VIV Europe 2010 pushed through amid turbulence
With the volcanic ashes from Iceland seriously disrupting air traffic over Europe recently, VIV Europe 2010 still pushed through as scheduled on April 20-22, with over 10,000 visitors from 96 countries attending the expo at the Jaarbeurs Utrecht, the Netherlands.
''This is a great example of the industry's solidarity,''organizer VNU Exhibitions Europe said.
VNU Exhibitions' Director International Exhibitions Gerard Leeuwenburgh explained that ''there is only one expression to describe the situation: force majeure. On Thursday (Apr 15) afternoon Schiphol Airport closed when all the show freight had arrived and the build - up of the exhibition was already in full swing. From that moment on we monitored the air traffic situation by the minute. Eighty-five percent of the exhibitors had already reached VIV Europe in the weekend. Based on the number of exhibitors arrived and the fact that re - opening the air seemed a matter of hours, we decided to go ahead with the show.''
Leeuwenburgh and his team constantly kept in close contact with as many exhibitors as possible, also the exhibitors who were not able to fly and be in time for the exhibition. From Saturday (Apr 17) onwards, the organisers decided to inform 'the world' that the trade show would take place as scheduled.
VNU Exhibitions also said it would put more effort to be in contact with visitors who missed VIV Europe 2010. ''We will develop a virtual VIV Europe 2010 and invest heavily in a Key Buyer Attraction Program for VIV Asia 2011,'' Leeuwenburgh explained.
During the three-day show, the exhibitors' attitude was optimistic and realistic. According to Leeuwenburgh, ''many exhibitors had innovations on display. They had planned customer events and meetings which had to be cancelled or rescheduled due to the smaller number of guests. In addition, corporate meetings withdistributors and agents could not take place. It is not easy to cope with these disappointments, but everyone made the best out of the difficult situation. I am impressed by the great spirit of many exhibitors and trade visitors in this industry. ''
Meyn Food Processing Technology had built a full factory situation as part of their presentation on the exhibition floor. Marketing Communications Manager Judith Marques dos Reis - Koops initially doubted if they would be able to meet up with their expectations. ''We welcomed less visitors than we invited, but the factory presentations were surely successful and for the larger part fully booked.''
Intracare's Marketing Manager Arjan Vandervoort explains his experiences. ''We were struck by the commitment of our customers who made it to the exhibition. Of course it was a lower quantity of people compared to our expectations, but they showed up, also to the ceremony for the official CTGB certificate - PT2, PT3 and PT4 - we have recently obtained for Intra Hydrocare.''
One of the regular highlights of VIV Europe was The VIV Europe 2010 Personality Awards which were presented to personalities who 'have given over and above the call of duty' to their industries.
The conferences also focused on key issues affecting the industry.
He notes that up to 2020, 70% of the growth of world meat demand will come from Asia. For inputs for feed Asia will have to rely more and more on the import of the Americas, while China will probably produce its feed and other products by themselves with those various crops from the Americas. Professor John Hodges' message stressed the fact that world agricultural and foodproduction should be produced in a sustainable manner.
The final speaker Gerda Verburg, the Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, also stressed the importance of sustainability. ''Sustainability is at the root of a better world. Sustainable forms of agriculture can prevent us from turning into the ultimate consumption society.'' Verburg listed a number of future focused developments already available in The Netherlands, such as improved housing for poultry and pigs, renewable energy and recovery of fertilizer from manure.
The show also saw a strong attendance for its Eggs! Conference,with its own pavilion. Chairman prof. dr. Simon Shane, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Poultry Science of North Carolina University presided over the conference of expert speakers, with subjects covering the full chain of the egg industry - varying from breeder management to egg processing.
The Meat Safety Conference was forced to cancel the session on Tuesday (Apr 20) due to the disturbed air traffic. Fortunately, the conference made a strong comeback on the Wednesday (Apr 21).
All in all, VIV Europe was able to push through a difficult situation and successfully gather industry representatives to another year of information sharing, re-establishing of business ties and discussing of issues in the feed-to-livestock sectors.
