What is your background in the fruit trade and how did you end up organising Fruit Logistica, the world’s leading fruit and vegetable trade fair?
I grew up in an agricultural environment and started working in the fresh produce business as a grower after studying agricultural management. The fascinating path that is life then led me to Berlin and to Fruit Logistica nine years ago.
Can you chart the show’s progression over the years to the scale the event has now reached?
Fruit Logistica was first held in 1993 with 110 exhibitors and 2,700 visitors. The millennium event saw the participation of almost 600 exhibitors and 8,100 visitors, and in 2009 we registered 2,283 exhibitors and just over 50,000 trade visitors.
How did this exhibition become such a crucial event for people to attend every year? What are its key advantages?
Three key elements contributed to the development of the exhibition as the leading event internationally. The first is that, from our side, our team has always focused on what we can do to create the most business-friendly platform for the sector - we invest an enormous amount of energy into the quality of every aspect of the event.
The second is that, over time, the sector came to recognise the value of what it is we offer and the message spread of the benefits of participating.
The third element is that smidgen of good fortune, which in my opinion is always present in success stories and not often given due credit.
The key advantages are quite simple to spell out: the combination of intensity, quality, and efficiency, which are essential ingredients in any successful business platform. This is what enables those who participate to derive the commercial benefits that they are after.
What is the best feedback you receive from exhibitors and visitors about the Berlin exhibition?
The very best feedback we get is when our customers return the following year and bring their friends with them.
What is the biggest challenge in organising a show of this scale?
The organisational challenge is to make sure that the quality of everything, across the board, is at the consistently high level that we aim to deliver to our customer.
The biggest challenge, however, is to make sure that our event remains as valuable and relevant as ever for both our customers and the international fresh produce trade as a whole.
The number of UK exhibitors at the show is rising slowly each year, but presence still lags behind that of other big import markets. What would you say to encourage more UK exhibitors and visitors to make the annual pilgrimage to Berlin?
In my opinion, such comparisons are of little relevance. Far more important are the results that each exhibiting company and each trade visitor achieves from their participation at the event. The participation of UK companies and visitors has actually grown quite substantially over the past few years and I am confident it will continue to do so as more and more see the benefit of a presence.
As encouragement, there is one phrase that springs to mind: seeing is believing. Only a first-hand experience can truly bring home the opportunities on offer and insights to be gained.
Do you feel that the economic slump has affected Fruit Logistica in the last year? How do you expect it to impact in 2010?
The challenging international economic environment has meant that we, as all others, have had to redouble our efforts. These challenges have at the same time focused the minds of all in the sector, and brought with them a clearer picture of the tangible benefits of quality products. While both the 2009 and 2010 events have felt some effects, the recognition by the fresh produce trade of the commercial value that is derived from a presence at Fruit Logistica has meant that these effects have, fortunately, been quite limited.
You also manage Asia Fruit Logistica. Have you been surprised at the rapid expansion of this exhibition year after year? Will you be looking to organise similar events in other areas of the world as well?
Asia Fruit Logistica has developed very positively since its launch in September 2007. Needless to say, it is on a different scale to its sibling in Berlin, but more importantly the traits it has in common - namely intensity, quality, and efficiency - is what has led numerous companies to recognise its value as a key element in any market development and expansion strategy for their company in Asia.
We intend to focus our energy on these two events for the foreseeable future, making sure that we keep offering what the markets in Europe and Asia are after.
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