Converflex Europe sports new "pluses"

The Continent's major converting fair for 2001 features nearly 400 machinery and material exhibitors June 12-17 at the Milan Fairgrounds.

Edited by Editor in Chief Mark Spaulding -- Converting Magazine, 5/1/2001

Converflex Europe 2001, the international exhibition for paper, tissue, paper-converting and package-printing machinery and materials (and its commercial-printing cousin Grafitalia 2001) are dressed for success.

Opening next month for their five-day run June 12-17 at the Fairgrounds in Milan, Italy, the shows have already set new records: 1,000 exhibitors—25 percent of which are attending for the first time; and 22 percent more exhibition space booked than for the previous events in 1998. Converflex Europe itself will have nearly 400 exhibitors filling about 345,000 sq ft of display space.

Why the increase? Europe's continuing economic recovery is one reason. "Everyone knows that when there's economic growth, this fuels more activity and trust among trade people who are better prepared to make investments," says Guido Corbella, managing director of show organizer Centrexpo Spa. "Yet the results of Grafitalia and Converflex Europe cannot be attributed to this alone. I think exhibitors have responded favorably to our decision to focus on individual product categories, albeit within a wider context."

Familiar faces

Among the many vendors on view will be AVT Advanced Vision Technology, Atlas Converting, Bielloni Castello, Bobst Group, BST ProMark, Double E, Erhardt & Leimer, Fife, Fischer & Krecke, Galileo Vacuum, Gallus, General Vacuum, Ghezzi & Annoni, Jagenberg, Kðrber Paperlink, Mario Cotta Engineering, Rohm & Haas, Valmet Rotomec, Rotometrics, Schiavi, Tidland, Uteco Converting and Zerand.

"Specialist areas" will bring exhibitors and converters together in an efficient and timesaving way, Centrexpo says. The "Orrizonte Carta" (Paper Horizons) area is one example where providers of machinery and materials specifically for paper and board converting can meet with potential customers. Further, the Assocarta meeting—Italian Assn. of Paper Manufacturers—will be held during the show.

Other pluses for 2001:

Converflex Europe's new exhibition complex in the Portello Pavilions 12-14. Offering superior logistics compared to past events, the Portello will let exhibitors and converters meet in a high-caliber yet functional setting to optimize business transactions.
A two-day seminar staged during Converflex by the European Metallizers Assn. for converters that use vacuum-metallizing technologies. The conference is in English.
A special paper-converting community luncheon June 14. Guest speaker will be Juhani Pakkala, president and CEO of Metso Paper (Valmet Converting).
Visitor pre-registration that lets attendees avoid queuing up at the fair's two entrances.
A Web site search engine at www.centrexpo.it/converflex to create a customized visit plan, identifying exhibitors and their locations before arriving at the show.
More info: Italy-America Chamber of Commerce, Inc., 212/459-0044, fax: 212/459-0090, e-mail: fiera.newyork@italchambers.net .
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