The InterCool trade fair, scheduled to take place at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Center September 21-23 concurrently with the InterMopro and InterMeat fairs, has been cancelled along with its sister events. As not enough companies had confirmed participation by springtime, a decision was made by the organizer, Messe Düsseldorf, to call off the show.
“Cancellations, reductions in space and above all the reticence of major industry players are not currently promising an adequate number of final registrations. The exhibitors’ turnout would therefore not do justice to the quality standard of Messe Düsseldorf or the interests of visitors from the retail trade,” explained the organizer in a prepared statement.
The stimulus for the creation of three separate special trade fairs for frozen foods, dairy products, and cooked and uncooked meat products came from the German market in the 1990s. Since then InterCool, InterMopro and InterMeat have been held in Düsseldorf as a trio every other year. During its last running, in 2012, the show attracted 13,800 visitors from 22 countries and 440 exhibitors from 21 nations. Those numbers were down markedly from the 2010 edition, when 33,000 trade visitors checked out offerings from 760 exhibitors.
In the past few years the market has changed dramatically. A number of massive concentrations have occurred, both in supply and demand, resulting in companies becoming increasingly international, so that the original idea for the show had ceased to be relevant. Addressing this significant change, the trade fair format was revamped in 2012 – but apparently not enough.
“Working closely with the industry, Messe Düsseldorf has made substantial changes over the last few years, yet those changes were only partially accepted by the market. One element that made the situation especially critical was the proliferation of in-house exhibitions at German trading companies, where it is now indispensable for big manufacturers to be represented,” said Hans Werner Reinhard, deputy chief executive officer of Messe Düsseldorf.
“The decision to call off InterMopro, InterCool and InterMeat 2014 was by no means easy for us. However, in view of the current number of registrations and the lack of any prospects for a radical turnaround in bookings, we had to put on the brakes,” he continued. “Messe Düsseldorf has been and always will be a reliable and responsible partner of trade and industry. With this in mind, it was also important to provide some planning security for any exhibitors who had already registered, and not to confront companies with short-term decisions.”
Mediterranean Food, which was to have taken place as a première alongside the 2014 food trio, has also been cancelled.
