Asia’s largest international food, drink and pharma processing and packaging technology event, ProPak Asia, returns this year from June 12 to 15 at Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC). ProPak Asia is a great platform to meet customers from Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia as they all converge in one spot.
ProPak Asia is a must attend event for all international machinery and equipment manufacturers and suppliers that seek to penetrate the Asian markets. It will provide large and small businesses, entrepreneurs and potential investors from diverse industries an unusual opportunity to experience the latest in processing, filling and packaging technology.
ProPak Asia 2013 will be the biggest-ever ProPak Asia since its launch in Thailand in 1989.It will be attracting over 1800 participants from 41 countries. It will occupy over 40,000 sqm, which is all six halls at BITEC and will be displaying over 3,500 machines.
There will be 12 national pavilions from China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom and the USA and over 3,500 technologies and machines from across the world. The show will feature five zones including DrinkTechAsia, Lab&TestAsia, PharmaTechAsia, PlasTechAsia and PrintTechAsia. This year will have specialise two sections as Warehousing & Logistics Solution and Packaging Material.
As an international food manufacturing trade event, ProPak Asia 2013, will see a large volume of trade buyers and industrialists from all over the world, especially from EU, exhibiting and visiting the show to network and explore business opportunities.
New for ProPak Asia 2013 is the launch of the Asia Drink Conference, which is a premium event for senior managers in the beverage manufacturing industry. Spain will be joining 11 other international pavilions including China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, UK and the US.
ProPak Asia 2013 includes five dedicated zones DrinkTechAsia, Lab&TestAsia, PharmaTechAsia, PlasTechAsia and PrintTechAsia, and new feature areas launched this year include Warehousing & Logistics and Packaging Materials.
“ProPak Asia supports Thailand’s food, drink and pharma industries by bringing the best and latest technology, services and trends to Thailand so that processors, manufacturers and packagers can grow and improve their products and production. As Thai Baht’s value increases, this presents good opportunity for companies to buy and upgrade their equipment and machines enabling them to further develop and expand their businesses. ProPak Asia is the region’s leading sourcing event for the processing and packaging industries.” said Justin Pau, General Manager, Bangkok Exhibition Services (BES) Ltd.
According to Supawan Teerarat, Exhibition Director of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), an official supporter of ProPak Asia 2013, “Through more than 20 years development, ProPak Asia has become one of the regional champion trade shows which is fall under the core industry of National Agenda and will in turn boost the country’s economy both directly and indirectly; it is recognized as an ideal platform for international manufacturers and suppliers of machinery, technology and materials for packaging, filling, processing, quality assurance, test and measurement and their related fields of automation, transportation, storage, refrigeration, ingredients, labelling and pollution control in Asia”.
“TCEB, as a government agency under the supervision of the Prime Minister’s Office to promote and develop Thailand’s MICE industry has rendered full support to ProPak Asia 2013 with the overseas marketing activities to promote and attract international visitors which will enhance the business matching opportunity during the event. TCEB has provided visitor promotion campaign to attract group visitor from association, federation chamber of commerce of ASEAN plus six countries as well as buyer appreciation program called “Be My Guest” to attract key buyers around the globe. ProPak Asia 2013 has also fallen under TCEB’s marketing campaign called The Next Best Show for three consecutive years. The Next Best Show is aim to help uplift and elevate trade show’s competitiveness at regional level”, he added.
ProPak Asia 2013 will feature new and leading industry conferences, seminars and workshops by relevant national agencies, industry organizations and exhibitors including; “Asia Drink Conference” organised by Eastern Trade Media (ETM) and Bangkok Exhibition Services (BES), “Thai Star and Asia Star Packaging Award and Press Conference” organised by The Department of Industrial Promotion (DIP), “Food Innovation Asia Conference” under the theme “Empowering SMEs Through Science and Technology” organised by Food Science and Technology Association of Thailand (FoSTAT), “TPC & TISTR Conference” organised by Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR) and Thai Packaging Certre, “The 6th Plastics in Packaging Conference” organised by Asian Plastics News (APN), “PharmaTech Seminar” organised by The Pharmaceutical Industry Association (Thailand), “Technology Promotion Association (Thailand-Japan) Seminar” organised by Technology Promotion Association (Thailand-Japan), “VDMA Conference” organized by Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau – German Engineering Federation, “Food Innovation Contest” organised by Food Science and Technology Association of Thailand (FoSTAT), “FoSTAT – Nestle Quiz Bowl” organised by Food Science and Technology Association of Thailand (FoSTAT).
