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Final Report- Anuga FoodTec: Sector sends a positive message

Final Report
Leading international trade fair for food and drink technology generates momentum

Anuga FoodTec: Sector sends a positive message

Anuga FoodTec, the international trade fair for food and drink technology, ended on Friday, 13th March 2009 with excellent results. Most of the exhibiting companies indicated they were satisfied with the number of visitors and the strong interest in the innovations on show, which in some cases led to good business deals. This year's Anuga FoodTec welcomed approximately 34,000 trade visitors from 114 countries, a figure comparable to that of the previous fair. Some 43 per cent of the visitors came from abroad. "In view of the overall economic situation, this is a satisfactory result and a positive signal for the economy as a whole," said Koelnmesse CEO Gerald Böse. "The excellent figures for exhibitor and visitor participation is a clear signal to the sector that it should meet the challenges it is facing today by coming up with innovative solutions. And these figures are also an indication of the sector's commitment to Anuga FoodTec as the leading information and purchasing platform of the international food industry." Anuga FoodTec is the world's only specialist trade fair whose multi-sector approach covers all aspects of processing, packaging, hygiene, storage and distribution in food and drinks production.

The same conclusion about the fair was reached by Dr. Reinhard Grandke, Chief Executive of the German Agricultural Society (DLG). "Anuga FoodTec has impressively lived up to its reputation as the leading business platform of the food and drinks technology sector," he said. "Issues such as automation, packaging, hygiene and food safety, which were the centre of interest at this year's Anuga FoodTec, show that the safety and quality of food, as well as sustainable food production, will continue to be a focus of the relevant technologies in the future. The high professional level of the exhibition and the many innovations on show encourage us to look ahead with optimism, even in difficult economic periods."

A total of 1,194 exhibiting companies from 39 countries attended this year's Anuga FoodTec, representing a slight increase over the exhibitor figure posted by the previous event (2006: 1,178 suppliers from 40 countries).

The majority of the exhibiting companies were satisfied with the fair. "In contrast to all the expectations we had because of the currently critical economic situation, we had more visitors this year than at the last event, which was already very popular," said Marcus Ley, Marketing Manager of EMEA Ecolab GmbH & Co. OHG. "Another extremely positive feature we noticed was the decision-making authority of the visitors, which was much greater than at the previous event. This confirms the trend we noted at the last Anuga FoodTec. Most of the visitors we met here were decision-makers. This enabled us to not only intensify our existing business relationships, but also to generate new business at the fair. All in all, Anuga FoodTec 2009 also was a resounding success for our company. That certainly answers the question of whether trade fairs are worthwhile and whether we will come back the next time around."

Exhibiting companies also reported successful business deals that were carried out during the fair. "From our viewpoint we can confirm that the food industry is still ready and willing to make investments. We were entirely successful in reaching our targets," concluded Dr. Michael Gerretz, head of marketing at Vemag Maschinenbau GmbH. A similar conclusion was reached by Birger Becker, Managing Director of Mettler-Toledo Garvens GmbH: "Even though the volume of visitors at our stand was not quite as high as in the past, we are very satisfied with the results of the fair. The trade visitors had a very high degree of decision-making authority, and the number of business deals we closed exceeded our expectations."
The exhibiting companies had particularly high praise for the expertise and strong decision-making authority of the trade visitors. "We're highly satisfied with how the fair went. Even though we experienced a slight decrease in the number of contacts we made, the decision-making authority of the visitors was impressive in every way," said Stefan Schiffer, Managing Director of Ishida GmbH. This opinion was shared by Dr. Klemens van Betteray, Vice President of CSB-System AG, who said, "The quality of the trade visitors was excellent." In an initial survey, more than 81 per cent of the trade visitors said they played either a key role or a supporting and consulting role in investment decisions at their respective companies. In the same survey, 82 per cent of the survey participants said the product range on display at Anuga food was good or very good. A total of 74 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their visit to the fair.

Anuga FoodTec focused on hygiene technologies, automation and sustainability, in particular energy efficiency. These themes also were addressed by the trade fair's very diverse supporting programme. A strong turnout was registered by the Anuga FoodTec forums, which were coordinated and organized by the DLG. The symposiums and presentations by renowned institutes and speakers were dedicated to themes including technologies for chilled food and fresh-cut products, product quality and food safety, pasta technology, convenience, dairy technology, meat technology and advances in technologies for the liquid foods segment.

In addition, Anuga FoodTec was an event for establishing new business partnerships. To name one example, the renowned InnoBev Global Soft Drinks Congress organized by British trade publishing house Zenith International took place for the first time at the trade fair, bringing together the soft-drink sector's leading manufacturers, suppliers and analysts to present the latest trends and developments on the international market. About 130 participants took part in the two day congress.

More than 170 participants registered for the 12th PETnology Europe 2009 conference, which also took place for the first time in Cologne. The congress offered an overview of the latest developments, innovations and sector information in the drinks and PET packaging industry.

