Travelling exhibition specialist MTE celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary this year, and the company – founded by Tony Wightman in 1993 – owes its success to its deep engagement with the mining industry, enabling MTE to establish long-standing relationships with mines and exhibitors.

At the time of its founding, Wightman identified a need for a broader scope of engagement between miners and suppliers and he established MTE, a mobile exhibitions business staging events close to mines and facilitating a platform for information sharing and relationship building within the industry.

In 2004, MTE was acquired by multi- media publishing house Interact Media Defined, which has remained true to Wightman’s vision for MTE to bring user and supplier together.

MTE operations manager Andrew Macnamara says the business focus is to ensure that each exhibition ensures successful outcomes for suppliers and exhibitors, and mines and visitors.

“MTE takes pride in the face-to-face market research that takes place when preparing for an exhibition. Part of this research involves MTE team members meeting with a broad cross section of mine personnel to understand their operational requirements and needs.”

This information is then relayed back to the exhibitor community, informing and enhancing company displays at the exhibitions, he adds.

Over the years, the MTE offering has evolved and expanded to hosting exhibitions in other industries. Under the leadership of Macnamara, MTE now organises and hosts exhibitions in the construction, pulp and paper, and agriculture industries, besides others.

The company has also ventured into other African countries, successfully hosting shows in Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. These exhibitions have proved successful and MTE has returned to these countries to host “high-impact, high-quality” exhibitions yearly, gaining momentum after each event.

“MTE has established itself as the leader in organising and hosting travelling exhibitions across a diversity of industries, reflecting the brand’s growth and versatility,” Macnamara says.