The debut of GIFA Mexico, held in parallel with the long-established FUNDIEXPO at the Centro Citibanamex in Mexico City from 16 to 18 October 2024, drew to a close as a resounding success attracting over 4,700 trade visitors from Mexico, other Latin American countries, the USA and Canada. As a new trade fair in Messe Düsseldorf’s “Bright World of Metals” portfolio, GIFA Mexico has thus set new standards for the foundry sector in Latin America.
344 exhibitors from 16 countries presented foundry technology innovations on over 15,000 m² of exhibition space. Ranging from machinery and equipment for sand and permanent mould casting, metal working, milling to die casting nearly all relevant manufacturers as well as service providers and consultants were represented. Alongside suppliers from Latin America, international companies especially from China, Italy, Spain, Germany and the USA took part. For the first time, companies from Turkey and India also exhibited, two states that are now increasingly discovering Mexico as an attractive market. This underlines the growing international relevance of the trade fair.
An enthused Malte Seifert, Director Metals & Autonomous Technologies at Messe Düsseldorf, summed up the impressions of the three trade fair days: “The first GIFA Mexico is behind us, and we are still speechless. The amount of positive feedback and numerous business opportunities resulting from the last few days have far exceeded our expectations. This is just the beginning, and we look forward to supporting the further development of the Mexican market and offering our customers relevant, internationally oriented market platforms. Jointly with our partner FUNDIEXPO we pursue the aim of developing GIFA Mexico/FUNDIEXPO into one of the top 4 trade fairs for the foundry industry globally in the medium term.”
Bruno Jaramillo, Director of FUNDIEXPO, also voiced his great satisfaction: “We are very satisfied with the results of FUNDIEXPO/GIFA Mexico 2024, both exhibitors’ and visitors’ response was overwhelming and impressively underscored the relevance of the trade fair for the industry. We are already working on the next event to be held in Monterrey, Nuevo León in 2026, where we will be providing further impulses for the development of the foundry and metallurgical industries on an international level”.
GIFA Mexico also met with great response from the international audience. Patricio Gil, former President of AFS and foundry entrepreneur, expressed praise: “You can expect a good event from such experienced partners as Messe Düsseldorf with the world-leading event GIFA and FUNDIEXPO but I am pleasantly surprised. Mexico holds an enormous potential and this kick-off proved extremely successful.” Many exhibitors shared this enthusiasm and praised the high quality of the trade visitors. Also giving a positive verdict was Jürgen Lamparter, Sales Director at Oskar Frech GmbH: “We feel very much at home in Mexico and FUNDIEXPO GIFA Mexico provides us with an outstanding platform.”
Supporting programme with strong participation
Highlights of the supporting programme with more than 80 lectures and events included the Global Foundry and Metallurgy Summit and the panel “Women in Metalcasting”. In addition to the trade fair various plant visits and seminars were organised in the run-up, which provided participants with deeper insights into Mexico’s foundry sector.
At the request of the industry the next GIFA Mexico/FUNDIEXPO will be held from 28 to 30 October 2026 in Monterrey (Northern Mexico). For information for exhibitors contact the GIFA Team (Ms Sarah Möller, MoellerS@messe-duesseldorf.de).
For more information on GIFA Mexico go to:
www.gifa-mexico.com.
FUNDIEXPO
FUNDIEXPO has been Mexico’s established leading trade fair and forum for the foundry industry for half a century and is organised by the Mexican foundry association “Sociedad Mexicana de Fundidores, A.C. (SMFAC)” in cooperation with Messe Düsseldorf.