Also successful were the conference of Agra Informa, organizer of the well-known "World Juice Congress", which focused on fruit juice, and the "Sustainable Packaging" conference of the renowned Nova Institute.

A highlight of Anuga FoodTec 2009 was the Robotik-Pack-Line, which was presented thanks to a collaboration by 30 companies. This modular production and packaging line produces, monitors, sorts, packages, weighs and palletises a challenging type of food product that is made of a number of components - the hamburger. A particular emphasis in this process is placed on hygiene, monitoring, safety and regular cleaning of the conveyor belts. "The Robotik-Pack-Line clearly shows the benefits of fully integrated process coordination. The digital factory is the future trend in the food sector. Anuga FoodTec will be the leading trade fair in Europe for food industry technology and continue to become even more important for the global food industry in the coming years," said Dr. Klemens van Betteray, Vice President of CSB-Systems AG.

"Look ahead" was the title of a special sustainable packaging event set up in association with Berlin-based packaging agency Berndt&Partner Packaging Creality, one of the leading specialists in packaging design and development. Another special show was devoted to Auto-ID/RFID solutions in the food industry.

A special challenge was awaiting the approx. 600 experts for sensory food testing who were put through a veritable marathon on 10th and 11th March 2009, at Europe's biggest food and drinks test, the DLG EuroFoodTest. The products tested included hundreds of wines of various vintages, 660 fruit drinks, 1,400 cheese products and about 3,000 sausage and ham products. "The quality of a food product is essentially determined by the quality of the raw ingredients and by the production technology used to make it. Under the event title ‘Taste meets Technology' it was made impressively clear that, given the increasing demands being made in terms of food quality, technologists, product developers and quality assurance specialists must work together in order to satisfy consumers' expectations," concluded Dr. Reinhard Grandke.

Anuga FoodTec is jointly organised by Koelnmesse GmbH and the German Agricultural Society (DLG). It takes place every three years, corresponding to the innovation cycle in the sector. The next Anuga FoodTec will take place from 27th to 30th March 2012.

Anuga FoodTec in figures:
A total of 1,194 companies from 39 countries, including 47 per cent from outside Germany, participated in Anuga FoodTec 2009, which occupied a gross exhibition space of 115,000 m². The participants included 621 exhibitors and ten additionally represented companies from Germany as well as 539 exhibitors and 24 additionally represented companies from abroad. Including estimates for the last day of the fair, Anuga FoodTec attracted around 34,000 trade visitors from 114 countries, approximately 15,000 of whom came from abroad.*

* All figures were calculated in accordance with the guidelines of the Society for Voluntary Control of Fair and Exhibition Statistics (FKM) and are subject to audit by a certified auditor (www.fkm.de).

Anuga FoodTec
27th to 30th March 2012

Other food fairs in Cologne in 2009:

Eu´Vend
10th to 12th September 2009

Anuga
10th to 14th October 2009

Trends at Anuga FoodTec 2009:

Hygienic technologies
Hygiene is the first priority in the food industry. This is why hygienic requirements for the design of machinery have recently become very challenging. The machines for hygienic applications that were exhibited in Cologne feature optimised surface properties and can be easily dismantled, cleaned and reassembled in a few minutes. The current standards and guidelines that are complied with, such as GMP, FDA, EHEDG, QHD and 3A, guarantee high product safety for the consumer.

As the trend continues for fresh, natural foods made with minimal processing and processing that preserves the foods' natural qualities, the use of aseptic packaging technology for filling sensitive products, such as milk, juices and trend drinks like smoothies, will increase. This means the range of processes used for aseptic packaging will continue to be expanded and improved. In addition to complete filling lines, the full spectrum of know-how in all areas of filtration, separation, sterilisation and air-conditioning was also on show in Cologne. This enabled other sectors where hygiene is also the top priority, e.g. the well-represented meat industry, to profit from the exchange of technologies at the cross-sector Anuga FoodTec.

Automation
Automation and robotics play a decisive role in preparing food producers for the future. They also help to decrease cost-pressures in the food industry that result from changes in buyer behaviour and higher quality standards in the manufacturing and packaging of food. Automation is increasingly moving away from the central control structures. State-of-the-art, decentralised on-site control, intelligent servo motors and pneumatics are featured in the machinery and facilities exhibited. And more and more applications include the use of Ethernet in all areas of automation. Thanks to TCP/IP standards, the LAN port known from the world of IT allows communication between individual systems, from the control level right to the field level.

Energy
While the topic of energy efficiency has become a classic issue in other areas, there are still many sectors in the food industry where energy consumption can be optimised. At Anuga FoodTec it was shown that the issue of energy consumption is becoming increasingly topical among suppliers of machines and facilities for the food industry. Thanks to modern measuring and control technology, use of raw materials and energy can be optimised. The new machines on show provide a complete overview of the current state of production processes and food products.

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