SIMEI focuses on sustainability

The SIMEI trade show is well established as a showcase for machines, equipment, products and services for the preparation, bottling and packaging of beverages. This spans wine, beer, spirits, brandies, vinegar, juices, alcohol. oil, mineral waters, carbonated drinks and more. This year, an entire pavilion is devoted to themed events and animations.

Low environmental impact, 100% recyclability, the ability to preserve the original taste of products and their nutritional value and protection from possible contamination, as well as a premium image, are features that glass packaging offers. According to a recent survey by FEVE (European Federation of Glass Packaging) polling 6,200 families across 12 European countries, three quarters of European consumers favour glass over other packaging. In particular, glass turned out to be the favourite packaging for alcoholic drinks (spirits 95%, wine 94%, sparkling wines 87% and beer 80%),

This is evidence of huge efforts to draw attention to the environmental credentials of different packaging formats and important moves to prove the sustainability of production and guarantee consumer safety - all playing more and more decisive roles in purchasing choices.

These are also the guiding principles driving the wide conference activity that will characterise the 23rd edition of SIMEI, International Oenological and Bottling Equipment Exhibition, to be held from 24-28 November in Milan.

On the agenda, there will be a conference on Sustainable vine growing and oenology: trends, technologies and prospects, organised by Unione Italiana Vini and carried out with the scientific advice of acknowledged experts in the sector. This will focus on wine growing practises, the use of phytosanitary products and renewable energy sources.

There will be two technical conferences, also run by UIV, in co-operation with Assovetro and Federlegno. These will cover a specifications agreement concerning bottles and corks among the respective trade sector associations. It will reveal that the production chain of suppliers and producers are increasingly inclined to agree to mutual commitments, to be able to guarantee the quality of products and safety for consumers. Among the subjects to be discussed will be recycling, checking, training and some case histories.

This year, the whole of Hall 11 will be dedicated to themed meetings and animations. In addition, the Wine Bar and the Oil Bar will be held in the sam hall for tasting Italian wines and oils, together with several laboratories for sensorial analysis.

Another novelty for 2009 will be the area reserved for mobile bottling housed in lorries, set up in Pavilion11. Mobile bottling, which began during the 1970s and 1980s, has proved to be a particularly interesting solution for several types of Italian and foreign wineries. The facility offers the possibility to take advantage of technologically advanced and sophisticated lines, without having to bear the costs of their purchase and installation within dedicated cellar spaces.

To actually see and feel the technological advances on show, visitors will have to wait until November. But to arrange a visit in advance to the halls of Fiera Milano is a simple matter of connecting to the website www.simei.it. For the first time this year, besides the traditional exhibitors’ catalogue, the organiser has introduced exhibitors’ virtual stands, available in different languages and including pictures. Here, each company can show its own products. The virtual stands will remain active until 31 May 2011 – with the possibility to introduce regular updates, so that the contact with customers will not be interrupted during the time between this year’s show and the 2011 edition.

Visitors have the pre-registration system at their disposal on the website, which enables them to request an entrance ticket well in advance of the start of the event, and then to collect itrapidly on arrival at the Fairground, without wasting precious time at the reception desks.