Brazil Trade Fair Claims Title as Largest ISA Event

Some 12,800 professionals, including conference participants and exhibition visitors, attended the 14th edition of Brazil Automation ISA 2010, held Nov. 9-11 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. These numbers mark an increase of about 10 percent from last year’s event. Visitors to the exhibition area of the fair grew by 6 percent, and conference enrollment registered a 12 percent rise. There were 13,000 square meters of exhibit area and 120 exhibitors.

The result is that currently, Brazil Automation is the largest event under the umbrella of the International Society of Automation (ISA, www.isa.org) worldwide, in terms of visitor count. This proves the importance of the Brazilian industrial automation market, say local ISA sources, and especially the continuity of the excellent economic phase that Brazil is currently experiencing.

Engineering shortage

Though the market has heated up, there is a lack of engineers to do the work. This was the conclusion of Brazil Automation ISA 2010 opening panel members, who discussed the challenges in the training of engineering professionals in Brazil. ISA District 4 (www.isadistrito4.org.br) Vice President José Otávio Mattiazzo highlighted recent data from the Brazilian Confederation of Industry, indicating a deficit of 150,000 engineers currently in the country. “These data indicate that Brazil makes up only half of the engineers that the country needs annually. Moreover, we still have to face the disparity between their training and industry needs,” Mattiazzo observed.

Nelson Ninin, 2010 ISA president, stressed that “this deficit is not a problem only in Brazil but around the world. Brazil is showing that it really is out of the economic crisis. The whole world looks at us with special care. The size of this event is a good demonstration of the present moment.”

Also at the Brazil Automation ISA 2010, ISA officials emphasized that the organization has strengthened its mission and its contribution to the professional improvement. Ian Verhappen, ISA Strategic Planning vice president, presented details on the CAP (Certified Automation Professional) program, which has the goal of qualifying professionals in automation skills and ensuring that they are trained to meet the needs and technological requirements of the new global reality.

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