|
contents | europe | ||||
| POWTECH/TechnoPharm 2008: Full Closing Report The altogether 1,009* exhibitors at the exhibition duo POWTECH/TechnoPharm 2008 invited the industry to the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg from 30 September to 2 October – and 15,117* visitors came from 70 countries. The experts from the chemical, pharma and food industries plus machinery and plant manufacturing – to name the most strongly represented sectors – were extremely satisfied (more than 96 %) with the products on display. Every third visitor came from abroad and used the Nürnberg exhibitions very intensively for exchanging information and views. Holding the POWTECH and TechnoPharm exhibitions at the same time is a special quality feature for both exhibitors and visitors, as the powder, granule and bulk solids technologies shown at POWTECH are also used in special versions for clean room processes and hygienic production, which are issues covered by TechnoPharm. "With its comprehensive product spectrum, valuable synergies, highly qualified visitors and unique atmosphere, the exhibition duo has confirmed its excellent reputation in Europe and worldwide, " sums up Claus Rättich, Member of the Management Board of NürnbergMesse. "Despite the slight drop in the number of visitors due to the date, Nürnberg remains at a steady high level in 2008, " Rättich continues. Quality optimization, more efficient integration of process steps and traceability are the keywords that describe the significant trends at POWTECH and TechnoPharm 2008. All industries that use mechanical processes, especially the pharma, cosmetic and health food industries, are confronted with the global challenge of improving efficiency. The exhibitors at these two exhibitions presented many innovative solutions for this purpose. POWTECH exhibitors report many highly promising contacts The 707 exhibitors at POWTECH travelled to Nürnberg from 26 countries, led by Germany with 491 companies, followed by Switzerland (29 exhibitors), Italy (26) and Great Britain (20). According to a survey by an independent institute, over 93 % of the exhibitors are satisfied with the overall success of their exhibiting activities. "After a rather slow first day, the next two days were all the better. Particularly the quality of the visitors was outstanding, " reports Birte Quint-Segler of Segler-Förderanlagen Maschinenfabrik GmbH. "This made it clear again that the situation in the machinery manufacturing sector is good – accordingly we have not noticed any slowdown of business, " continues Quint-Segler. Some 94 % reached their major target groups and 93 % made new business connections. So it is no surprise that well over 83 % expect follow-up business from these contacts. Katja Duddeck of Rhewum GmbH: "We had very many potentially promising contacts, so we are returning home very satisfied. We also rate the international mix of visitors extremely positively. An astonishingly large number of Russian and French visitors came to our stand this year." This trend to more international visitors on the stand is also confirmed by Bärbel Trost, WAIWELDAI Anlagentechnik GmbH: "Although we had slightly fewer visitors on the stand overall, we are still highly satisfied due to the quality and the many international contacts." POWTECH visitors praise opportunities for information The verdict of the visitors on the products and contact opportunities offered on the stands at POWTECH 2008 is also remarkable: 99 % were satisfied or even very satisfied – a figure that speaks for itself. The visitors were mainly interested in the product segments of plant engineering and processing components (67 %), basic mechanical processing technologies (51 %), measurement and control (31 %), safety and environmental technology (22 %), and particle analysis and characterization (19 %) (multiple answers possible). The chemical, food and pharma industries were particularly strongly represented. Some 94 per cent of the visitors are involved in procurement decisions according to the results of the survey by an independent institute. The reasons for visiting are headed by obtaining information about new products, followed by exchanging views and information, cultivating existing business contacts, market orientation and training. TechnoPharm 2008: Top-quality product show "This year's TechnoPharm again reflected future developments in the pharmaceutical industry, " says Dr. Frank Stieneker of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Pharmazeutische Verfahrenstechnik e.V. (APV), the honorary sponsor of TechnoPharm. "PAT (Process Analytical Technology) as part of operational excellence is becoming increasingly important for drug manufacturers. Many exhibitors responded to this and showed new approaches to parametric process control for the plants presented – a trend that will certainly continue in view of the growing complexity of pharmaceutical production and decreasing batch sizes. Another approach already observed at the last