CeMAT South America was staged for the third time.

Despite a drop in attendance, organisers are talking up CeMAT South America which was held earlier this month in Brazil.

The São Paulo event attracted 11,300 visitors - a significant drop from the 18,236 who attended in 2013.

Exhibitor numbers were also slightly down, with 211 exhibitors from 23 nations at the show, compared to 237 exhibitors from 24 countries last time.

"Given the current economic situation in Brazil, we are very pleased with the show's performance," says Wolfgang Pech, Deutsche Messe's senior vice president in charge of CeMAT trade fairs worldwide. "We have achieved our objective of presenting new intralogistics products and technologies that will play a key role in shaping the entire South American logistics market."

One of the highlights of the show that generated a great deal of interest was the all-new business matchmaking zone, with consulting and IT solutions ranking among the most commonly requested areas of cooperation.

Another major attraction was the special Innovative Logistics Solutions display which profiled an entire logistics chain, from inward goods delivery and warehousing to packaging, labeling and dispatch.

Organisers claim that exhibitor feedback was "very positive".

Rafael Arroyo, marketing manager of the US-owned manufacturer Crown Brasil, says the forklift maker generated "a lot of good business leads and the show was an excellent platform for presenting new technologies and strengthening our brand in the Brazilian market".

Third-time exhibitor Aguia Sistemas also has a number of "very promising leads" to follow up, according to marketing manager Patricia Scheffer.

Mathias Papenburg, CEO of Linde Materials Handling Brasil, says his company received 600 quality visits at its stand. "Most of our visitors were decision-makers interested in our innovations," he says.

This year's CeMAT South America centred around integrated technology solutions designed to boost productivity and lower personnel and maintenance costs. The solutions on display included industrial trucks, lift trucks, pallet trucks, trailers and warehouse management systems.