The regular trade show Upakovka/UpakItalia 2014 has been opened in the expocentre in Krasnaya Presnya. Project Manager Svetlana Kleyman is giving an account of what visitors will see at the exhibition this year.

Upakovka/Upak Italia 2014 will be held for the twenty-second time. Over the time of the exhibition’s existence we have witnessed major changes in life and the industry. How are these changes reflected in the exhibits on display?

Throughout its existence the Upakovka/UpakItalia has also undergone substantial transformation. An interesting trend may be observed in 2014 – subsequent to setting up representative offices in the Russian Federation many overseas exhibitors have delegated decision making on participation in exhibitions and other organisational issues to their Russian rep offices.

Consequently in preparation for the 2014 exhibition our Moscow office we have been able to communicate with a larger number of foreign companies.

Thereby we have managed to understand their needs and improve some of the services that will be useful to the exhibition participants.

Unipack.Ru is offering readers an interview with Alexander Boyko, General Director of National Packaging Confederation re industry present state in Russia and tasks facing the association.

Interview by Mikhail Bredis

What is your estimation of Russia’s packaging market present state? What are the latest changes and development trends?

According to experts the Russian packaging market ranks among top 10 packaging markets and is one of the leaders in growth rates. Regrettably, the market recovery seen post-crisis and in early 2013 has changed in the latter half of the year for an apprehensive anticipation of most operating companies’ performance decline. Although it is too early to sum up the industry results for the year 2013, the expected gain in production is 2-2.5%.

The Upakovka/Upak Italia 2013 regular international trade fair has opened in Exporcentre Krasnaya Presnya. Project Manager Svetlana Kleyman will relate as to whether there is anything new that visitors may expect at the exhibition this year.

The Upakovka/Upak Italia 2013 fair will be held for the twenty-first time. This is impressive in our turbulent age. Please tell how it all started. How, in your opinion, the exhibition has been changing with time?

Indeed, the first year the exhibition was held was the far-off 1976. The matter in question was German and Italian national expositions showcasing European machine engineering achievements. At the time there was no packaging industry in Russia in the modern sense of the word, let alone exhibitions in this line of business. Ten years after, apart from German and Italian participants, the exhibition sees companies from other countries. Over time Russian producers also came to be able to manifest something worth seeing and competitive with foreign manufacturers of packing machinery. Today companies from over twenty countries of the world take part in the Upakovka/Upak Italia 2013 trade show.

The first packaging exhibitions of the beginning year, which are often referred to as specific trend setters for the 12 months to come, have just ended. Now it’s time for the exhibitors to sum up the first and still preliminary results of these events.

Deutschland ist das Land von Vereinigungen und Verbänden, die ganz normale Bürger sowie auch Unternehmen organisieren. Ein Beispiel ist der Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (VDMA). Dessen Fachverband Nahrungsmittelmaschinen und Verpackungsmaschinen gehört mit seinen 270 meist mittelständischen Mitgliedunternehmen zu den größten und vielfältigsten Fachverbänden innerhalb des VDMA. Mitarbeiter dieses Fachverbandes sind bei den wichtigsten Fachmessen auch in Russland immer präsent, wo sie unter anderem auch die Interessen der deutschen Unternehmen wahrnehmen. Um die Mitgliedsunternehmen vor Ort bei der Marktbearbeitung zu unterstützen, hat der VDMA in 2007 ein Verbindungsbüro in Moskau eröffnet. Vera Fritsche, im Fachverband Nahrungsmittelmaschinen und Verpackungsmaschinen zuständig für den Bereich Verpackungsmaschinen sowie Messen und Märkte, berichtet