An event entirely dedicated to the process industries would be rare to find. And that's where ACHEMA assumes importance. Held in every three years in Germany, ACHEMA covers the whole range of products and services that are required by the process industries, including branches as wide-spread as the chemical industry, biotechnology, pharmaceutical industry and food processing. At a time ACHEMA is all set to rock Germany once again, in an e-mail interview to Anil Mathew, Dr Gerhard Kreysa, chief executive of DECHEMA e.V. cut a clear picture of the German chemical and biotech industries and the business opportunities ACHEMA offers to the participants. Excerpts:
When most of the events are focusing on pharma and bio industries, what makes ACHEMA to focus on chemical engineering, environmental protection and biotechnology?
ACHEMA has a long-standing tradition of reaching further back than that of any other event in the sector. It started almost 90 years ago as an exhibition cum congress event for chemical apparatus. Since then, it has grown and evolved along with the industry. Today, chemical equipment is still at the core of the event, but many other industries are also addressed because their processes and needs are similar - and this is certainly true for pharma and biotech that are an important part of the event. ACHEMA covers the whole range of products and services that are required by the process industries, including branches as wide-spread as the chemical industry, biotechnology, pharmaceutical industry and food processing.
What went behind the launch of ACHEMA? How far has it evolved as a not-to miss event for the industries it addresses?
The first ACHEMA was held in Hannover in 1920. The basic idea was to strengthen the cooperation between chemists, who develop reactions in the laboratory, and engineers, who provide the apparatus to turn them into large-scale operations. From the first event with 75 exhibitors and 560 m² of exhibition grounds, ACHEMA grew continuously and has nowadays almost 4,000 exhibitors on 134,000 m². The congress programme comprises more than 900 lectures. Nowhere else you can get a comparable overview of all the trends in the market and in research and development (R&D) in one place, so ACHEMA certainly is a not-to miss event.
Since the launch of the event, Germany has been the hosting country. Why it is so?
Chemical engineering has always been very strong in Germany, and its chemical industry and the manufacturers of machinery and apparatus are global leaders. It makes sense to stay close to a strong local base of suppliers and users with a global event like ACHEMA. However, we have reacted early on to the global economic development: The ninth ACHEMAsia will take place in Beijing / VR China next year.
Why is that ACHEMA regarded as the innovations' platform and technology summit with worldwide impact?
It is because, in every three years, virtually every new trend, technology or product in the processing industries are shown and discussed at ACHEMA. More than 180,000 visitors, among them 30,000 decision makers, from more than 100 countries meet for five days. Where else can you find so much expertise and spirit of research in one place? The synergies created by such a concentration of knowledge and innovative thinking are tremendous and participants take the impulses home to their countries in order to strive onwards from there.
Do you mind to throw light on chemical and biotech industries in Germany?
The chemical industry is one of the largest industries in Germany. It manufactures a wide range of products for almost all fields of life. Some 2,000 companies in Germany produce chemical products. Over 90 per cent of them are small and mid-sized enterprises with less than 500 staff. R&D spending has been rising for many years, and the German chemical companies are very active players in the global markets with subsidiaries and cooperations worldwide. There are also more than 500 biotechnology companies in Germany, many of them very innovative start-ups who are constantly looking for opportunities for international cooperation. The Industrial Biotechnology Partnering Conference at ACHEMA 2009 is a great opportunity to initiate new contacts.
How far attending ACHEMA would help the participants explore chemical and bio business opportunities in Germany?
ACHEMA is the perfect place to explore new business opportunities. There is ample opportunity for networking and discussions both at the exhibition and the congress. Besides, there are also a number of events dedicated exclusively to finding cooperation partners. A cooperation platform "Renewable Resources and Energy" is also scheduled at ACHEMA 2009. Above all, this year's worldwide business forum focuses on France and China. Also, the event would feature traditional India. So there is plenty of opportunity to make international contacts.
What's new at ACHEMA 2009? What went behind introducing them?
As organisers of ACHEMA, we want to maintain a certain level of continuity. Our exhibitors and visitors, many of whom come to ACHEMA regularly, appreciate it if they can find their way around easily and there is not too much shifting of exhibition groups or locations. But the content is, of course, all new and state-of-the-art. This year's special show is dedicated to "Chemistry and Biotechnology for Renewable Resources and Energy". Biotechnology in general plays a large part in this year's ACHEMA, both in the exhibition and in the congress.
What would be the main focus of congress at ACHEMA 2009? How would it help the participants?
The congress sessions focus on the newest trends and developments in engineering, biotechnology, process intensification etc. The nanotechnology section of the congress is one of the largest nanotechnology events in Europe this year. The congress and the exhibition complement each other - this year's congress topics will be in the exhibition at the next ACHEMA. The congress also picks up issues that arise in day-to-day operations. Thus, process intensification and energy efficiency are major topics this year. Taking part both in the congress and the exhibition means that you get a complete view of what is available in the market right now and what can be expected for the next few years.
How do you see the foreign players' response to ACHEMA? Do you have any plans to launch it in any other countries?
We see an ever increasing level of international participation reaching 46 per cent of exhibitors this year. As mentioned before, we have a second event, the ACHEMAsia that takes place in Beijing every three years. ACHEMAsia has so far been very
successful.