Propak West Africa 2021 article for November 2021 MPIM

Propak West Africa returned last month after a years gap because of the pandemic. With 2,412 industry stakeholders attending the exhibition to visit the 52 exhibitors showcasing their equipment, the sentiment was of excitement and positivity that the opportunity was back for the industry.

Over the three days between 14th – 16th September 2021 the packaging, printing, plastics and processing industries reunited for the first time in two years and were able to discover the products they had been missing from their supply chain in that time. Exhibitors from the local market included Atlas Copco, Bestaf Trading Company, Bobst West Africa, CIS Buro, Exact Solutions, Greenville, Tenaui and Vista International to name just a few. And while some restrictions remained in place the organisers were pleased to see a good number of international companies who continue to support the event and travel to Lagos including Blue Air Systems, Erema Recycling, Galdi, HTG Industry, Miele, Neofyton and Windmoeller and Holscher. With it being the first time for many internationals returning to Nigeria the chance to meet with so many local buyers and clients was an opportunity not to be missed and 87% of those surveyed said they achieved their goals of exhibiting.

Onsite George Pearson, Regional Director for the organisers Afrocet Montgomery said, “While it’s certainly been a challenging run up to the exhibition this year, we’re very pleased and excited to be back onsite and be able to bring the community back together for the regions largest business platform for the industries we serve. It’s been great to be back in Lagos and speak with many of our exhibitors and visitors as it’s been quite some time since that’s been possible. And we’re already looking forward to next year and growing back up to the same size we were in 2019”.

Running alongside the busy exhibitor stands, Propak once again saw the return of a high level conference program that focused it’s attention on how the packaging, plastics and printing industries will rebound from the pandemic and how it can be done sustainably with speakers from many of the leading brands in the region including TetraPak West Africa, Guinness Nigeria, Grand Cereals, Neofyton and PwC Nigeria to name just a handful. The sessions were made up of panel discussions, keynote presentations and technical seminars and many have been uploaded to the website to be viewed back for those that could not attend.

While this years exhibition was smaller than in previous editions, with a very strong rebooking of 74% the organisers have said that hall one is already almost sold out for 2022. With this they hope for a swift return for next edition to the largest exhibition size seen 2019, with 5000 visitors and 200 exhibitors.