What is your event about?

MATEX 2006, held from May 30 to June 2 at Darling Harbour Convention & Exhibition Centre, is the leading trade show for the warehousing, logistics and supply chain industries. This year's event sees the introduction of the Interactive Warehouse, a showcase of the latest warehousing technologies. The associated four-day seminar program covers the latest warehousing subjects and occupational health and safety issues.

What degree of industry participation does your event have?

A key to this year's event is the number of major companies participating. From automated warehousing systems, warehouse management systems and IT products through to the latest forklifts and storage systems, it's all at MATEX. Almost all the key forklift companies are exhibiting with most demonstrating new models and product lines for the first time.

How did your event came about and how has it developed over the years?

MATEX in one form or another has been staged since the early 1980s. Back then it was a forklift and racking exhibition without much sophistication. Today, warehousing is a very complex business and the show reflects that. Computers have made dramatic changes to our daily lives and warehouses are no different.

What challenges do you face in staging the event?

Key challenges are to ensure we have the right mix of companies and products and to attract the right level of audience. We have to ensure we get the right volume of visitors and that decision makers are in the mix. For that to happen we have to ensure there are plenty of reasons for people to visit the show. That's why the seminar program is a key value-adding element of our product. People are able to justify time out of the office if they can learn something new about their workplace.

How do you measure the success of your event?

Ultimately the success of the show depends on the quality of the audience we can deliver. If enough exhibitors generate the right quality of inquiries, they will be back the following year.