Baking & Snack - November 2019 - 22

IBIE RECAP

"It's an exciting time for
innovation in our industry,
and IBIE brings innovative
ideas to the forefront."
Joe Turano, 2019 IBIE Chairman

With a new all-inclusive fee structure, the nearly
1,000 exhibitors - 237 of which were new to IBIE
- were encouraged to bring in more equipment to
display, said  Kerwin  Brown, president and CEO of
BEMA. Exhibitors took advantage of this opportunity,
bringing in more than 600,000  lb  of freight, a 25%
increase over 2016. New advances in equipment and
technology on display included those featured in this
year's Innovation Showcase, which was comprised
of 64 new and cutting-edge industry advancements.
The  Innovation Showcase, presented in partnership
with  Sosland  Publishing Co., saw an 8% increase in
entries over the 2016 event. 
"Seeing, touching, testing - that's what IBIE is all
about," Mr. Brown said. "Exhibitors invest more because they recognize the value and the opportunity of
IBIE. They know the buyers are here, and with an
every-three-year show, they know they have to maximize the opportunity." 
One of the biggest focuses  for exhibitors and

attendees was on workforce and automation.  
"Two of the top words I heard over and over again
at IBIE were 'workforce' and 'automation.' Because
our industry, and others, struggle to recruit and retain
employees, the market has responded by developing
highly automated machinery," Mr. MacKie said. "One
member told me that the type of technology you saw
at this show, as far as automation is concerned, has
the same functionality you would have only seen in
automobile manufacturing until now.  
"These changes in technology foreshadow what will
be a tremendous need for more highly skilled workers
in mechanical and engineering departments and for
those workers to have a very solid working knowledge
of the products they're producing," he added. 
IBIE also reported that a sizeable portion of attendee growth came from  international markets.  Showgoers from more than 100 countries made up almost
30% of the total attendance, with the largest participation coming from Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia,
Japan and Mexico. 
Other key features included new interactive offerings such as the  iba.Virtual Bakery Tours and two
Artisan Marketplaces, as well as IBIE's Fresh Take Talks
series, presented by the Grain Foods Foundation.  
"Our objectives continue to focus on elevating the
IBIE experience and continually delivering a more effective show for the industry," Mr. Turano said. "It can
be challenging to continuously strive for improvement, but that is what makes it so valuable."    
IBIE returns to Las Vegas Sept. 17-21, 2022. Until then,
visit www.IBIE2019.com to view the latest updates.
 

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Baking & Snack - November 2019

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