International, innovative and the highest possible quality—that’s how best to describe drinktec, which was held from September 12 to 16, 2022, at the Munich trade fair center. A total of 1,002 exhibitors from 55 countries and nearly 50,000 visitors from 169 countries came to the world’s leading trade fair for the beverage and liquid food industry.

drinktec—the world’s leading trade fair

With 65 percent of exhibitors and more than 70 percent of visitors coming from countries outside of Germany, drinktec has impressively bolstered its status as the world’s leading trade fair. Dr. Reinhard Pfeiffer, Messe München CEO: “drinktec shows us that world fairs in Europe are possible again. Most visitors came from abroad, and almost 40 percent of these from outside of Europe, such as Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Japan and India. And it’s quite revealing that the third strongest visitor country after Germany and Italy is the USA.” Volker Kronseder, drinktec Chairman of the Advisory Board, adds: “When you go through the halls, you discover a multitude of new and further developments, you see that people from different countries are at last communicating with one another in person again. The innovation density is also extremely high again this year.”

drinktec—highest possible visitor quality

Richard Clemens, Managing Director of the Process Plant and Equipment Association, German Engineering Federation (VDMA), sums up: “The industry has been waiting for drinktec in particular with bated breath. The atmosphere is simply superb. The exhibitors are impressed by the internationality and high quality of the visitors.” An observation that Florian Schneider, Chief Commercial Officer at ZIEMANN HOLVRIEKA, seamlessly adds to: “drinktec is back, and with it our customers and interested parties from all over the world. The numbers do appear on the whole to be lower than in the past. But the quality is high. drinktec once again proves that it is the most important international platform.”

drinktec—innovation and incentive generator

drinktec also lived up to this claim with the innovations on display. Overall the exhibitors presented more than 700 new products and solutions in the Innovation Guide and Solution Guide digital offerings. Dr. Johannes T. Grobe, Head of Sales and Service at the KHS Group, explains why drinktec in particular is the place for premieres: “The world’s leading trade show enjoys a high standing in the industry as the most important source of innovation and incentive. It offers us the perfect opportunity to get together with our customers and partners at an international level. We enjoyed numerous chats and discussions on new investments during the show.” Marcus Ley, Vice President Global Accounts at Ecolab, adds: “In our view, drinktec is the leading marketplace where global industry experts and decision makers meet to identify innovations and state-of-the-art technologies to advance their operations. We have once more been able to connect with high quality and top management level visitors to advance our business objectives. Another unforgettable show!“ And Reinhard Streit, Vice President and Managing Director Food & Beverage Europe at CCL Label summarizes: “In a nutshell, drinktec is the best global platform if you are in the beverage business.”

drinktec—the networking platform

For visitors drinktec is also the beverage and liquid food industry’s major networking platform, as Gary Guo, Vice President, Global Supply Chain with the Coca Cola Company, confirms: “It’s so good to be back here in Munich at drinktec after five years. This is one of the premier events in our business calendar and is a must-attend for us. Together with our global bottling partners we use drinktec to explore the latest developments and emerging technologies in areas such as supply chain, manufacturing, digital transformation and sustainability, and look for opportunities to transform our business. The event this year is better than ever.”

For drinktec Director Petra Westphal and her team, the customers’ feedback is more than positive: “The preparations for this year’s event really were something of a rollercoaster ride. The effects of the pandemic and geopolitical tensions have resulted in volatile framework conditions and uncertainties. And suddenly the first trade fair day is there. The world meets here with us in Munich after five years. The joy of getting together again is indescribable. The challenges of the day are intensively discussed and solutions are presented at all of the stands – the industry’s future is being shaped here.”

The next drinktec will be held in fall 2025. The exact date will be announced in plenty of time.

Dominik Wiese is the new Head of Sales EMEA at ZIEMANN HOLVRIEKA. At the expert for tanks and process technology for the brewing, beverage and liquid food industries, Dominik Wiese will be responsible for the regions of Europe, Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.

From 2008 to 2011, Dominik Wiese studied economics with a focus on international business administration and marketing at the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University. He can look back on more than 10 years of professional experience in the sales of mechanical components for the international pharmaceutical, biotech, food and beverage industries.

Alexander Lenz has taken on the newly created position of Head of Sales Key Account Management at ZIEMANN HOLVRIEKA. In this role, Alexander Lenz is the main contact for international key customers from the brewing, beverage and liquid food industry. “Alexander Lenz is an experienced and well-connected expert, who will help us to further intensify contact with our most important customers” emphasizes Florian Schneider, CCO of ZIEMANN HOLVRIEKA GmbH.

In 2005, Alexander Lenz successfully completed his training as a brewmaster at Doemens. This was followed by positions as a commissioning engineer and group leader for the consulting division at an international plant engineering company for beverage production, as well as at another company as a department head and Director of Project Management / Project Engineering & Key Account Manager. About his new role at ZIEMANN HOLVRIEKA, Alexander Lenz says: “My main goal for our key customers is to make communication and our service even more effective and to establish strategic partnerships. I am looking forward to tackling this challenge together with our dedicated team and our customers.” Alexander Lenz took up his position in January 2022 and will be in charge of his area of responsibility from the Ludwigsburg location.

Ecolean, a global producer of lightweight packaging solutions for liquid food, expands its business and acquires a 30,000 square meter piece of land in Landskrona, Sweden to establish a new production facility. The expansion is part of the company’s ambitious growth strategy.

The increase in capacity is well needed to meet the liquid food industry’s demands for Ecolean’s lightweight and innovative packaging solutions. In the agreement, an additional 30,900 sqm can be obtained, when needed in the future.

“As part of our ongoing expansion strategy, this investment of 25-30 million euros will enable us to continue being a fast growing and rapidly expanding company”, says Peter L Nilsson, CEO, Ecolean Group. “The new production facility will be up and running in 2020 and we expect to add around 100 new job opportunities within a few years’ time”, he continues.

The new production facility will be located only 20 km south of Helsingborg, where the company’s headquarters and one of their existing production facilities are located. Ecolean has 400 employees, half of which work in Helsingborg.

In addition to Sweden, Ecolean has one production facility in China and one production facility under construction in Pakistan, estimated to start its operations 2019. Ecolean collaborates with leading brand owners in approximately 30 countries and has eleven sales offices globally.

The Ecolean lightweight packages are made of as little raw material as possible, providing a low environmental impact throughout the packages’ life cycle. The company and its packaging solutions’ sustainable profile appeals to market-leading liquid food brands globally.