Feature: Industrial innovations feature Belgrade int'l techniques fair

The International Fair of Techniques and Technical Achievements in Belgrade puts spotlight this year on software and software-controlled machines, industrial robots, 3D technologies and other latest industrial trends in the field of technology.

The annual fair which opened on Monday will last until May 20. It is estimated 40,000 people will tour the 13,000-square-meter exhibiting space, where companies from all over the world present their edge-cutting products.

"On its 60th anniversary, the fair gathers more than 500 companies around the world, with companies coming from 27 countries from Europe, Canada, China, Japan and the United States," Dragan Zecevic, project coordinator of the 60th International Fair of Techniques and Technical Achievements, briefed Xinhua.

Zecevic added that focuses of this year's edition are innovations in industry and production, with more than 100 innovative products present at the fair, 50 of which come from Serbia.

He said the biggest part of innovations deals with robotics, software and software-controlled machines, as well as the oil exploitation, 3D technologies, and 3D printers.

Among the innovative products, Zecevic selected Serbian company from Novi Sad producing a four-wheel robot, which measures and scales terrain "in unreachable areas where it is hard to perform measurements and this automated vehicle is unique innovative solution on global scale".

"Another innovation is a software which controls machine that weld oil pipes by the company Solfins, who won the main prize for innovation of the International Techniques Fair in Belgrade. This is a Canadian company who employs mostly Serbian engineers. In 2015 this revolutionary innovation was announced as the best software solution in oil exploitation," he said.

Predrag Radovanovic, director of Solfins confirmed that his product was "pronounced last year as the biggest innovation by the North American Oil Industry".

"Our company produces software for 3D modeling of manufacturing tools and many other simulations. The other area is mechanical design. We started with industrial automation, and now we work mostly for the oil industry in Canada and the United States," Radovanovic told Xinhua.

The company employs experts who graduated from Belgrade University here in Serbia and "it's a proof that we can compete in the toughest international market", Radovanovic said.

"The Company was established in 2004. This year we expanded to the field of 3D scanners and printers, and that opens new possibilities in engineering, where you can produce anything you can imagine," he continued.

Among the exhibitors was also Slobodan Marinkovic, independent engineer and innovator from the village of Kuzmine near Kosovo Polje who came to the fair to find investors for his patents which he believes have bright future.

"Here I have patents and models for a solar and wind turbine for powering reflectors in the green house, electrical generator and an engine that use energy of gunpowder explosion, combo two-phase and three-phase power socket, a wind turbine to be installed on top of cars," he told Xinhua, adding he hopes he will gather funds to make at least one prototype.

Belgrade fair is crowded with business people as well as curious visitors who wish to take a glimpse of the future robotic and 3D age. Representatives of companies eagerly promote their products and demonstrate their possibilities, hoping that they will meet business people willing to invest in technical improvement.

"We expect that both buyers and merchants will be satisfied with the fair. The fair is dedicated mostly to business clients, meetings and trade," Zecevic said.

He stressed that some of the companies present at the fair are world leaders who for the first time present their products in this region, and estimated that the fair is the biggest in the region when it comes to number of exhibitors and visitors. Endit