The seventh edition of Propak, the printing and food-processing exhibition and conference concluded on a high note. The three-day show from 17-19 September hosted at Landmark Centre in Lagos, Nigeria saw participation of 5,019 industry professionals from all over the world covering 32 different countries, including Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria itself. That was a staggering 45% increase over the two editions since 2017.
Arjan Mirchandani, the chairman of Sona Group, Emeka Offor, the director of product development for the Nigerian Import Promotion Council (NIPC) and 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.
Among the brands exhibiting this year were Atlas Copco Nigeria, BOBST, Beaumont Aromatic Nigeria,CIS Buro, DIPO Plastics, Engel, Exact Solutions, Heidelberg, Inautom, Ishida, KHS, Neofyton, PanAsia Tech, Sasol, SkySat, W&H, and Zenith Precision, among others.
Zoran Tadic, general manager of Neofyton, said, “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 Ajai Musaddi, group managing director at Sona Group as well as a session from 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.
George Pearson, regional director for Afrocet Montgomery, the organisation behind Propak West Africa, said, “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 addressing 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. It’s a very exciting time in the West African packaging and print markets.” Montgomery however, did not reveal any plans of the 2020 show.