SINGAPORE – Asia Pacific Maritime (APM), Asia’s premier shipbuilding & marine, workboat and offshore exhibition and conference, concluded on a strong note on 16 March 2018 with attendees expressing optimism for an anticipated upturn.
14,158 trade visitors congregated at the biennial event, as 1,432 brands from 60 countries, represented by over 644 booths, exhibited their innovations for the industry.
Yeow Hui Leng, Group Project Director, APM said, “Through the years, APM has always been a marketplace of ideas, innovation and to exchange deals. It is heartening to witness strong participation and support from international exhibitors and visitors – the strong turnout also reaffirms APM’s importance in Asia. As the industry looks forward to a positive year ahead, partnerships cemented and knowledge gained over the three days will certainly power the industry forward as we navigate the upward cycle.”
APM exhibition: A showcase of the Industry’s latest offerings, accompanied by new initiatives
Leveraging the congregation of maritime decision-makers at APM, multiple exhibitors presented their newest launches at the exhibition floor. These include:
- AMOS International (S) Pte Ltd, which debuted its ALCONA brand of professional-grade products
- Garmin Corporation’s advanced all-in-one solution, the AQUAMAP® keyed GPS
- Robert Bosch (SEA) Pte Ltd’s new industrial spark plugs and marine batteries
- Sovereign Shipping Global, which introduced a mobile application for ship sales and purchase
- Teignbridge Propellers Int Ltd’s propulsion research vessel
- Weichai Singapore Pte Ltd, which launched the 6M33NG Marine Gas Propulsion Engine
The following business announcements were also made:
- Autronica Fire & Security AS relocated its regional office to Singapore to better serve the needs of maritime clients in the region
- Hanseaticsoft is looking to open a Singapore office to accelerate its growth plans into the Asian shipping market
As an affirmation to its global standing, APM 2018 brought together a record of 18 official pavilions from Austria, Australia, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan Shipbuilding Industry Association, The Netherlands and United Kingdom.
With a vibrant market, attendees spoke strongly about the event. (Additional quotes from APM exhibitors available in Annex)
- Morten Lind-Olsen, Chief Executive Officer, Dualog: “Dualog attends exhibitions like APM to gain updates on the industry, and the event was a good platform for us to meet customers and friends in the industry. Digitalisation is Dualog’s core business, and we found the conference session on “Digital Disruptors – Outside The Maritime Box” interesting. There has been talk about digitalisation in Europe’s maritime business for a while now, and it is good to see such discussions gaining traction in Asia too.” (Dualog was an exhibitor at APM, and Mr Lind-Olsen was a panellist at the “Digital Disruptors” session of the APM Leaders’ Forum and a speaker at one of the new thematic networking events for six maritime sectors.)
- Thomas Beck, Head of Asia Marine Sales, Garmin: “This is the first time that we are participating in APM and we are encouraged by the crowd that has visited our booth during the exhibition. APM as a platform offers very good potential to increase our sales channels in the region with more opportunities to meet potential dealers. Being our first outing at APM, our main objective was to build brand awareness, to let more people in the industry know about our products, and I think we have certainly achieved that. We have met with potential dealers from East Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Thailand, which are important emerging markets for Garmin. Garmin is a very strong brand name in the leisure and commercial fishing sectors. With this exposure at APM, it allows us to tap new markets in commercial shipping, expand our presence and build the Garmin brand name in this sector. APM is the apex maritime event for Southeast Asia. We plan on returning for the next edition to send a strong signal to the market that Garmin is here to stay.”
- Tan Bor Yow, Sales Manager, Robert Bosch (SEA) Pte Ltd: “Bosch’s maiden participation at APM comes at a time when we are expanding our portfolio in the maritime sector. APM’s profile and reach made it a great platform for us to introduce Bosch’s range of spark plugs, batteries, and holistic diesel solutions for the marine segment in Asia Pacific. It was also an opportunity for us to further cement our position in the maritime industry and meet other industry professionals.”
New at the exhibition area was the Career & Skills pavilion, where industry professionals looking for upskilling and career opportunities gleaned insight from over 10 presentations by industry observers, and met with human capital, recruitment, talent management and training & development agencies.
Robin F. Robbins, Managing Director, CPP – The Myers-Briggs® Company, which exhibited at the Pavilion said, “The Career & Skills Pavilion is a great initiative. It shows how the organisers of APM have recognised that apart from the hardware that makes up the industry, talent and people are central to its success. Our first experience at APM has been good – giving us an opportunity to reconnect with existing clients we have in the shipping industry, and to also showcase our services in team and leadership development with new potential clients. Overall the event was very well organised and thought-through. We would be keen to return for APM 2020.”
APM conference: A knowledge exchange platform
From 14 to 16 March, more than 60 industry leaders spearheaded discussions at APM, cementing its position as a must-attend industry event.
In celebration of its 15th edition, APM 2018 introduced the APM Leaders’ Forum (14 March), which saw influential figures such as Carmelita Hartoto, Chairwoman of Indonesian National Shipowners’ Association (INSA) and Vice-Chairman of Transportation at Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN); Divay Goel, Chief Investment Officer, Prudent Shipping Investments; Ed Stening, Chief Digital Officer Asia, CMA-CGM; KD Adamson, Futurist & Chief Executive Officer, Futurenautics Group; Kenneth Lim, Chief Technology Officer, Singapore, Maritime Port Authority; K Murali Pany, Managing Partner, Joseph Tan Jude Benny LLP; and Captain Mohit Batra, Regional Director of Commercial Shipping (Singapore), Eniram shed thought-provoking insights about the year ahead for maritime in the areas of digital disruption, Asia’s position in the global shipbuilding industry and gender diversity.
Commenting on the maritime industry of today, Divay Goel said, “Major changes are happening in the world and they are filtering down into shipping – from digital developments in the world to automation in shipping and the use of block chain technology that will change how payments will be made in the industry.”
Adding on, Captain Mohit Batra said, “The pace of change has changed today and companies need to be more receptive to adopt new technologies. With the digital transformation underway, we are moving into a degree of intelligence from information to insights, from a reactive attitude to a predictive approach. This is where the shipping industry is heading where digitalisation is the new buzzword.”
KD Adamson also shared thoughts about digitalisation. “Digital transformation is painful and difficult… the toughest challenge is to be agile and adaptive to remain relevant in the new digital economy whilst still delivering against today’s business objectives. Whether digital disruption turns out to be a threat or an opportunity depends on mindset. With a powerful digital vision for the organisation comes the opportunity to attract new talent, embrace cognitive diversity and unleash potential.”
The APM Conference also covered critical industry matters relating to hybrid maritime, marine fuels, maritime finance, the offshore sector and tanker market, as well as Vietnam’s role in the Southeast Asia and global maritime industry.
Anchoring discussions on autonomous workboats and hybrid maritime was Oskar Levander, Senior Vice President, Concepts & Innovation, Digital & System, Rolls Royce, who was the keynote speaker at the Workboat Conference
The next edition of APM will take place from 18 to 20 March 2020.
