Closing report – International FoodTec Brasil

The premiere of International FoodTec Brasil, international supplier trade 
fair for the food industry, which took place in Curitiba, Brazil, closed its 
doors on Thursday, 7 August 2014 following an excellent event. 81
suppliers from nine countries took advantage of the full 6,595 gross 
square metre Expo Unimed trade fair grounds to present an information 
and business platform that was unique for the region. The exhibition 
covered manufacturing, processing and packaging food with a focus on 
meat, poultry, fish and cheese. The event, which was jointly organised by 
Koelnmesse GmbH and Hannover Fairs Sulamérica (HFSA), drew the 
interest of professionals and high-ranking representatives from politics 
and business in Paraná. Attracting approximately 3.000 regional and 
international visitors the trade fair gave a strong business impetus. 
"International FoodTec Brasil is fully focused on the growing demand for 
both products and technology in the Brazilian food processing sector," 
says Gerald Böse, Managing Director of Koelnmesse GmbH. "Close 
consultation with the industry during development yielded a concept 
that is 100 % suited to the branch requirements. This claim was firmly 
underlined by the success of the event. We can build on this positive 
resonance and strategically develop the trade fair further alongside our 
Brazilian partners."

Valerio Regente, Director of Hannover Fairs Sulamérica shares his partner's 
enthusiasm: "With its premiere event, International FoodTec Brasil 
impressively cemented its claim to being the leading business platform for the 
industry in Southern Brazil. Subjects such as automation, packaging, hygiene

and food safety show that technologists in Brazil are really committed to 
promoting safety, quality and sustainable production in the food industry." 
The trade fair covered the entire spectrum of food technology. Visitors were 
presented with innovative technologies and latest solutions for processing 
procedures at all stages in the production of meat and cheese goods. The 
suppliers on show included top companies such as Bettcher, Ishida, Linco Food, 
Marel, Middleby, Multivac, Ulma and Vemag.
A number of European companies also made the most of the opportunity to 
get a foothold in the promising food-technology market in Brazil by 
participating in the premiere of the International FoodTec Brasil event. 
Companies such as Cabinplant, CSB-System, Seydelmann, Unitherm and 
Verinox represent process technologies that are 'Made in EU'. The Danish 
pavilion also piqued the interest of the visitors. This is where firms such as 
Animalcare, Dybvad Stal Industri, DACS, Engsko, In-Mix Flow Technology, Hans 
Jensen Engineering and Vikan were showcasing their new solutions. Overall, 
the proportion of foreign suppliers was unusually high for a trade fair in Brazil, 
with more than 40 % coming from overseas. This provided buyers from across 
the whole region with an outstanding order platform.

Visitor services pay dividends
Both exhibitors and visitors at International FoodTec Brasil benefited from the 
Koelnmesse specialist competence as an international trade fair organiser. It 
was always certain that the calibre of visitors at the fair was going to be high 
following a visitor advertising concept that used business rounds to encourage 
on-going communication between exhibitors and visitors. The Internet-backed 
'match-making' service also made it possible for visitors to the fair to arrange 
their trade fair visit in advance and at the same time, formulate queries 
surrounding appointments and offers in a dialogue with the exhibitors. These 
services were very well received and led to exciting new business contacts 
being established. 

Specialist supporting programme
The demanding specialist seminar programme, organised in cooperation with 
the Instituto de Tecnologia de Alimentos (ITAL – Institute for Food 

Technology) and Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial (SENAI –
National Service for Industrial Training) rounded off the spectrum of 
International FoodTec Brasil and also provided both visitors and exhibitors with 
further relevant information and a number of synergies. There was a focus on 
subjects surrounding the influences and trends of the meat and packaging 
markets, with a look ahead to 2020.
Luis Madi, Director of ITAL, pointed out: "Brazil plays an important role as a 
producer and exporter of meat, poultry and dairy products and is on a level 
playing field with the very best on the international market. International 
FoodTec Brasil provides the market with the right platform for us to benefit 
from."

Impressions from the trade fair
The outstanding impression made by the organisers and the positive turnout 
reflect the excellent mood of the suppliers, who were more than happy with 
the way the trade fair played out. A large number of companies reported on
high-quality business contacts that they had established and direct conclusion 
of contracts by new costumers.

Ulma, a packaging machines manufacturer of loading and unloading robots, 
present in this first edition of the International FoodTec Brasil is very 
optimistic. "The level of visitation is similar to fairs already consolidated," said 
José Segovia, director of the multinational company Ulma based with its 
headquarter in Spain. He says that the market was in need of an event like this 
where customers could visit them with comfort. "During the show we 
established new partnerships and met customers in order to follow up on 
existing projects and verify new technologies. We support this event and its 
organizers in order to become the largest one in the industry, "he concludes.

At the booth of Bettcher do Brasil, CEO Edson Bittencourt celebrates the good 
results that the company had during the fair due to the quality of the 
attendees." Being it the first edition of International FoodTec Brasil, we didn’t 
expect that qualified visitors beforehand, but we were surprised," he says. 
According to him, since the first day, the Bettcher booth had very good visits 
both in quantity and quality. "I can say that this fair is already at the level of visitors similar to fairs already established in the market." He believes that the 

high potential of anchor companies that are exhibiting is one of the factors 
responsible for this high rate of visitors. "The result that we are having 
surpasses the expected. Our customers are happy to visit the event" he 
celebrates. Bittencourt also talked about market trends on his field. "I have 
noticed that in recent years companies have sought to perfect the deboning 
process and utilization of meat increasing productivity and generating 
products with added value," he says.

World leader in processing beef, mutton and poultry, and a strong competitor 
in the production of pork, JBS attended the business rounds at International 
FoodTec Brasil. "In the pre-scheduled meetings we’ve looked for partner 
companies that would like to grow with JBS, to offer advanced equipment and 
first-line products primarily related to industrial products," comments 
Alessandro José Baldissera, responsible for the Mercosur supplying area. "In the 
business rounds we have a chance to explore new opportunities, something 
that is not possible on a daily basis," he says. In Brazil, JBS has twelve 
distribution centers for the operation of beef. Besides the new structure in São 
Paulo, the company has distribution centers strategically located in Porto 
Alegre, Itajaí, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Recife, Fortaleza, Brasilia 
and two units in Curitiba.

Cristián Ciancio, Managing Partner of Baci, an Argentinian company 
representing brands like Tecmaes to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay: "I usually 
visit several trade shows and the choice of Curitiba for holding International 
FoodTec Brasil was the right one, because the region has an excellent location, 
infrastructure access and it is suitable for business development. The quality of 
the brands exhibiting here, even though the show is making its debut only, 
makes its potential already clear."

International FoodTec Brasil in figures:
81 companies from nine different countries participated in International 
FoodTec Brasil 2014, which took place on trade fair grounds that measured 
6,595 gross square metres. This included 44 exhibitors and 4 additionally 
represented companies from Brazil as well as 33 from abroad (including 23
suppliers from Europe). Estimations including the last day of the trade fair 

suggest that approximately 3.000 professional visitors took part in 
International FoodTec Brasil