International show draws thousands to Cologne

Global industry executives from the animal feed, flour and rice milling, grain processing and biomass pelleting industries descended on Cologne in Germany last week. These senior executives had come to visit the 2015 edition of the renowned FIAAP/VICTAM/GRAPAS International exhibition and conferences.
Thousands of visitors had come from as far away as Australia and every continent was represented. There were even official parties from Japan, PRC, Thailand, Turkey and Russia. The 276 exhibitors were busy with serious trade enquiries and discussions.
At the end of the first show day, the winners of the three different innovation awards were announced. They are:


• Alapala, Turkey and Buhler AG, Switzerland won the GRAPAS Awards 
• Tovalia Intelscan, France won the Aquafeed Innovation Award 
• Adifo, Belgium won the FIAAP Animal Nutrition Award
The three-day show featured the FIAAP Conference, Aquafeed Horizons, AEBIOM Pellet Workshop, Petfood Forum Europe 2015, GMP+International Feed Safety Assurance certificate, the IFF Feed Conference and the Global Milling Conference with GRAPAS International 2015. For the first time, FEFAC (the European Feed Manufacturers Federation) held its Annual General Meeting during the event, and their members joined the exhibition. Free tours were at the Vitelia feed mill and the newly opened Feed Design Lab in the Netherlands.
Victam celebrated its 50^th Anniversary with an elegant dinner and entertainment. President of the Victam Foundation, Andre Oosterveld thanked the guests for their continued support of the exhibitions and praised the exhibitors for their innovative stands, plus the high number and variety of products on display.
Earlier in the day Henk van de Bunt, the General Manager of Victam International BV, spoke at a press conference. He announced that Victam, in conjunction with some of their conference organizers, will launch a series of industry conferences at a venue near Cologne in early summer 2017. There will be space for table-top exhibits.
FIAAP, VICTAM& GRAPAS Asia 2016 is scheduled from March 29 – 31, 2016 in Bangkok.