drinktec 2009 – Strong drinktec boosts confidence and investment
drinktec confirmed its reputation as the world “summit” for the beverage and liquid food industry – in this exhibitors and visitors alike were agreed. Volker Kronseder, Chairman of Krones AG and President of the Advisory Board of drinktec 2009, described how he saw the mood in the halls: “People are no longer paralysed with shock, life is coming back into the sector.”
"Quality not quantity"
Wherever you looked in the twelve exhibition halls at the fair, the general picture was one of interested professionals from all parts of the globe, seeking out innovations, finding out about machinery and plant, and conducting intensive business talks and negotiations in the exhibitors´ offices and in the VIP lounges. A glance at the visitor numbers confirms the picture seen in the halls. In terms of international representation, drinktec was able to expand still further, from an already high level. 33,000 trade visitors journeyed to Munich from abroad; they came from a total of 170 countries. This again significantly raised the proportion of international visitors to 55 percent. There were particularly strong rises in visitor numbers from China, India, the US, South Africa, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates, and from South America and Africa. In terms of visitors from Germany, however, the figures reflected the expected fall. Around 27,000 visitors in total came from Germany. Overall, over the six days of the fair, the trade fair attracted around 60,000 visitors.
Top marks from the visitors
In terms of visitor satisfaction, too, drinktec was able to make further gains from an already high level. The representative survey of visitors, conducted by TNS Infratest, turned in top results across the board. Almost all the visitors (96 percent) to drinktec 2009 described the event as “excellent to good”. 95 percent of the visitors gave this same top ranking to the breadth and depth of the range of exhibits. And 91 percent of the exhibitors regard drinktec as the leading trade fair for the sector.
High expectations of future economic development
The successful course of drinktec 2009 has awakened high expectations on the part of exhibitors and visitors as regards future economic development. Their optimistic statements are reflected in the results of the survey. Accordingly, 64 percent of the exhibitors and 56 percent of the visitors expect the economic situation to improve. This is considerably more positive than expectations after drinktec 2005.
