UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA 2014: Highly regarded in the important Russian market

In the food and beverages industry, in the confectionery market, in the cosmetics and the pharmaceuticals sectors, consumer demands with regard to goods and their packaging are becoming increasingly clear, and packaging manufacturers in the Russian Federation are investing in order to improve their market position. The industrial and transport packaging sector, in particular for construction materials, is also gaining in importance. The expansion and modernisation of Russian plants are the consequences, high-performance, energy and resource saving machines are highly regarded. There is also a significant need for innovative packaging materials.

Interest in the UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA 2014, the leading Russian Trade Fair for Packaging Machinery, Process Technology, Packaging Production and Packaging, was correspondingly high. This was the 22nd time that the fair, organised by Messe Düsseldorf and its Russian subsidiary OOO Messe Düsseldorf Moscow in collaboration with the Italian event coordinator Centrexpo, was held in Moscow. Along with the concurrent interplastica 2014, International Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber, it attracted 20,000 trade visitors from Russian and the neighbouring CIS countries.

Almost 300 exhibitors presented a comprehensive range of products in a an exhibition space covering around 5,500 square metres net. The companies involved reported interesting and sustainable discussions with both existing and new customers, and concrete deals were struck and contracts signed at the fair. However, in some sectors it became clear that the current weak state of the rouble and the associated economic uncertainty combined with new legal regulations, e.g. for alcoholic beverages, had led to a decrease in demand. Erhard Wienkamp, Division Director of Messe Düsseldorf, came to a positive conclusion: "The Russian Federation, with around 143 million inhabitants Europe's most populous country, is one of the most important markets for food, beverages, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. Modern packaging solutions are extremely important for these industries; the interest from the experts in the products and services at UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA was impressive. The fact that, just a few weeks before the start of the world's leading trade fair interpack from 8-14 May in Düsseldorf, we have experienced constant high visitor interest at UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA shows how highly this event is valued in an important market."

Dr. Guido Corbella, CEO of Centrexpo, backs up this opinion. "Italian providers continue to experience strong interest in the Russian packaging market, which, in most areas, particularly in the strong food and confectionery sectors, is showing steady growth. And with their innovative and extensive range they are faring very well in this region. Exports of food processing and packaging machines from Italy to Russia rose by around 10 per cent in the first eleven months of 2013 compared to the previous year."

For German providers of packaging and food processing machinery, Russia continues to be highly important, lying in third place in the export statistics behind the USA and China. After the increase in previous years, a fall in exports was recorded for 2013: At around 432 million Euro, the total volume of exports of German food processing and packaging machines to Russia in the first eleven months of 2013 was approximately 14 per cent lower than for the same period in the previous year. Confectionery making and bakery machinery as well as meat processing machinery fared better than packaging machines.

Vera Fritsche from the VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association emphasised the great importance of the Russian market. "The need for modern technology is far from satisfied and there is a plenty of interest. However, at the moment investment is restrained as the Russian consumer has become more subdued. This is particularly noticeable in the field of high proof alcoholic beverages: due to higher taxation and sales restrictions there has been a significant reduction in demand. As a result, the Russian market is currently subject to uncertainties, but continues to offer great opportunities. And thanks to their innovative technology and reliability, German products have a very good reputation; Russian customers value the quality, the comprehensive service and the consulting from the suppliers."

The exhibitors at UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA came from 28 countries; there were official national presentations from Germany, France and Italy. The biggest contingent of exhibitors came from the host country, Russia, with 86 companies, followed by Italy with 71 and Germany with 63 exhibitors.

The supporting programme entitled "Future Forum" again proved very popular. In workshops and lectures current issues in the packaging industry were addressed, including solutions for hygienic packaging and current trends in the cardboard and folding box industry, design and marketing aspects as well as financing issues. The new themed area "World of Packaging Materials" also attracted great interest. It focused not only on innovative machinery technology for the packaging industry, but also on the choice of the right packaging material, the design and brand image of packaging.

The next UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA is scheduled to take place from 27 January – 30 January 2015 in Moscow and will once again be held in parallel with interplastica.

Further information is available on the internet from www.upakovka-upakitalia.de as well as by contacting Mr. Thomas Franken at Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, Tel. 0211/4560-7739, Email FrankenT@messe-duesseldorf.de or Mrs. Marie-Luise Schläfke, Tel. 0211/4560-7741, Email SchlaefkeM@messe-duesseldorf.de.

13 February 2014

Contact details for the press:
Eva Rugenstein/Kristian Schütt
Telephone: +49-211-4560 240
Fax: +49-211-4560 8548
Email: RugensteinE@messe-duesseldorf.de
Additional Email: SchüttK@messe-duesseldorf.de

Upon publication a reference copy would be appreciated.


