The PPMA Group has announced that its joint venture agreement with Reed Exhibitions for the running of the annual Processing & Packaging Manufacturers Association exhibition and other shows in the UK will not continue after 2013.
When the existing 12-year agreement with Reed comes to an end after the 2013 Total Processing & Packaging show in June 2013, PPMA will resume the organisation of its own events.
“It’s in the best interests of all involved to allow the JV to come to its natural end,” PPMA CEO Chris Buxton said at the annual PPMA Group Industry Awards dinner in Birmingham, UK, on the evening of 25 September.
“Our primary focus is on what our members want, and our aspirations for the future are slightly different,” Buxton told Packaging Today at the PPMA show at Birmingham’s NEC.
“The market in the UK has changed, and a show has to represent the industry as it is – proportionate and in line with the industry’s requirements.
“The trade exhibition sector in the UK is not as big as it was a decade ago,” Buxton pointed out.
Ian Crawford, portfolio director at Reed Exhibitions, told Packaging Today: “These days very few agreements are made that last for 12 years. This arrangement has worked very well for both of us, and I’m confident we will continue to have a good relationship with PPMA after the Total show next year.”
The PPMA will retain control of the annual PPMA exhibition in Birmingham, as well as Pakex and Interphex (in the UK), while the Total show will in the first instance continue to be held every three years.
But after 2013, said Buxton: “Decisions will be made in the best interests of the industry.”
“The UK industry has become very strong in the niche and specialist markets,” added Crawford. “By value, we are still the sixth largest manufacturing nation in the world.”
