The Bta. Show, Barcelona Food Technologies, due to take place from 15 to 18 May 2012 in the Fira Barcelona's Gran Vía venue, will present its programmed activities and projects organised by Alimentaria Exhibitions and Spain's leading associations and institutions.
With its sights firmly set on internationalisation and innovation, Bta. will establish itself as a true hub of knowledge transfer for those involved in the industry and the perfect area for debate to share concerns and experiences, come into contact with other professionals, discover new trends and open new business opportunities.
With only three months left before exhibition is held, Bta. is already getting the ball rolling by planning the full and interesting schedule of associated activities that will go on show. This unmissable event, spanning over 30,000 gross m², already has 95% of its space hired.
Not only is Bta. a top meeting point for those involved in the industry, it is also the perfect area for debate to share concerns and experiences, come into contact with other industry professionals, find out about and discover new industry trends, open new business opportunities, etc. Therefore, the trade fair will become an authentic forum of knowledge lead by the most renowned experts from each industry.
Internationalisation, the linchpin
Internationalisation will be the highlight of this edition thanks to the joint efforts of Bta.'s organisers and institutions and associations such as Amec (the Spanish acronym for the Multi-sector Business Association), Afca (the Spanish acronym for the Spanish Association of Food Additive Manufacturers and Distributors), FECIC (the Catalan acronym for the Catalan Federation of Meat Industries) and FIAB (the Spanish acronym for the Spanish Food and Drink Industry Federation). These will help to boost the presence of exhibitors and national and international professional visitors at the show, the first of its kind geared towards the food industry from Southern Europe.
The strategic plan for international expansion has been developed in collaboration with Amec and focusses on Mediterranean areas and Latin America, while an extensive promotional plan with a determined set of activities for each market is being implemented in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey.
There is also an ambitious 'Hosted Buyers' programme and buyers' trade missions, which will ensure the presence of key food industry companies from emerging countries and markets with huge potential in the sector such as China, India, Saudi Arabia, Russia and the Ukraine, among others.
The presence of regular professional visitors such as Portugal, France and England is also guaranteed at Bta.
The other activities to take place alongside this association will be the business meetings, conferences of interviews that aim to facilitate business between exhibitors and guest international companies and give the show coverage in events of international repute.
Joan Tristany, General Manager of Amec, has stressed how “Internationalisation is a key factor of growth and must be more intensively promoted between companies, for both the present and the future, so that it can become a structural variable in the business network. This need has been singled out by Bta. and is clearly visible in their action plan for attracting international visitors.”
This interest in international visitors will culminate in the International Business Centre project, an exclusive area in which professionals from overseas will find information on technology, companies, consultancy and the possibility of arranging meetings with national and international companies to set up commercial ties.
The need to reach foreign markets is constant for business people from the food and drink equipment and technology industry. Bta. 2012 will be a bona fide international business hub that will foster commercial exchanges between suppliers and buyers of food equipment and technology, and will essentially be made up of buyers from Europe, Asia and America.
The Innovation Meeting Point
In this edition professionals from the food industry will have the Innovation Meeting Point (IMP), Bta.'s dynamic space consisting of two different parts holding conferences on successful and innovative projects. There will also be an area of stands from organisations and companies, set up to give visitors information about the different options and possibilities for development, assistance and the collaborations available in the innovation process with the presence of technological centres and innovation platforms.
This area will give visitors a clear idea of the wide range of technology and will feature innovative projects of machinery and technology for the food industry. It will also link this range of technology to the needs of food and drink production companies and will be an excellent communication channel for the innovations presented in each edition of Bta.
Eudald Casas (Manager of INNOVAC), Begoña Pérez (Manager of the Market and Food Research Unit at AZTI TECNALIA), Jordi Gaya (Manager of Innovation and Competitiveness at AMEC), Eliecer López (Manager of Research and Innovation at IRTA), Carles Milla (President of Aefemac/Amec and Commercial Manager of Milla Masanas, S.A.), Josep Mª Monfort (General Manager of IRTA), Vanesa Burgal (Event and Congress Manager at Alimentaria Exhibitions, S.A.) and Víctor Pascual (Trade Fair Manager of Alimentaria Exhibitions, S.A) are all members of the recently formed committee, which will select the innovative projects to feature within the framework of the IMP.
As Víctor Pascual, the Trade Fair Manager, points out, “Innovation and internationalisation are the core strategies that the majority of industry companies are focussing on and using as a driving force behind growth and competitiveness. At Bta. we aim to back all the companies from this area that are developing diverse activities and collaborations with high levels of knowledge and development.”
Bta & Hispack 2012, a successful alliance
For the second year in a row, the next edition of Bta. 2012 will be jointly held with Hispack, the International Packaging Exhibition. This will once again make the event a more complete and attractive proposition, able to meet all the needs present in the food production chain – from ingredients to packaging via the production process. Together Bta. & Hispack will be held over a total of 90,000 gross m² with participation from 3,500 exhibitors and 60,000 professional visitors.
More info:
www.bta-bcn.com