drinktec expands to South Africa

food & drink technology Africa is the title of a new event that premieres on 18-19 March 2014 in Johannesburg. This marks a further phase in the internationalization of drinktec, a  trade fair for the beverage and liquid food industry. The venue for this first food & drink technology Africa (fdt Africa) is the Gallagher Convention Center. The organizers are Messe München International (MMI) and its subsidiary MMI Africa, which is based in Johannesburg. The conceptual sponsor is the Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association of the VDMA (German Engineering Federation). A two-year cycle is scheduled for this, which will initially take the form of a congress with accompanying exhibition.

It will be targeted specifically to the needs of the regional market. The focus will be on technologies for safe, hygienic and resource-efficient production and packaging of foodstuffs, liquid food and beverages, as well as current developments and trends along the chain: from raw materials handling, processing, filling and packaging through to logistics. The conference program will be supplemented by a series of workshops. food & drink technology Africa (fdt Africa) is the third international offshoot of the leading world trade fair drinktec in Munich, following on from drink technology India (dti) in Mumbai and China Brew & China Beverage (CBB) in Beijing, both of which are also co-organized by Messe München.

This journey to Africa is strongly supported by the industry, according to the organisers. Many of the exhibitors at drinktec in Munich will also be putting on a presentation in South Africa in spring 2014. Volker Kronseder, chairman of the board of Krones AG and president of the drinktec advisory board, points to the high and increasing level of demand for food and beverages in Africa: “Africa is undergoing a surge in development. Already more than one billion people live on the continent of Africa and by the end of the century that figure is set to rise to 3.6 billion. In other words the population will more than triple. Beverages and foodstuffs will be produced and consumed in Africa and that requires technically solid, efficient and reliable machinery and plant. We can provide this. That is why it is important to present our technology to the market there at food and drink technology Africa 2014.” Around 130 million people live in the countries of southern Africa, and their average age ranges from 17 in Zambia to 25 in South Africa.