food & drink technology Africa established on the South African market

With its third edition, the trade fair for the food, beverage and packaging industry in South Africa has established itself on the market. As a networking event, food & drink technology Africa (fdt Africa) offered a platform for the industry to exchange views on current and future trends.

• Around 1,600 participants from 81 countries
• Exhibitors praise high-quality contacts
• Co-location of fdt Africa 2019: Exhibitors delighted with concept

111 exhibitors and around 1,600 participants from 81 countries took part in the international trade fair which took place in Johannesburg on September 4–6. National and international exhibitors such as Anton Paar, Bosch Packaging, Dematech, Ecolab, GEA Africa Ltd., KHS Manufacturing, MacSteel Fluid Control, Renlaw Ltd., Schaefer Keg and Ziemann Holvieka GmbH represented the entire process chain of the food, beverage and liquid food industry.

“The trade fair demonstrated the potential of the market for beverages, food and liquid food in South Africa. With our involvement in the region, we are creating the ideal platform for the industry to utilize this business potential”, reported Reinhard Pfeiffer, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Messe München. Suzette Scheepers, Chief Executive Officer of Messe Muenchen South Africa, added: “We are very pleased about the positive feedback from exhibitors and visitors. The trade fair ranks high within the industry, especially with regards to the exchange of views, networking and professional development.”

According to the VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association, the South African food and beverage industry continues to have high growth potential. Vera Fritsche, Advisor International Trade Fairs, Markets and Economy at the VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association, confirmed: “The use of state-of-the-art technology is an important factor in meeting the current challenges of the market and driving future growth. fdt Africa brings together manufacturers and the end user industry. This was also demonstrated by the quality of the contacts that the exhibitors were able to establish during the three days.”

With its extended supporting program, fdt Africa offered added value for exhibitors and visitors in addition to the exhibition. The Speakers Corner gave an insight into the latest topics on the market, including lectures and presentations by Brewster Craft, Centec, Pall, the South African Association of Fragrances and Flavour Industry (SAFFI), Sphere Foods Africa and the VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association. A new feature this year was the symposia from Bosch Packaging as well as Bühler, KHS Manufacturing and Pentair. The Africa Beer Awards of the Institute of Brewing & Distilling (IBD) Africa Sector was another highlight of the event. Suzette Scheepers expressed her content: “We were very proud to host the Africa Beer Awards with IBD at the trade fair and congratulate all winners.”

The next edition of fdt Africa will already take place in 2019—outside the established regular cycle of the event. This is due to the new co-location of the trade fair with analytica Lab Africa and IFAT Africa. Petra Westphal, Exhibition Group Director of Messe München, said: “Going forward, we will offer exhibitors and visitors of fdt Africa the opportunity to obtain even more comprehensive and cross-thematic information on trends and innovations from the environmental, beverage and food industries as well as analytics. Together, the collocated trade fairs ensure the best possible knowledge transfer for all industries.” The exhibitors consistently rated this move as being positive and already expressed their interest in participating. Among them was Brett Dunbar-Krause, Senior Marketing Communications Specialist for Ecolab: “We were able to establish first-class contacts—across the entire process chain of the industry. We are already looking forward to 2019.”

The first joint event of analytica Lab Africa, fdt Africa and IFAT Africa will take place at Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg on July 9–11, 2019.