Press releases

October 2008

For four days, the Tecno Fidta powered by IFFA (Costa Salguero Trade Center) was the meeting point for business people, professionals and technicians associated to food processing, machinery and services.

The remarkable visitor’s number of 15,853, mostly decision-makers, and the 285 local and international exhibitors spread over an area of 19,000 sq mt, have raised the fair, organised by Indexport Messe Frankfurt, to its position of excellence, the place to contact supply in this industry, promote business relations, get leads and training.

The Minister of Agricultural Affairs and Production of the Province of Buenos Aires, Débora Giorgi, saw the exhibition and at the end of her visit stated: "As a member of Government, I am amazed and happy to see that this industry is so strong. The number of companies that came is remarkable. This shows that the activity is growing and that production is in constant growth. The Government of the Province of Buenos Aires supports anything associated to technology".

At the Opening Ceremony, the President of Indexport Messe Frankfurt, Fernando Gorbarán, said: "This time there are some 285 exhibitors from more than 10 countries. This makes us proud and shows that Tecno Fidta is truly an international event, not only for the number of exhibitors but also for the number of visitors from all over the world (…) Tecno Fidta 2008 undoubtedly reflects the efforts of Argentinean business people this year, which has been really hard on this industry. None of us expected a conflict that would last 103 days. That is why I wish to thank exhibitors for their continued trust and for keeping on working with us in a world-class exhibition".

On the other hand, the President of Asociación de Proveedores de la Industria de la Alimentación (ADEPIA, the Association of Food Industry Suppliers), Luis Adur, held: "I am representing the private part of this production chain where we are all small links that together build this industry. There is the service suppliers’ link and the importers’ link. Thanks to them we get technology from abroad, which has raised our own technological bar. The government agency link is also present. Day after day they help us and work with us. There is also the link of intermediate range organizations, such as ADEPIA and so many others. We work every day to take opportunities to businesspeople. This fair gives us the opportunity to show all the links in a single chain, which has the responsibility of a major area, food production. And that is not only for Argentina but also for the world (…) This fair is the venue to show what we can produce and supply."

The President of Asociación Argentina de Tecnólogos Alimentarios – (AATA, Argentinean Association of Food Technologists), Carlos Almada, spoke as follows: "Tecno Fidta once more gives us the possibility of meeting at a venue that prompts integration. I believe that this is precisely what we need to aim at: integration. There are different intents and approaches in the range of players, which need to get together, such as the creativity of our professionals, the drive of our businesspeople and the will we have inherited from the pioneers that built this nation, to recover the place we should have never left and which we need to take back. No one ignores that Argentina is one of the main food producers in the world. We now need to add technology and quality to meet different market and policy requirements and retain the markets we already have."

Finally, The Executive Director of Fundación Export.Ar, Dr. Marcelo Elizondo, pointed out: "We are extremely pleased in starting today what we expect to be a series of contributions, from our place, to this exhibition. (…) The industries of food technology and capital goods have a huge international potential, due to the fact that Argentina is a country with a great positioning in this area. Argentina is the main per-capita food producer worldwide; it is a leader among producers and exporters of vegetable oil, fruit, and the fifth producer of wine worldwide. Just to quote a few examples of a production endeavor which is also commercial, which takes food to the world and commits to the production process, which in turn builds a larger scenario to bring this industry to the international arena more and more. That is why our contribution is reflected on this business round (…)".

State-of-the-art technology, academic activities and business rounds were the main attractions for visitors to Tecno Fidta 2008.

In parallel, Fundación Export.Ar, together with the organizers of the fair, held the "First International Business Round of Buyers of Food Technology, Additives and Ingredients". The meeting convened more than 30 Argentinean companies and importers and / or distributors from Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala and Panama. The outcome was outstanding. Foreign companies highlighted competitive prices in this industry, innovative products and processes, high quality and after-sales service, which has a major impact on the purchasing decision.

Training was another hot spot in the fair. Seminars, lectures and technical conferences were organized by exhibitors. The highlights were AATA’s Technical Days; the Third International Seminar on Integration of the Beef Value Chain, organized by the Course on Specialization in Beef Value Chain Management, a joint effort by the Universities of Buenos Aires and Lomas de Zamora, FAUBA/FCA-UNLZ, the Seminar on Differentiated and Non-Traditional Meat by Fundación Empresaria de la Patagonia (FEPA, Patagonia’s Business Foundation) and the INTI day, which focused on SME Industrial Efficiency Improvement.

