This year's annual Expopak de las Americas, the Mexican Packaging Exhibition, will follow the same strategy as one of its sponsors by co-locating with Procesa 98, the first food and beverage equipment exhibition. Both shows will be held June 16 to 19 at Mexico City's Palacio de los Deportes.
Last year, the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (Arlington, VA) successfully co-located its Pack Expo West show with the Intl. Exposition for Food Processors in Las Vegas. PMMI and the IEFP are also co-locating at this year's Pack Expo show in Chicago. PMMI and Mexican trade show organizer, Oprex (Mexico City, Mexico), jointly sponsor Expopak.
Much like Pack Expo West and IEFP last year, Expopak 98 is expected to be about twice the size of Procesa. Expopak is also expected to attract some 16ꯠ visitors, about twice the number that will attend Procesa. However, a single badge will admit visitors to both exhibitions. At last year's Expopak, about 30% of visitors were from companies in the food sector.
Altogether, some 500 exhibitors will display equipment and machinery in more than 161ꯠ sq' of exhibit space at the Sports Palace. Both shows will open with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 1 p.m., Tuesday, June 16, followed by two hours that are reserved for VIP visitors and senior executives. At 3 p.m., the show opens for all visitors. That's also the opening time for the remaining three days, June 17 through 19. Each day, the exhibition closes at 9 p.m., except for Friday, June 19, when it concludes at 8 p.m.
During the week, the Mexican Packaging Assn. plans to conduct a seminar that is sure to attract more visitors. Called "Technology, trends and productivity for food and beverage processing and packaging," the program is aimed at directors and managers of packaging, quality control and marketing. Experienced national and international experts will discuss and show practical concepts that can be applied in all types of operations.
The conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., Wednesday through Friday, June 17 to 19, and includes lunch. On Wednesday, the focus is on beverage processing and packaging, with special coverage of the polyester bottle market in Mexico and Central America. Aseptic filling will also be included. The Thursday subject will be Export, productivity and technology, and speakers will address a variety of business and production topics, including the financing of technology for export, and packaging technologies for the next century.
On Friday, the conference agenda shifts to food processing and packaging. Included in the program will be aseptic filling technologies, food processing for export, and the impact of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points). For registration or additional conference details, contact Lorena Romo at 011/525.545-4254.
At last year's Expopak, 179 exhibitors were from Mexico and 111 companies came from the U.S., Canada, Taiwan, Germany, Italy, Spain and from Latin American countries like Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Chile. Nearly half of the exhibitors displayed packaging and processing equipment, 24% manufactured raw materials and 25% exhibited containers and packaging materials.
Following is a list of U.S. packaging companies that will be exhibiting in the PMMI pavilions at Expopak, as of Feb. 27.
