The Korea International Construction Equipment Exhibition (Conex Korea) was initiated by the Korea Construction Machinery Industry Association (KOCEMA) in Seoul, South Korea in 1996. It is held every two years, hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Energy and organized by the Korea Construction Machinery Industry Association (KOCEMA), with support from the Ministry of Land and Resources, Ministry of Infrastructure, and Ministry of Transport. As of 2023, a total of 11 sessions have been held. The scale of the previous exhibition was 21384 square meters, with 200 exhibiting companies and over 20000 professional visitors, of which 90% were local Korean visitors.
As the sixth largest construction machinery manufacturing country in the world, South Korea produces over 100000 units of construction machinery equipment annually. It is estimated that the South Korean construction equipment market will supply 82300 sets in 2022. 54000 sets of components, accounting for 66% of the market, are imported from overseas, while domestic manufacturing companies provide approximately 28300 sets of components, accounting for 34% of the market share. Its annual import of construction machinery accounts for 38% of South Korea's domestic construction machinery sales, about 1.3 billion US dollars, of which the import of main equipment accounts for about 35%, and the remaining 65% is imported as components. The main engines of construction machinery produced in South Korea mainly include seven categories of products: excavators (44791 units/2022), wheel loaders (3320 units/2022), skid steer loaders, concrete pump trucks (1196 units/2022), drilling machines, cranes, and forklifts. In addition, road construction and asphalt equipment, concrete equipment, earthmoving equipment including bulldozers, graders, and dump trucks, as well as specialized equipment for car cranes and snow sweepers, mainly rely on imports.
In 2015, China and South Korea signed a free trade agreement, which greatly promoted and facilitated trade and investment cooperation in various industries including construction machinery between the two countries. Taking this as an opportunity, I have comprehensively deepened the international exchanges and cooperation between the two associations with KOCEMA, jointly supporting the industry exhibitions held by both sides, and using the exhibition as a platform to promote and facilitate more extensive and in-depth exchanges and cooperation between construction machinery enterprises in China and South Korea.
According to customs data, in 2022, China's export of construction machinery products to South Korea reached 1.119 billion US dollars, an increase of 11.24%, accounting for 2.53% of China's total export of construction machinery that year.
To this end, the China Construction Machinery Industry Association will organize a Chinese exhibition group to participate in the 12th Conex Korea 2024, which will be held at the Seoul International Convention and Exhibition Center in South Korea from October 24-27, 2024. Enterprises interested in exploring the Korean market for construction machinery and spare parts are welcome to register for participation and visit.
In order to cooperate with participating companies in exploring the Korean market, our team will provide them with market information, booth construction, exhibit transportation, overseas reception, and exhibition services.