Bangalore: About 900 exhibitors from 25 countries will participate in the Indian metal-cutting exposition Imtex 2013 here later this month to showcase the latest manufacturing technologies and trends."As the apex machine tool exhibition of South Asia and South East Asia, the seven-day expo will showcase the latest trends and refinements in the Indian machine tool industry and provide an opportunity to generate business enquiries," Indian Machine Tools Manufacturers' Association (IMTMA) president Vikram Surur told reporters here.

To be held at the sprawling Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), about 30 km from the city centre, from Jan 24, the 16th trade fair will have exhibitors from countries such as Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, France, Holland, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Thailand, Turkey and the U.S

In addition, nine countries - China, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Korea, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan and the US will be present at the expo under group participation. "Trade delegates and visitors from diverse industry verticals such as aerospace, automobiles, capital goods, defence, electrical & electronics, infrastructure, oil & gas equipment, pharma equipment, railways, space & nuclear and telecom will have an opportunity to evaluate the products and technologies on display at the fair," Surur said.

Along side Imtex, the association will hold Tooltech 2013, the 15th international expo on cutting tools, tooling systems, machine tool accessories, metrology and CAD/CAM, at the same venue.

"Tooltech will showcase recent innovations in tooling technologies for precision finish and cost competitiveness in all metal working operations," IMTMA chairman Shailesh Sheth said at a preview of the event.

Though the Indian machine tool industry market size is estimated to be about 11,764 crore, domestic production contributes around 33 percent (3,529 crore), while imports account for a whopping 67 percent or 8,235 crore.

On the eve of expo, the association will hold a day-long international seminar Jan 23 on 'Machining Technologies' where eminent speakers from the industry will participate. Frank Brinken from Starrag AG in Germany and Anil Srivastava from Techsolve Inc in the US will delivery the keynote address.

As the apex body of the machine tool industry, the over six decades old IMTMA has 500 firms from public and private sectors as its members, manufacturing a wide-range of metal cutting and metal-forming machines, accessories, cutting tools and other ancillary equipment.