With nearly 40 exhibitors, there was plenty to see on the stands at ConExPest in Poland. So what was going on? What caught the eye?
As has been noted before, the pest control industry is becoming increasingly international.
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You see the same big multinational manufacturers with the same globally marketed products at each and every event – the only variations being exactly which products are on display, as not all hold current registrations in every market. However at ConExPest there was a fresh approach. Companies you had never heard of and, with names that more than likely, you had difficulty in pronouncing. All the leading Polish pest control distributors were present, such as Agro-Trade, ASPlant, Killgerm Poland and Themar as well as DDD Servis from the Czech Republic. It was obvious from the general buzz that these East European markets are seen as growth areas for pest control. International the market may be – but what was noticeable is to make your mark in these Eastern markets, such as Poland, you need local representation – a Polish company in Poland. A good example of this being the establishment of Killgerm Polska. During ConExPest, Killgerm took the opportunity to launch a Polish edition of Pest Control News to join the series of their other international editions. Being quick off the mark, the edition featured pictures taken during set-up day. Having said that, there were a large number of managers from other international manufacturers spotted visiting the exhibition, obviously eyeing up the market potential and, no doubt, considering whether to exhibit in three years time. The Brits were well represented with stands taken by Russell IPM, AgriSense, Brandenburg UK, P+L Systems and Research Information. At Pest we were delighted to support the exhibition with our own stand with supplies of as many magazines as we could transport in our suitcases. Exhibitions are always an opportunity to have some fun – and ConExPest was no exception. The Killgerm mouse had obviously been issued with a passport as it was much in evidence following its initial release at PestEx in London some weeks ago. Distributor Themar had a caricaturist on its stand capturing the images of selected visitors. Or you could play pestie golf on the Bayer stand. Live pests – or are they pets? – were also in evidence on the BASF and Bayer stands. A committee set-up by the organisers toured the exhibition and presented awards, at the gala dinner held in the Wieliczka salt mines, covering the best products in selected categories. Amongst the winners were P+L who received the award for best electronic fly killers, Bell Laboratories for best bait boxes and all the way from Shanghai, Airofog was presented with the best machinery award. |
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Demonstrating the new Babolna 
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