TechnoPharm is the focus on clean room technology and aseptic manufacture as the answer to the increasing importance of biotechnologically generated agents, " adds Stieneker. The APV also organized seminars on a wide spectrum of themes at this year's TechnoPharm. These ranged from the Requirements for a Qualified Person as per Section 14 Medicinal Products Act to Practical Value Chain Analysis and Optimization, i.e. high-tech topics to match the exhibition. The surveys of exhibitors and visitors confirm the importance of the exhibition: 88 % of the 302 exhibitors were satisfied with their company's overall success in exhibiting at TechnoPharm 2008. Ralf Lüth, DIOSNA Dierks & Söhne GmbH, also confirms this: "The quality of this year's visitors was very good again, although the quantity dropped slightly. But we already know for certain that we can create a number of new projects." 87 % of the exhibiting companies made new business connections. The exhibitors mainly welcomed customers from the industry to their stands (81 %), followed by consultant planners and engineers (36 %), service companies (11 %) and colleges and universities. "Our visitors came primarily from the pharmaceutical industry in the German-speaking regions, " sums up Annette Wettach of Grundfos GmbH. "In general we have made a large number of new contacts. TechnoPharm 2008 was overall very interesting for Grundfos, although this is not our core business, and we can well imagine being here again in 2010, " Wettach adds. Almost every second visitor travelled to Nürnberg to find out about new products. Other good reasons for visiting TechnoPharm 2008 were training (40 %), exchanging views and information (35 %), cultivating business contacts (32 %) and general market orientation (30 %), plus preparing the ground for new business contacts (27 %) or preparing for investment and purchasing decisions (18 %). The visitors commented very favourably on the concept of the exhibition: 99 % were satisfied with the products on display at TechnoPharm 2008 and 97 % gave good marks for the information and contact opportunities offered on the stands. 67 % of the visitors came from the pharmaceutical industry, followed by 19 % from other sectors of industry and 6 % from the chemical industry. Special interest was shown in the product groups of apparatus and plant for production (57 %), filling and packing (55 %), cleaning, hygiene and environment monitoring (38 %), laboratory and development (27 %), and quality assurance (24 %) (multiple answers possible). Special show tackles trend issue The current issues of energy efficiency and careful use of resources are naturally also a major challenge for pharma, food and cosmetic specialists. The developers of machinery, plant and apparatus have been committed to these targets for years and ultramodern solutions are particularly used to save resources. Potential savings can also be achieved in previously often unobserved process steps – as shown close up by the special show “Saving Resources in the Pharmaceutical, Cosmetic and Chemical Industries”. Exhibitions reflect industry trends POWTECH and TechnoPharm have naturally shown and reflected trends and developments again this year: Nürnberg generates impetus that accelerates technological developments throughout the world, not only in the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries, but in the ceramic, building material and plastic industries, too. Process and quality optimization were important keywords this year. Optimized components resolve the problems of interfaces between individual process steps that have frequently proved to be bottlenecks until now. An example of this is a new development in the provision of powder and bulk solids to exact recipes, which was shown for the first time – separating transport between silos from the weighing operation doubles the throughput for mixing food, chemical products or synthetic components. Particle characterization down to the nano range can be performed with increasingly optimized analytical systems. At the same time, more and more particle analysis systems are inline-capable and provide direct feedback to the process control system – a decisive step towards more flexibility and less use of energy and resources. Besides process and equipment innovations, POWTECH and TechnoPharm also showed the increasingly important universal coupling of process control systems and higher-level ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems. This transparent data structure opens up new ways of process-orientated material management, faster order dispatch or process load analyses for optimized order handling. It also ensures transparent traceability of the goods produced and all process parameters. The penetration of data technology into mechanical processes and the integration of particle characterization enable individual process adaptations in real time. This me write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Exhibition News :: home page |