The first pacprocess Middle East Africa, which took
place at the Egypt International Exhibition Center in Cairo from 9 to 11
December 2019, was impressive from the start. This interpack alliance trade
fair was organised by Messe Düsseldorf in cooperation with IFP Group and
Konzept. Exhibitors were very satisfied with the quality and number of visitors
as well as the organisational quality and location of the event. They also
regarded combining pacprocess MEA with the already well-established Food Africa
trade fair, which took place in parallel, an excellent idea. The two events
drew a total of 21,640 visitors.
Prior to its launch, pacprocess MEA already
received support from the highest political levels, as it was sponsored by the
Egyptian President H. E. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Prime Minister Moustafa
Madbouly’s opening tour emphasised the high regard the policy makers have for
the trade fair; they count on viable trade fair concepts to draw investors to
the land by the Nile and are developing markets accordingly. Egypt pursues the
self-imposed aim of becoming a business hub for the region. Besides renowned
companies, a large number of government institutions and associations are
represented on the pacprocess MEA advisory board.
“pacprocess MEA has clearly exceeded our
expectations as well as those of the companies involved. The feedback we
received regarding generated leads and general interest was exceptionally high
for a debut event. The interest in modern process and packaging technology and
the corresponding materials is tangible in this country,” said Bernd
Jablonowski, Global Portfolio Manager at Messe Düsseldorf, clearly pleased with
the outcome.
pacprocess MEA 2019 welcomed 125 exhibiting
companies, among them 31 international companies from 12 countries. The German
delegation was represented by ten companies at the respective group stand. The
event addressed the interpack alliance’s eight core target groups: food,
beverages, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, confectionery and baked goods, consumer
and industrial goods – covering the entire value chain in each category. The
trade fair also addressed providers of packaging, packaging materials and the
relevant manufacturing technology. Recycling, environmental technology and
packaging printing were other topics of interest at the event.
The combination of pacprocess MEA with Food Africa,
a trade fair for food products organised by IFP Group and Konzept, proved
ideal. In general, all companies agreed that this parallelism allows for a
great many synergies in the field of food. Both events were accompanied by an
excellently attended conference programme in the trade fair halls, with
speakers who focussed on general topics such as sustainable packaging and the
recycling economy, future industry trends as well as SAVE FOOD. Contents
specific to the region were also addressed, such as important trade agreements
in Africa and new export regulations.
The exhibitor feedback on the trade fair run in
general was also extremely positive. The event clearly exceeded the
expectations of many companies; as a result, some already expressed a strong
interest in the next edition of pacprocess MEA. This annual event will take
place at the Egypt International Exhibition Center in Cairo from 17 to 19
December 2020, once again in parallel to the Food Africa trade fair. Exhibitors
can contact Messe Düsseldorf to register.
