|
You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here
|
|
|
International Foodtec India draws more exhibitors this time, looks better organised
|
Friday, 18 September, 2009, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
|
Our Bureau, Mumbai
|
The 6th edition of the International Foodtec India, 2009, exhibition organised by Koelnmesse, the world's leading trade fair organisers, hit the floors at the Bombay exhibition Centre on Thursday on a better note. The show is especially devoted to the food processing and packaging machinery and will have buyers and suppliers exhibiting their innovations from across the world from September 17 to 19.
Asked about low visitor turnout on the first day, Ashwini Pande, managing director, Koelnmesse, defended, " This is a serious business platform and only interested clients come here."
However, Ashwini agreed that the infrastructure and facilities provided at trade fairs abroad are no match to the humble hall room at the Bombay Exhibition Centre.
On the lucrative business deals that such trade fairs tend to promote, a small survey revealed that the generally enthusiastic visitors who appear to be in awe of the exhibits displayed, seldom place orders, however, such fairs prove to be an apt platform to sense the market and probably get an entry into it.
This year the organisers expect around 4,000 visitors as the industry is slowly rising out of the downturn fever and geared to move ahead. Says Ashwini, " There is a lot of panic in the market due to the slowdown as players are not very keen to go ahead with expansion plans or capacity building. However, food industry has a future to grow and that is why people look forward to such fairs."
Of the 115 exhibiting their innovations/products this time, around 40% are foreign exhibitors from around 11 countries including Germany, the USA, Australia, France, and the Netherlands
The increasing number of foreign companies in such trade fairs indicate that global market is constantly being aware of the potential that India provides in terms of consumption and supply.
In manufacturing of machines India still though on the back seat with limited capacity and inadequate demand for packed food, the prospect of tie-ups with MNCs seem brighter.
India mainly imports machinery from countries like Germany and Italy. Taking this aspect into consideration the organisers have devoted special country pavilions to Germany and France.
Dairy Universe India 2009 and Sweet and Snack Factory India 2009 are the two events being concurrently held though not clearly bifurcated. These events covered all aspects of dairy technology: from dairy processing technology and packaging up to facilities and cooling it represents a platform especially for this sector. Also for the sweet and snack industry which focused on latest technologies for processing and packaging in the sweets and confectionery, bakery and snack industry.
Heat and Control, Kanchan Metals, Holland-based GMF Gouda, Nichrome, etc are exhibiting at the event. GMF Goud is a world renowned company for drying and solidifying equipment such as Drum Dryers, Paddle Dryers, Spiral Flash Dryers, Drum Flakers and Disc Pastillators. According to Sander Schwartz, Regional Sales Manager, based in Singapore, their dryers are used in the manufacture of cereal based baby foods, milk powder, drink cereals, brewers yeast and fruits & vegetables. The company is also market leader for its complete lines for potato flakes/granules.
Italvibras ve Rosta, a company representing the two companies, viz Italvibras from Italy and Rosta from the Switzerland, is exhibiting spiral elevators at the show. IH Nassir, technical director of the company, said, " Through our product we are trying to show the synergy between Rosta linkages and vibrators. We are developing different vibrating equipment like the feeders, conveyors for which we believe this is the perfect platform."
The company is into the fair for a second round this year and is happy that the show provides a strong industry specific customer base.
Technofour Electronics is another company which is displaying its metal detectors/online check wings required for the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industry, the major customer being the pharma segment.
Manoj Joshi representing the stall said, " After the Parle biscuit incident where a copper wire was found in a biscuit pack the demand for our product Checkwings rose. We are here to display our Combocheckwing machine that brilliantly rejects any metal contaminated product and also the over/ under weighing products."
Cipla, ITC and HUL are some of the major clients for Technofour. About the event, Manoj said, " We have a very good response at the event but once we get on to serious business only 0.5% of the total response get converted into actual orders. So our energy, time spent in such events go waste."
Multivac Laraon India Pvt. Ltd, an Indo-German joint venture company, a leading company in vacuum packaging machines, based in Gurgaon, has decided to avert the octroi charges by bringing in only a select products. Said Ritesh Dhingra, the manager director, "We are displaying Multivac chamber machines used to vacuum-pack products. It is mainly used in the food, industrial and medical segment." Lot of companies are accepting vacuum packaging machines and customers are ready to invest in this segment." Ritesh believed that modified atmospheric machine mainly used for raw material promises for a hot market. The technology is increasingly being used in the meat segment as well."
However, ditto like Manoj, Ritesh too felt that the actual business orders produced by such fairs is as small as ratio 100:1.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|