The Recycler Issue 316

FEATURE
Coming together and embracing the challenges: Remanexpo 2019
Peter Stefanov, the Managing Director
of Bulgarian company Freckles, who
was once again attending Remanexpo
as a visitor, agreed, calling it “a good
opportunity to meet all our different
guys,” and said he had had “lots of
meetings – positive meetings.”
Milan Banjac, of Romanian-based
remanufacturers TIN Factory, was also
attending as a visitor. Discussing what
drew him to the show, Banjac said the
most important thing was “to meet the
people, to meet your existing partners,
to contact your potential partners, and
to prospect the market, to see how it
works in other countries. It is like a
scan of our industry, so we can see
what the situation is like in the
European market.”
“It’s a good opportunity to meet and
interact with the industry and with the
market,” concurred Katun’s Cinzia
Gandini. “We’ve met with suppliers
and customers, not just from Europe
but from the Middle East and Africa
too, and we’re learning a lot.”
Another who was pleased with the
opportunity to meet and discuss in
Frankfurt was ETIRA Secretary
General Vincent Van Dijk.
“The show went well, very well,” said
Van Dijk, who explained that across
the show, he had
managed to meet with
over half the trade
association’s members,
as well as having
positive discussions
with a number of
potential new ones.
“For me, it’s the best, if
not the only, real way to
meet face-to-face with
the highest number of
members,” he said.
Among the more than 120
exhibitors at Remanexpo were several
making their long-awaited return to
the show, after a hiatus of a few years.
Among these were both Turbon, and
KMP. The latter’s CEO, Jan-Michael
Sieg, called the show “a success -
suppliers and customers likewise
welcomed our returning after five
years.”
“The whole KMP team was highly
motivated and as far as I can say, our
discussions with current and
prospective business partners seemed
promising,” Sieg added.
Turbon’s Christof Frei, Marketing
Director, gave a similarly positive
report: “We have been away from the
show for many years, and have only
been coming as visitor, but this year
we’ve been exhibiting as the newlyreorganised
Turbon, and it’s been
really good, really good,” he asserted.
“The response has been great.”
For some exhibitors, on the contrary,
their 2019 appearance was the latest
in a long lineage of Remanexpos. “We
have been here for many years,”
declared Paramjit Singh of Indian
Toners and Developers Ltd., who said
the company was in Frankfurt with the
objective of “meeting existing
clients, and finding new leads.”
“It’s been very positive,” agreed
Hubei Dinglong’s Ian Copsey.
“For us, we know the key players
we want to work with, in the
printer/copier remanufacturing
channels, and I would say we
met at least 90 percent of our
active customers, and a
number of prospects as well.
Overall, we’re very pleased!”
“It’s been really positive,” said Peach
CEO Alfred Wirch. “The meetings I
have had, we have had some very good
discussions, and we’re looking forward
to building up some new relationships
with new customers.”
He continued: “The booth is always
busy – what more can I ask?”
Wirch also reserved warm words for
the decision to move Remanexpo
from its previous location in Messe
Frankfurt’s Hall 6.0 to its new home of
Hall 5.1.
“The change of place, I think was
good,” he said, offering his view that
“there are more visitors than before, at
least that’s my impression.”
“Because we are a little separated
[from the rest of the Paperworld show],
here, it’s really about the printing,”
Turbon’s Christof Frei said. “The
visitors may be fewer, but it is a more
refined audience.”
Cross Imaging Supplies CEO Simon
Weiss was in agreement, saying that,
in his opinion, “it’s good that the show
has been moved. It seems to me that
this hall is more suitable: The ceiling is
not so high, so it creates a different
atmosphere, which I think is more
convivial. Everyone is closer together.”
Weiss also called Cross’ experience of
the show “definitely positive, very
positive,” having made “some
promising new contacts” at what he
described as “a multipurpose show.”
32 THE RECYCLER • ISSUE 316 • MARCH 2019