Exhibitor’s comments on UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA 2014:

A.M. Puzikov, Commercial Director, Bestrom, Krasnogorsk/Russia

We are satisfied with the results of trade fair. The attendance of the old clients is high, and we’ve also got a lot of new contacts from Middle Asia for example. We think every year the quality of UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA becomes higher, the trade fair is one of the biggest in Russia. We really like this exhibition and were taking part since 1999 and planning to attend next time.

Paolo Lonati, General Director, Coesia Group, Bologna/Italy

Our group, now comprising 15 companies, has been successfully active in the CIS market for many years. Our specialist areas are the food and beverages sector as well as luxury goods. We have customers in the region with whom we have worked for many years, and with whom we are constantly developing new projects. Thanks to the range of our companies, we are able to respond flexibly to our customers' needs and to adapt to new developments. At present there is a growing demand in Russia and its neighbouring states for coffee capsules, for which we offer an interesting range.
For us it is important to take part at UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA every year to demonstrate our market presence and new products. As a result of this continuity we have been able to continue to do good business here even in difficult times. And we are sure that it will continue in the future!

Anastasios Naitakis, Diplaris Box Manufacturing, Spata/Greece

This is the first time that we have brought our packaging to this trade fair. It is not easy to make contact with Russian clients, not least because of the language barrier. Luckily we have an interpreter! And so we were able to enter into a series of interesting negotiations. We will have to wait and see if that leads to concrete deals, but some of the discussions were very promising. Our pastry boxes were particularly well received.

Natalia Kovtun, Sales Director, Ferrostaal, Moscow/Russia

It’s not our first time at UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA and here it’s always crowded and full of new contacts. Traditionally the level of trade visitors is very high. Definitely we will take part next time and look forward to UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA 2015.

Dipl.-Ing. Christian Fruth, Sales Manager, and Sergey Berdnikov, Sales Manager CIS, Gernep GmbH, Barbing/Germany

We supply labelling technology for the food, beverage and cosmetics industries and the CIS has become such an important market for us that we have had a dedicated Sales Manager for this region for the last two years. The current reticence to invest in the beer sector as a result of the new legal situation also brings opportunities: we have noticed that the mineral water and soft drinks sectors are experiencing a noticeable upturn and the use of PET bottles is increasing. And even if the vodka market has experienced a downturn, we are still doing good business. We have also developed into a real partner for our customers in the cosmetics industry. We are confident about our business activities in the CIS in the long-term, even if some of our customers are currently taking a sceptical view of how this year will go. The advantage is that they are now making purchasing decisions quickly, and financing these promptly.

Natalia Silva, Responsable Export Manager for Russia and CIS, Ixapack, Mauleon/France

The exhibition was very successful for our company. All our business cards were spreaded during the trade fair. It was our first time at UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA and we are planning to take part next year. This trade fair is unique and we don’t know any analogue in Russia, so we are happy with the results. In May our company will exhibit at interpack in Düsseldorf and we are expecting good results as well.

Christian Wolff, President, PEC - Project Engineering + Consulting AG, Oberegg/Switzerland

Having been active in the CIS states for 20 years already, we are used to change. The current challenges are the weakness of the rouble, the increase in tax on alcohol and the strained situation between Moscow and Kiev, which is affecting those of our customers in the Ukraine who supply Russia. But we still feel that we are well positioned and are optimistic about the business future. Our work has earned us a god name and the trust of our customers. We provide consultancy services, project development and supply packaging machines and materials for the food and beverages industries and for the cosmetics and pharmaceutical sectors. Our comprehensive consultancy service right through to product and production concepts and new developments is highly regarded by our customers and creates long-term connections. As a result we are currently seeing lively investment. Increasing efficiency is a current area of focus, many companies are optimising their cost and process structures. UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA is important for us in order to maintain and extend our relationships with customers.

Alexander Feigin, Director, ROVEMA, Fernwald/Germany and St. Petersburg/Russia

For Russian customers consultancy is the alpha and omega! Business life in Russia is fast-paced, many new companies are emerging. And there is a lack of engineers versed in packaging technology in Russia, so many companies do not have deep knowledge of this area. Their employees use the trade fair as a way to orient themselves and gain an overview of the available machinery, packaging materials and products. They want to sound out and improve their business chances – and really appreciate comprehensive advice. We help them to recognise what they can do better than their competitors - that is our form of knowledge transfer! ROVEMA has been active in the CIS states for a long time, we have good customers and a good reputation here. And we know that in the Russian market you need to invest a lot of patience and advice. That creates trust and leads to long-term relationships with customers. (Pd)