February 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact:

Anne Meerboth-Maltz
Tel. (312)781-5185
Fax (312) 781-5188
email: ameerboth@mdna.com

Messe Düsseldorf North America
150 North Michigan Avenue
Suite 2920
Chicago, IL 60601

UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA 2010 DEMONSTRATES CONFIDENCE IN RUSSIAN MARKET

At the recent staging of UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA 2010, 18th International Trade Fair Packaging Machinery, Packaging Production and Packaging Material, it was evident that the packaging industry regained its confidence in the Russian market. A total of 300 exhibitors showcased their products and technologies to some 21,000 trade visitors from the CIS and neighboring countries at the Krasnaya Presnya Expocenter in Moscow (the visitor figure includes attendees at the concurrently held INTERPLASTICA 2010 trade fair). UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA 2010 was jointly organized by Messe Düsseldorf and its Russian subsidiary OOO Messe Düsseldorf Moscow in cooperation with the Italian event coordinator Centrexpo.

Following difficult months due to the international economic crisis, the Russian packaging industry is experiencing increased demand for innovative packaging solutions from food and beverage producers, confectionery manufacturer and companies in the cosmetics as well as the pharmaceuticals industry. Exhibitors praised the visitors’ increased interest in specific projects and readiness to investment, which exceeded their expectations.

Erhard Wienkamp, Member of the Management Board of Messe Düsseldorf, was very pleased with the results: “Our exhibitors’ confidence in the Russian market appears to be paying off now. Although we are still a long way from the boom of past years, the enormous potential is evidently gradually gathering momentum again.”

The largest exhibitor contingents at UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA 2010 came from Russia (83), Italy (80) and Germany (75). The trade show also featured official country group exhibits from Germany, France and Italy.

German manufacturers of confectionery machines were not affected by the crisis in Russia last year. According to figures provided by the VDMA (German Engineering Federation), Germany exported about €46.6 million worth of confectionery manufacturing machinery to Russia in the first ten months of 2009 - a growth of approximately 31% compared to the figures for the same period in 2008. The German packaging machinery manufacturers however experienced their exports to Russia falling by 43% to €207 million in the same time period compared to 2008. Vera Fritsche from the Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association (a division of VDMA), emphasized the great importance of the Russian market: “The food and beverage industry is one of the key growth industries of the future in Russia, which means there are excellent opportunities for suppliers of food processing and packaging machinery. The good results of UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA 2010 for the German exhibitors give us hope that we will be able to further develop this potential.”

The Italian exhibitors also noted that the market was recovering and were satisfied with their participation in the trade fair. Annunziata Landi from the Italian National Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE) stated: “As our third-largest export market, Russia holds very attractive sales prospects in the medium and long term, making it especially significant for Italian companies. Now there seems to be movement in this market again, not least because there is once again more capital available for investments due to the rising price of raw materials.”

The UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA 2010 exhibits were complemented by a workshop and seminar program addressing topics such as state-of-the-art packaging solutions for the Russian market and the impact of high quality packaging on the packaged product.

The next UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA is scheduled from January 25 - 28, 2011 in Moscow and will again be held concurrently with INTERPLASTICA. For further information on visiting or exhibiting at UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA 2011 or INTERPLASTICA 2011, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: info@mdna.com; Visit our web site http://www.mdna.com; Subscribe to our blog at http://blog.mdna.com; Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/mdnachicago

Testimonials from UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA 2010 exhibitors:

Gerhard Schubert GmbH

Günter Bussin, East European Sales

“This is the first time we exhibited here in Moscow. As far as I am concerned, it was the right move at the right time. We have had very good feedback and our products have fallen on fertile ground, so to speak, as the potential demand for automation engineering used in packaging processes is enormous here. Although we have sold a few of our systems to Russian customers in the past, it is truly essential to be represented at trade fairs if you really want to be noticed.”

Theegarten-Pactec GmbH & Co. KG

André Heidrich, Sales Manager

“We were kept pretty busy at our stand. You can really tell that a lot of confectionery manufacturers are ready for something new and considering their next move.”

Heuft Systemtechnik GmbH,

Bernd Hofmann, Technical Manager

“It was especially busy on the second day. In addition to our existing customers we were also able to win some new customers who bought machines directly from us.”

Langguth GmbH

Theo Aldenhövel, Sales Engineer

“Considering my extensive trade fair experience in general, I can say that UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA 2010 went really well for us. We had a lot of highly qualified enquiries and it was significantly better than a year ago.”

Sidel

Gerrard Lenain, Country Manager

“After a slow start, the number of contacts we made at the trade fair developed very well over the course of the event. Compared to last year there is clearly movement in the Russian market.”

Bestrom,

Alexander M. Puzikov, Commercial Director

“We are very satisfied with the quality of Messe Düsseldorf’s organization of UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA. It is hard to say conclusively how the final outcome of the trade fair has been us, but it will certainly be better than last year.”

For further information on visiting or exhibiting at UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: info@mdna.com; Visit our web site http://www.mdna.com; Subscribe to our blog http://blog.mdna.com; Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/mdnachicago