Propak West Africa’s seventh edition welcomes the largest crowd of visitors in its history and records its highest ever re-book rate.
With sponsorship from Sasol, SkySat and PwC, the seventh edition of West Africa’s leading packaging, plastics, printing and food-processing exhibition and conference took place last month from 17 – 19 of September 2019 at the Landmark Centre in Lagos, Nigeria.
Mr. Arjan Mirchandani, the Chairman of Sona Group, Mr. Emeka Offor, the Director of Product Development for the Nigerian Import Promotion Council (NIPC) and Mr. William Ezeagu, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Environment, Rivers State were among the distinguished guests who opened the exhibition this year. In their opening addresses, each spoke about the great promise Nigeria’s packaging industry has and the quality of opportunities that can be found at exhibitions like Propak West Africa.
Over three days, 5,019 industry professionals attended Propak West Africa 2019, a staggering 45% increase in the two editions since 2017. Visitors came from all over the world covering a total of 32 different countries, including Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria itself.
Among the brands exhibiting this year were Atlas Copco Nigeria, , BOBST, Beaumont Aromatic Nigeria,CIS Buro, DIPO Plastics, Engel, Exact Solutions Ltd, Heidelberg, Inautom, Ishida, KHS, Neofyton, PanAsia Tech, Sasol, SkySat, Windmoeller & Hoelscher, Zenith Precision Ltd and many more.
Mr. Zoran Tadic, the General Manager of Neofyton had this to say about their experience at the exhibition this year, “The future of the market in Nigeria is very bright and I see a lot of opportunity here. Trade fairs like these are good because people like personal contact and to interact and exchange ideas and experiences. This fair is a good one for West Africa, as it’s in Lagos, the exhibition centre is nice but importantly, this exhibition profile is key for us in the packaging industry.”
Each year, the show runs a dedicated Conference alongside the exhibition itself, providing both exhibitors and visitors alike the opportunity to learn and enhance their understanding of the local market potential and opportunities. This year was no different, welcoming a total of 905 delegates over the three days.
Keynote sessions this year included an in-depth look at ‘Sustainable Packaging’ and whether it poses a threat or opportunity by Mr. Ajai Musaddi, Group Managing Director at Sona Group of Industries as well as a session from Mr. Oshiokamele Aruna, Managing Director for Tetra Pak who spoke about ‘Aseptic Technology and its role in Food Safety and Creating a Sustainable Environment’.
Further to the informative keynote speeches, the Conference hosted a number of interactive panel discussions with senior industry experts giving their take on pertinent topics affecting the sector. One of the most well-attended sessions included ‘An Overview of Current National Standards and Policies as it affects the Manufacturing, Processing and Packaging Industries’ which saw top-tier members from FADE Africa, the National Agency for Food And Drug Administration And Control (NAFDAC), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and the African Packaging Organization (APO) share their insights and opinions.
Mr George Pearson, the Regional Director for Afrocet Montgomery, the organisation behind Propak West Africa, spoke about the success from this year’s event; “We were absolutely thrilled with the results from this year’s show, it’s such a testament to the market interest at the moment in the region. With sustainability being at the forefront of people’s minds, we placed a special focus in our Conference programme to address key opportunities for businesses both small and large, and that was received extremely well with our visitors and exhibitors. We also had our largest ever
number of working machines on display this year, the vast majority of which sold over the three days, which has been fantastic for our exhibitors and likely one of the reasons we had a record-breaking re-book rate of 82% for Propak West Africa 2020. This exhibition consistently grows every year, with more visitors, more exhibitors and now with more live equipment demonstrations, it’s a very exciting time in the West African packaging and print markets!”.
With 2019’s edition now complete, organisers are now looking ahead to 2020 with some exciting plans yet to be revealed. For those looking to participate next year, you can fill out the stand enquiry form here, or contact the Sales Manager, Ben Dale at [email protected] or via telephone on +44 (0)20 7886 3048. But don’t wait too long as floor space is booking up fast!
Alternatively, to stay up to date with show communications for visitors, make sure you’ve registered your interest here. For all other information including a look at the full exhibitor list and conference schedule from 2019, visit the website at www.propakwestafrica.com.