Asia has been growing rapidly with strong domestic and export demand compared to many parts of the world, particularly the US and Europe. In Thailand, the food and drink industries represent 28 per cent of the country’s GDP making these an integral part of Thailand’s economy. Competition in the Asian region is driving strong growth and demand for modern machinery, processes and technologies as demonstrated at ProPak Asia 2012.
Regional demand will increase as ASEAN prepares for the launch of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2015 and the removal of trade tariffs and boundaries.
The contribution of ProPak Asia to the development and success of the region’s food, drink and pharmaceutical sectors cannot be overlooked as exhibitors continues to supply advanced technological solutions meeting the needs of the growing markets.
Thailand is the largest food exporter in South East Asia, leading in many areas especially frozen shrimps and canned pineapples, and the country is also noted for world-class quality and food safety. With AEC 2015 coming soon, it is in a strong position to benefit from closer ASEAN trading ties. Its economic growth and urbanization fuel domestic food and drink consumption as manufacturers are investing significantly in production capacity and store expansion. This bolsters demand for more and higher value processing and packaging for the food and drink industries.
With the economy growing 6.4 per cent in 2012 and relative political stability, a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union carries significant long-term weight in boosting the Thai economy. EU exports are dominated by high tech products including machinery and electrical appliances, pharmaceutical products, vehicles, precious metals and optical instruments.
Thailand's key export items include machinery and electrical appliances, foodstuffs, plastics/rubber, vehicles and precious metals/pearls. Thailand is the EU's third largest trading partner inside ASEAN and the EU is Thailand's third largest trading partner, trade between them in 2012 reaching nearly euro32 billion.
Growing over 26 per cent in size last year ProPak Asia is Asia’s complete Food, Drink & Pharmaceutical Processing & Packaging trade event with over 20 years of industry growth. This strong growth reaffirms ProPak Asia’s position as Asia’s numero uno processing & packaging event and mirrors Thailand and the region’s strong growth due to increasing domestic demand, rising exports, intra-Asian trade, the opening up of Myanmar and preparation for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2015. ASEAN expands Free-Trade Agreements (FTA) with important trading partners including China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, further contributing to Thailand’s significant positional and gateway trading advantages in Asia.
ProPak Asia 2012, a huge success
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, ProPak Asia 2012 showed just how far and quickly the food, drink and pharmaceutical processing and packaging industries have developed in Thailand and across Asia.
The 2012 edition saw a 26 per cent increase in size from the previous year. ProPak Asia 2012 occupied over 30,000 sqm, five halls of BITEC and brought together 1,525 participants from 40 different countries and 12 national pavilions from 10 country/regional groups from Belgium, China, France, Germany, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, UK and the US.
ProPak Asia 2012 showcased over 3,450 machines across five dedicated industry zones including DrinkTechAsia, Lab&TestAsia, PharmaTechAsia, PlasTechAsia and a new zone for 2012, PrintTechAsia.
The event served as an important platform where ideas could be exchanged and knowledge shared, ensuring that the industry was updated with the latest technology and news. The show attracted 35,696 trade visitors from 63 countries, with an increase of overseas attendees up 12 per cent from the previous year. The top 12 Asian attendees came from Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, China, India, Korea, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Myanmar and HK.
The show continues to play a key role in supporting the industry’s growth by bringing in the latest in technologies and solutions from EU pavilion such as France, Germany, Spain and UK. It is the perfect business opportunity for ASEAN businesses and manufacturers to explore and network with the world’s leading manufacturers.