor. What a feeling!

“The Johannesburg Expo Centre is the venue of choice to host the annual China Homelife and China Machinex Fairs. Easily accessible from all major arterial routes, which is important to the event attendees, plenty of parking and in line with the show expansion year on year, the ability to utilise more space but keep the show in one area is key to the success of the event. The Management and staff are all-round professional, courteous and have always gone the extra mile to ensure that the show has been successfully executed.” Glynis Du Toit, Expo Dynamix Pty Ltd (SA Project Manager for China Homelife and China Machinex Fairs).

Gary Corin

“During the pandemic, the Johannesburg Expo Centre proved that they are a world-class venue. They were able to adapt and deliver a field hospital of international standard; considering the aircon, oxygen, ablution facilities, and the feeding of patients they administered to – and they still followed all the Covid protocols. They were able to sectionalise the venue whilst still housing their tenants, in a safe environment without intra-company transmissions of the virus – a testament to their adaptability”.

“Our exhibitions provide a platform for our exhibitors to engage face-to-face with their clients, launch new products and stay up-to-date with industry trends. Humans crave socialisation and networking with new individuals. Face-to-face events provide countless opportunities to connect with others in a way that cannot be achieved online. It’s human nature to congregate. People have slowly and safely started re-engaging, and it’s time for business to do that again. We demonstrated our ability, as an industry, to do this under Covid-19 health protocols during our Restart Expo. We look forward to our industry reopening and taking a leadership position when delivering business-to-business exhibitions.” Gary Corin, managing director at Specialised Exhibitions.

MEETING YOUR DEMANDS, EXCEEDING YOUR EXPECTATIONS

E: info@expocentre.co.za

T: +27 (0)11 494 1920

https://expocentre.co.za/contact-us/

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