With the May 7-13 Interpack trade fair in Düsseldorf postponed until early next year due to the threat of the deadly SARS-CoV-2 (the technical name for novel coronavirus) infection that has spread from China to Europe and most of the planet, food processing equipment and systems technology exhibitors are looking for other ways to showcase their new products and services. Among them is Uzwil, Switzerland-headquartered Bühler, which plans to present a virtual exhibition themed “Creating Food Sensations” from May 11-15.
“The Interpack 2020, like many trade shows around the world, has been cancelled to keep people safe and mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. This cautionary decision is a positive step for the health and safety of our customers and employees,” said Germar Wacker, chief executive officer of Bühler’s Consumer Foods business. “The current challenges require us to explore new ways of reaching out and preparing for the future – in this case by running events digitally and discovering the potential of virtual events.”
Asking customers and other interested parties to more or less keep the Interpack dates on their calendars, he added: “Within the next days, Bühler will invite everyone who had planned to travel to Düsseldorf to join the company’s virtual booth online, get inspired by new end-product compositions, meet our experts and sales people in chat rooms, or enter technical presentations online.”
Noting that there are so many challenges and opportunities in the consumer foods market today that require new solutions, the Bühler team is keen that customers will be able to explore issues, ask questions and get answers in a completely new, virtual format environment also allows for individual discussion.
Sustainable, Energy-efficient Solutions
At Interpack, the company planned to showcase its full range of processing solutions along the entire value chain. The aim was to inspire customers and prospective clients with innovative end products ranging from enrobed baked goods and chocolate products to wafers, biscuits and more. Sustainable innovations that help reduce waste, water and energy usage in the food processing industries would have been presented.
At the same time, Bühler wanted to spotlight new solutions for food safety, healthy ingredients and higher efficiency. Since the last Interpack three years ago, the company has concentrated efforts and investments on innovation to meet the growing requirements of the consumer market in general and its customers in particular. This has included significantly focusing on higher energy-efficient solutions and less waste.
Virtual Space Presentation
“Though news that Interpack 2020 has been cancelled means that we will not showcase our latest innovations to customers in person, we will take this occasion to focus on digital communication alternatives, virtual presentations, and online conversations to keep our customers fully up to date,” said Wacker. “In every challenge is an opportunity. In a world of change, perhaps we will discover that virtual trade shows offer efficient, impressive and modern platforms to communicate and exchange about the developments and the state-of-the art solutions for a prosperous future of the consumer food markets.”
About Bühler
Two billion people each day consume foods produced on Bühler equipment, while one billion people travel in vehicles manufactured using parts produced with the company’s machinery. Bühler contributes to safely feeding the world and is intent on reducing energy, waste and water in its customers’ value chains by 50% by 2025.
The Swiss family-owned business, which is celebrating its 160th anniversary this year, invests up to 5% of turnover into research and development. In 2019, some 12,800 employees generated turnover of CHF 3.3 billion. Active in 140 countries around the world, the company operates a global network of 32 manufacturing sites, 98 service stations and 25 application centers.
