Interview with Wojciech Ryttel – Marketing Director at MAXPOL (fair services & organization).
How was the beginning of this year for Maxpol? Have new services appeared in the company's offer?
The beginning of this year looked very promising. We started the year with the large ISM fair in Cologne - the largest sweets fair in the world. We hosted over 25 companies and sold over 600 m2 of space. Companies praise this event to a great extent. We see that the fair is bigger every year and the number of exhibitors is growing. When it comes to exhibition stand designs, many companies are giving up octanorms, that is, standard exhibition stand designs. Nowadays, individual wooden, laminated, and more luxurious exhibition stand designs are becoming more popular. We are following this trend.
Which fairs currently play the biggest role in the international market? Which of them are crucial for your company?
There are several such trade fairs. ANUGA is the largest one in the world, and this year it will be held in Cologne in October. One cannot forget about next year's SIAL in Paris. Many important fairs take place in Europe, e.g., PLMA in Amsterdam, the private brand fair. We also have a large Yummex sweets trade fair in Dubai or SIAL in China and Canada. However, for us all fairs are very important, none are less or more important. We believe that every customer, every trade fair plays a big and important role. This is what has caused our customers to co-operate with us for many years, and new customers come because they see, having been recommended by others, that it is worth being with us and win new markets.
Is the interest in food fairs rising among Polish exporters?
In Europe we can see that we are a large and serious exhibitor, in Asia in turn, we are getting more and more convinced about it, which pleases us. More and more companies are choosing those directions, not only China, but also THAIFEX in Thailand or Taiwan, India and South Korea. We can also be seen in the Middle East and we are slowly beginning to be visible in Africa, which is very important for us.
Which fairs are particularly popular amongst Maxpol’s customers?
It always depends on the customer, on the product, which markets they want to enter. We have customers who do not go around Europe at all because they think that it has already become a ’commonplace’ and they know everything about it. They are trying to appear in Asia or in Africa or in the United States. On the other hand, there are also companies that are afraid of travelling outside Europe and incur huge expenses on fairs in Europe. I must admit, however, that the interest in the food industry among Polish exporters is growing and it is becoming increasingly visible. For example, now we have finished recruitment for Anuga and it has turned out that out of 28 companies that will go with us as many as 6 are completely new to our company, and 5 out of them are going to the fair for the first time.
Why should Polish exhibitors benefit from Maxpol's services? What makes you stand out from the competition?
First of all, we stand out with our experience - we've been on the market for 29 years now. We have a young, integrated team of employees who have gained experience in the industry. I think that we are also competing with the price and the ability to provide the client with what our competitors are not yet able to offer. We are capable of not only fully taking care of the customer, so that an exhibition stand is ready on time, but we may also suggest, for example, a trip abroad to take part in a fair for the first time in order to enter new markets. We often recommend, especially to our new customers to participate in the trade fair on their own - without a stand, instead of encouraging them to make a "mindless" investment in the exhibition stand, which is always the case with our competitors. We always assume that if someone participates in the fair for the first time, it is better to go without a stand and watch the whole event. Thus, we guarantee the flight, accommodation, as well as an admission card and a fair directory, including our assistance at a given trade fair event.
Our stands are elegant, clean and erected in a timely manner. They meet all the expectations to the extent of displaying the exhibitor's products effectively at the stand. Solutions that our company offer to exhibitors raise growing interest. An integrated brigade of responsible fitters complete the job on time.
MAXPOL's motto is that the customer satisfaction is the most important thing for us. And we stick to it.
Thank you.