For the first time at this fair, visitors were able to get an insight on the advantages of having traceability systems in four agricultural food chains: poultry, beef, powder milk and cheese. The venue was called "Traceability in Action" and was hosted by six companies from this industry, which held demonstrations about the application of technology in each of the above chains.

Despite the hardship the country went through in the first few months of the year, this industry managed to continue its operations and still draft projects for the future. Tecno Fidta 2008 reflected this. Exhibitors were very happy with the outcome. Some feedback follows:

APPEYRON
Director General, Xavier Batlle
"The company is focused on traceability and control for plant processes: from raw material collection to shipping. (...) It is the first time that we attend and we believe that visitors had quite a high level. The number of companies was very appealing and we will surely come back in the next edition.(...)"

BENEDETTO PELOSI
President, Benedetto Pelosi
"We manufacture staplers, staples and clips. We had a great success and received a large number of visitors, both from the inland and from abroad (Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela). Our expectations were met. We are quite happy with the fair."

CODYMARC
President, Hugo Cappetto
"Our company is focused on product encoding. We manufacture contact equipment and supplies. Tecno Fidta was an outstanding showcase for our products because most of them are aimed at the food industry. Within the context of the exhibition I had the chance to personally thank the Minister of Agricultural Affairs and Production of the Province of Buenos Aires, Débora Giorgi, for the support given to our company with loans from the provincial government. Thanks to that we managed to launch a new product, which is being introduced here, at the fair. That is why we thought that we should thank her personally and show her the outcome of that support, which has allowed us to grow and get new business."

CHEMICAL CENTER
Cuyo Sales Head, Juan P. Pérsico
"Our main line of business is the supply of all the range of lab items. We received visitors from this industry, decision-makers, quite interested in our products. The organization of the fair was excellent. There were a large number of visitors looking for information and products. It is our third time around and we can see that Tecno Fidta has been growing year after year. This attracts more and more people, drives new leads and helps get to know more companies. As there are people from all over the country, we got prospects from Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Mendoza."

FRIO-RAF
Sales Department, Juan José Galliano
"We are quite happy with the exhibition and have achieved the objectives set. The number and quality of the people attending were outstanding. That is why we are so happy and expect to come the next time around."

ITECO SUDAMERICANA
President, Bruno Canale
"Our core business is site material logistics. We sell forklifts, stackers and carts. (...) We got a very good impression from the exhibition; there were a lot of people. It was big; with good representation ... all the specialists were here."

MIT MAQ
Marketing Manager, Carlos Montaño
"We are very happy with the outcome of Tecno Fidta 2008, not only for the level of the prospects but also because people came to see us with the intent to close deals. We have actually got some new deals. Perspectives for the future are really good. Unlike what you could think looking at the situation of the country, producers keep on betting on improving technology. And that is what we are here for, to supply services, and work with people who dare look into the future. We will come back because there are always new people. (...) We can expand our market and this is a privileged opportunity for that. We do appreciate this."

MOLYKOTE
Sales Manager, Alfredo Eilenberger
"We are coming to Tecno Fidta with our line of special lube oils, Gama H1 and H2, applicable to all the food industry segments. We are quite happy with our participation and the degree of specialization of the public at the fair, because we are getting visitors from the food industry all the time. We are also happy at the way the fair was organized and expect to come back next time around."

SARTORIUS STEDIM BIOTECH
Product Manager Lab Technologies, María Eugenia Carini
"We are quite happy because we have met colleagues from this industry and also customers. We expect that all the questions we have got become actual sales. This was a good opportunity to introduce new applications and developments we have to offer."

SIMES
Marketing Department, Adrián Gandino
"We manufacture equipment for the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and chemical industries. For a number of years now we have come to Tecno Fidta and consider it is a very interesting fair where you can show all your production and equipment technology, within reach of the industry. We are going to be present again and again because it is a showcase for new products joining the line, and the right place to meet your customers."

SPIRAX – SARCO
Marketing Manager, Martín Fernando Lamaison
"We come to Tecno Fidta with branding purposes in the food industry, based on an international strategy. I believe that the fair was successful. We have got new leads from the different food industry plants from all over the country. For the company, using a new path to get in touch with the market is a challenge. We expect to come to the next fair."

TOTAL
Director, Gabriel López
"Our company is a gas and lube oil distributor. We are extremely impressed at the level of the exhibitors, the quality of the booths and the products and services on display. Sharing our products with all exhibitors was quite important for us, as well as showing our quality. We are very happy to be here."

We are already looking at the next Tecno Fidta powered by IFFA, to be held on September 21 – 24, 2010 at the Costa Salguero Trade Center. IFFA, is the leading international fair for the meat industry.