The world in Nuremberg
POWTECH/TechnoPharm 2010 and WCPT6, Nuremberg/Germany (26./27.–29.04.2010)
This year’s organization of the three highly international events – POWTECH, TechnoPharm and the World Congress on Particle Technology (WCPT6) – in parallel made the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg Europe’s top meeting-place for process technicians, process engineers, production managers and scientists for four days (Fig. 1). The almost 1000 exhibitors presented their products and innovations to the over 16 490 visitors (2008: 15 117) from key industries like chemicals, pharmaceuticals and food. At WCPT6, some 800 participants from more than 30 countries discussed the latest findings from all areas of particle technology daily during the exhibition.
680 exhibitors from 27 countries at the POWTECH and 276 exhibitors from 13 countries at the TechnoPharm once again made the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg the meeting-place for manufacturers of process technologies, plant and apparatus at the end of April 2010. The number of exhibitors was therefore slightly less than at the previous event eighteen months ago (POWTECH/TechnoPharm 2008: 1009). “But especially at times like the present, which are very hard for the machinery and plant engineering sector, we are proud that the exhibitors are defying the crisis and almost as many as usual have come to Nuremberg,” says Claudia Hauser-Vollrath, Exhibition Manager of the POWTECH/TechnoPharm at the NürnbergMesse. The leading exhibiting nations after Germany were Switzerland, Italy and Great Britain at the POWTECH, and Switzerland, Italy and Austria at theTechnoPharm.
The mood in the halls at the POWTECH and TechnoPharm 2010 was exceptionally good. The exhibitors at the exhibition duo also emphasized the visitors’ increasing willingness to invest. “The feedback from the exhibitors reflects the growing optimism that the time of budget freezes and restraint is past,” sums up Claus Rättich, Member of the Management Board of the NürnbergMesse. “We are therefore very pleased that the course of the exhibitions underlines the present good development of the industry. After all, some 9 % more visitors than in 2008 came to source information, for example, about the latest innovations from the machinery and plant manufacturers. So Nuremberg also sends a distinctly positive signal for the relevant industries.” The results of a survey by an independent market research institute also indicate this trend: When asked about the present economic situation, 72 % of the POWTECH exhibitors and 61 % of the TechnoPharm exhibitors assume a slight to strong rising trend. The exhibitors’ estimates of follow-up business after the exhibitions are also in the high two-figure ranges: 84 % of the TechnoPharm exhibitors and 93 % of the POWTECH exhibitors expect noticeable follow-up business from the contacts and inquiries made during the events.
The two exhibitions in 2010 were also geared to innovative processes for process optimization and continuous improvement of safety standards in areas such as explosion protection. Protection against dust explosions and the presentation of new technologies for detecting and avoiding these risks have already been an integral part of the high-tech exhibitions for many years, but a lot of exhibitors attached particularly high priority to explosion protection this year. For example, they showed new ways of detecting and preventing the risk of spontaneous combustion of dusts in good time or minimizing the risk of electrostatic charging during the transportation of powders. In line with the vital importance of this issue, the programme offered at the POWTECH and TechnoPharm 2010 included special seminars, congresses, guided tours (Fig. 2), live explosions and panel discussions.
The latest findings from all fields of particle technology were combined and discussed at the 4-day world congress WCPT6. Some 800 scientists from more than 30 countries came to Nuremberg for the WCPT6 to source information and exchange views on 13 subjects ranging from “Particle Characterization” to “Food/Pharma/Life Science Applications”. Production, properties and health aspects were dealt with in detail, also the use of the technologies in the development of new and optimized products. This combination of exhibition and congress will probably be found again in future events, so naturally at the PARTEC Congress 2013 as well.”
