In this exclusive interview about this year’s most important food equipment and machinery trade show, Anuga FoodTec, the Chief Operational Officer of the organizers, Katharina C. Hamma, shares her thoughts on what is considered the most successful edition yet.
By Dan Orehov
How would you characterize this edition of AFT, both in terms of exhibitors present and with regards to the overall feedback from visitors?
We can look back on a first-class Anuga FoodTec 2018 and have generated growth in all areas of the key data. With just under 1,700 exhibitors (+13 percent) from 50 countries, the leading international supplier fair for the food and beverage industry convinced both in terms of diversity as well as regarding its level of internationality. Our visitors experienced the entire production cycle live including both individual solutions as well as holistic, cross-process concepts across all production stages and food industries. The companies presented once again a cross-industry and cross-production range of exhibition offers. The response from the visitors was correspondingly positive. Anuga FoodTec 2018 closed with a record result of over 50,000 visitors (+11 percent) from 152 countries. Alongside the quantity, the quality and professionalism of the visitors was excellent. The conclusion of the trade fair visitors was very positive. The visitor survey revealed that 70 percent of visitors said they were very satisfied or satisfied in terms of having met their trade fair objectives. As such, the recommendation rate was correspondingly high: Over 90 percent would definitely or probably recommend a good business acquaintance to visit the next Anuga FoodTec.
What sets the trade show apart from other events that have a similar target?
The concept of Anuga FoodTec can be described as follows: ‘One for all – all in one’. The depiction of the entire production chain across all F&B industries is one of the essential USPs of Anuga FoodTec here, because most of the rival events concentrate on one process or one industry segment, for instance focusing on packing or beverage section. Furthermore, the type of presentations is also what distinguishes Anuga FoodTec: The visitors can follow the production live on-site. The big and spectacular exhibitor presentations show applications in action live. Whole production lines are set up and run throughout the duration of the trade fair. The outstanding results of Anuga FoodTec 2018 show us that the alignment and concept of Anuga FoodTec do justice to the demands of the trade fair participants.
What were some of the innovative equipment which stood out for your, both with regards to the processing of frozen food and of potato products?
In the processing section in general, but also with a view to potato products, the presentation of the production lines with modular parts for individual products was definitely one of the innovations at Anuga FoodTec 2018. Furthermore, the theme resource efficiency was omnipresent: Numerous suppliers presented solutions that focused on saving raw materials, for example such as water or energy in the production process. Energy played a central role in the refrigeration technology that is directly linked to the theme frozen food: A 10 percent saving on energy costs without a reduction in performance, brings big advantages with it both in economic terms and regarding the conscious handling of resources.
How do you evaluate the current climate of equipment and technologies for food processing and how do you see it evolving by the next AFT edition?
Further developments and innovations in the food technology are especially against the background that over two billion people are overweight and over 800 million people suffer hunger on a daily basis, of great significance to the industry. Let’s take the theme food waste as an example: Large amounts of food are still wasted – either along the supply chain through to the consumer or at home by the consumers themselves. In addition to the personal, social and political framework conditions, this theme namely also has an economic aspect. At Anuga FoodTec numerous solutions were presented showing how food loss within production can be reduced, e.g. as a dairy producer, how can I ensure that a ten ton shipment of raw milk ideally ends up in ten tons of finished product. In addition, packaging solutions were shown that extend the shelf life of food, whether through protective gases, better sealing technologies or HPP technologies. The highest level of processing technology was also presented this year. And since the food technology is a very innovative industry and continually occupies itself with optimizing processing, we can also certainly expect even better solutions and further developed technologies at the next edition of Anuga FoodTec (23 to 26 March 2021).
What are some of the main trends you can speak about, regarding food processing technologies?
The top trends are resource efficiency, Industry 4.0, i.e. the safeguarding of the networking between the diverse system components. The control technology of the machines becomes increasingly more significant hereby. New, adapted and additional software solutions are required to satisfy the demands of the customers. A further trend that goes hand in hand with the increased demands of the consumers is also ‘safe food’. Here the right packing and process technology take on a key role. Since the food manufacturers can only guarantee for instance that no foreign bodies are contained within the products or that the sell-by-dates of the products can be extended thanks to the latest packing techniques without changing the foodstuffs in themselves if the latter can also be processed using the latest technology.
Lastly, please share your thoughts on resource efficiency and the need for environmentally conscious technologies and equipment.
Anuga FoodTec is the leading international supplier fair for the food and beverage industry. Its “mission” therefore is to be a valuable international business and communication platform. It more than fulfilled this task in 2018. The topic resource efficiency was a theme at virtually all of the exhibitor’s stands and was made experienceable thanks to the highly-professional companies and their presentations. The range of exhibition offers was perfectly enhanced by the specialized program that was once again organized by the DLG (German Agricultural Society) in 2018. In the scope of the opening conference that focused on the leading theme “resource efficiency”, industry experts presented and discussed the opportunities and risks for the food and beverage industry. Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart presented his “Cradle to Cradle” design concept. Prof. Alexander Sauer outlined the latest research results on resource efficiency and digitalization. The President of the World Packaging Organization, Prof. Pierre Pienaar, addressed the theme “Smart Packaging – an economic perspective” in his lecture. Prof. Ruud Huirne additionally provided an exciting insight into the food supply of the future. Around 100 international guests took part in the opening ceremony.
