Eventbox Interview With Kan Dana Engineering Co.

In any given year, the capital city of Iran, Tehran, hosts an average of 70 local and international exhibitions. The number has steadily increased since the JCPOA.

So what is it like to exhibit in Tehran? We spoke to Sara Abdolvahabi of Kan Dana Engineering Co. who recently exhibited at the International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition (Iran Oil Show) in May 2016. The Exhibition had 1,600 participating from over 40 different countries and an estimated 200,000 visitors.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got involved in this O&G event?

I have been working in a logging and perforation company for the past three years. We have been participating in several different Oil & Gas (O&G) events. We have been exhibitors in the Iran Oil Show for the past two years.

What are the biggest challenges when exhibiting at such large scale exhibitions in Iran in your experience?

Drawing back on our experiences as exhibitors in this particular event as well as others in Iran, the main problem I would say are the lack of organization, insufficient parking, booth designers not delivering exactly what they have promised, spending so much more than expected on cleaning and food (F&B) services.

Do you have any suggestions or ideas on how to improve some burning organizational or operational issues?

It would be helpful to have a “hospitality” and “maintenance” packages available to exhibitors.

The Hospitality Package provides hospitality, catering and F&B services provided by the exhibitors in the form of beverages, light meals and snacks. Food delivery options are usually very limited and a stressful process for exhibitors. This could really be resolved also by packages offered for food delivery with options for last minute additions as it is very common to have important, last minute guests for lunch at your booth discussing future ventures over some famous Iranian kebabs.

The Maintenance Package would include cleaning services provided throughout the day to help keep maintain the booth cleanliness and ensure it is presentable for visitors.

In what ways can technology help with these challenges? Perhaps those that you have seen deployed in exhibitions outside Iran?

A downloadable app designed for the event that also allows exhibitors to successfully scan and store contact details of participants and exhibitors in the event from their attendance badge.

Also, the official information booklets for the exhibition are still only available in paper format. This should be available in an eco-friendly, downloadable mobile app where the list of exhibitors and an overall map of the exhibitions (organized and searchable in lists of categories, alphabetical order as well as country).

What is in your view the best global exhibition you have participated in so far and why?

ADIPEC because of the superior organization, premium space, more convenient parking and easier to organize in terms of  booth design and corporate gifts.

What progress have you seen in Iranian exhibitions, from your own experience?

They are improving in terms of booth organization, more options for booth designers with competitive prices, although still not up to the standard we are used to internationally.

However, as our doors open to business the exhibition industry in Iran will continuously growing. So it’s extremely important to recognize the immediate need for improvement in the exhibition facilities and services available in order to provide both local and international visitors and exhibitors with the best possible experiences.

Do you work with local or global suppliers for your exhibitions? Would you recommend any particular companies?

We work with the following local suppliers – for booth design Afrang (Tehran), for corporate gifts with Oscar (Tehran) and for graphic designer of exhibition brochures with Lutus (Ahwaz).

When will be your next exhibition in Iran?

We will probably be exhibiting in the Ahwaz Oil & Gas Exhibition on  20^th December and the Tehran Oil & Gas Exhibition in May 2017