IFFA will open its doors again in Frankfurt, Germany from May 7-12, 2016. The sector is committed to its leading trade show; all market and technology leaders have signed up and over 90 percent of the exhibition space has already been booked. Messe Frankfurt anticipates a final total of around 960 exhibitors from 47 countries. On 110,000 square meters of exhibition space, the companies will present innovative technologies, trends and future-oriented solutions for all stages of the meat-processing chain: from slaughtering and dismembering, via processing, to packaging and sales. Around 60,000 trade visitors from 140 countries are expected.

Ruth Lorenz, Vice President Technology & Production of Messe Frankfurt Exhibition, says, “2016 is IFFA year and the sector is looking forward to its leading trade show with great expectations. IFFA is and remains the most important innovation platform for the sector and the only international trade show to focus on the subject of meat. Manufacturers from Germany and abroad develop their innovations with IFFA in mind and launch them there to an international audience of trade visitors. IFFA is a must for the meat-processing industry, the trade and butchers.”

Richard Clemens, Managing Director of the VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association (VDMA Fachverband Nahrungs- mittelmaschinen und Verpackungsmaschinen), conceptual partner of IFFA, says, “For manufacturers of machines for the meat industry, IFFA is the most important event bar none. It is a treasure trove of innovations and a great source of impulses. With its clear focus, it is an unrivalled platform for experts from all over the world. During the six days of the show, everything revolves around the most valuable food of all – meat.”

IFFA is also top in terms of exhibitor and visitor internationality with 61 percent of visitors coming from outside Germany. The figure for exhibitors is similarly high: 57 percent of the companies taking part are headquartered abroad. After Germany, the best represented visitor nations in 2013 were the Russian Federation, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Austria, the USA, Switzerland and China. The largest national groups of exhibitors came from Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, the USA, France, Denmark, Austria, Great Britain, China and Poland.

Compact and clearly laid out show
Introduced at IFFA 2013, the restructured and enlarged layout with the inclusion of Hall 11 for the first time was a great success. This arrangement will be kept for the coming IFFA, so that the complete range of machinery and plant will be located in the western section of the Exhibition Center, in Halls 8, 9 and 11. On both levels of Hall 11, key players from the packaging, supply facilities and measuring and weighing technology segments will present their innovations. Additionally, exhibitors from the processing / cutting segment will also take part in Hall 11.1. The leading manufacturers from the slaughtering, dismembering and processing segment are located in Halls 9.0 and 9.1. In Hall 8, the focus is on processing while, in Hall 4.1, the spotlight is on ‘Sales – everything for butchers’ shops’ and packaging materials. A floor below, in Hall 4.0, visitors will find top suppliers from home and abroad for ingredients, spices, additives and casings.

IFFA Trends 2016
The global meat industry is a dynamic growth market. Incomes in populous Asian, Latin American, East European and African countries are rising and, in many cases, bringing about an increase in meat consumption. Concomitantly, there is a rising demand for modern and efficient equipment for processing and packaging meat and meat products. Moreover, quality is playing an ever more important role in addition to quantity. The requirements on product safety and quality, as well as traceability, are also mounting. In western countries, the focus is on improving productivity through energy efficiency, high output, straight-forward cleaning processes, greater automation and ecological solutions. Flexibility in response to changing consumption trends is also a key topic in the industry. For butchers, it is important to identify and cater for new developments in consumer eating behavior, e.g., convenience, ‘walking food’ and meat-substitute products. Furthermore, regionalism plays a central part in the purchasing decision. Investments in energy efficiency and in simplifying work processes, as well as hygienic improvements in sales and production, are also subjects of central significance to the sector.

Tradition: the international quality competitions
The international quality competitions of the German Butchers’ Association (Deutscher Fleischer-Verband – DFV) rank among the traditional highlights at every IFFA. Numerous manufacturers of meat products take advantage of these competitions to have their products evaluated by a jury of experts, and the certificates, medals and trophies won at IFFA provide impressive evidence of the quality of their production – an award at IFFA underscores the high standard of the meat products entered. Numerous participants from inside and outside Germany are expected to enter their products for the competitions at IFFA 2016 and the German Butchers’ Association will once again hold product tests for sausages, ham and products in cans and jars on four days of the show.

New at IFFA 2016 will be ‘IFFA Talk’, a panel discussion with a prominent guest, which will be held on the evening of the first day, May 7. The focus of the discussion will be on the most important impressions of the first day of the show. IFFA Talk is aimed at all exhibitors and visitors and is free of charge. The panel discussion will be followed by the IFFA gala evening with awards ceremony and gala dinner. Also new is the IFFA Forum’, which will generate impulses revolving around subjects from the fields of economics, technology and development throughout the six days of the sector’s leading trade show.

The most current details of the IFFA program of events can be found in the ‘Events’ section of the IFFA website at www.iffa.com. The website also contains a variety of helpful tips and information about visiting the show.

Source: Messe Frankfurt