analytica Anacon India 2007 scores well in all disciplines

Senior members of the IAIA with chief guest, Dr P Rama Rao, a keynote speaker, Dr Venkateshwaralu, at the inaugural function.

analytica Anacon India 2007 closed its gates in Hyderabad on November 2, 2007 with some outstanding results: More than 3,000 decision-makers and users, especially from Indian laboratories, came to the two halls at the modern Hitex Center to gather information about the latest equipment, applications and products in the sectors for instrumental analysis, laboratory technology and biotechnology. That is a 17 percent increase over last year. The 142 exhibitors from 14 countries –an increase of nearly ten percent – gave the fair top marks for its choice of location, for the trade fair center and for the quality of the visitors.

analytica Anacon India 2007 surpassed the expectations of its organizer – Munich Trade Fairs International Group – in all exhibition-related disciplines with increases in the number of exhibitors and the amount of exhibition space, a larger number of visitors, a significant improvement in visitor quality, and the right choice of location.

"We were surprised by this outstanding event, and we are very satisfied with the results," said Toshiaki Matsuda, vice chairman of the global marketing committee of JAIMA. "Holding the exhibition at the Hitex Center in Hyderabad – the capital of Andhra Pradesh and fifth largest city in India and the surrounding area already have major centers for the pharmaceuticals industry, fine chemistry and biotechnology sectors, and more are planned – satisfied two of our exhibitors' most important criteria. Add to that IT companies that play a key role in laboratory automation and optimization. The modern trade fair center meets western quality standards, so it satisfies our needs. It has a business atmosphere that was praised by the exhibitors and Indian trade visitors, and it also attracts the international analysis industry to India," summarized Hans-Joachim Heusler, managing director at Munich International Trade Fairs.

The majority of the exhibitors at this year's analytica Anacon India, which was held in Hyderabad for the first time ever and just one year after the last exhibition, were of the same opinion.

As many as 142 companies from 14 countries – Canada, China, Columbia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the US and UAE – had exhibits at analytica Anacon India 2007 (2006: 130 exhibitors from eleven countries – a 9.2 percent increase).

Decision-makers from top management

analytica Anacon India 2007 was a popular attraction among top managers from Indian laboratories. Exhibitors praised the excellent quality of the visitors who attended the fair, who included a large number of managing directors, upper management and laboratory directors, especially from the pharmaceuticals, fine chemistry and biotechnology sectors. According to Futagami Hiroaki, chief representative of Singapore Representative Office of Eyela, a Japanese manufacturer, the majority of the visitors at his stand were decision-makers and executives from laboratories in the pharma industry as well as a number of representatives from companies that do contract research for international pharma groups. And according to Senya Imamichi, deputy managing director at Shimadzu, upper-level managers with concrete intentions to invest came to Hyderabad from every part of India to see the latest laboratory solutions. Many exhibitors are expecting post-fair business to be good.

The 3,037 registered visitors who attended the fair (analytica Anacon India 2006: 2,592 visitors, a 17 percent increase) included decision-makers from throughout India and from industrial centers such as Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore as well as several international guests from the Arabic and Asian regions. Sumeet Pathare, manager, key accounts at Merck Specialities, said that 80 percent of the visitors at his stand were decision-makers from Hyderabad, and 20 percent were from outside that region.

Hyderabad a cluster for user industries

All exhibitors agree about the growing importance of the Indian market for instrumental analysis, laboratory technology and biotechnology solutions. And there is no doubt that Hyderabad is already one of the largest clusters for this sector in India. The enormous amount of potential it has to offer becomes apparent when visiting the technology centers located in the greater Hyderabad region. Prior to the fair, Dr Stefan Lamotte, manager, columns and stationary phases at Bischoff Analysentechnik, visited pharmaceuticals companies in and around Hyderabad, all of which had laboratories with state-of-the-art high-tech equipment. Hyderabad – which is also called Pharmabad – is currently establishing itself as a hub for the pharmaceuticals, fine chemistry and biotechnology sectors. It has outstanding prospects for future growth, which means rapidly growing demand for efficient high-tech laboratory technology. The IT sector, which is also important to modern laboratories, and international financial institutions have now relocated to Hyderabad, where they are rapidly expanding.

"The opening of the new international airport, which is located near Hitex Center and is scheduled for March 2008, completion of the ring highway and construction of the Metro, which will provide service to the trade fair center, will improve national and international connections as well as the regional traffic infrastructure. These measures will help to get even more exhibitors and visitors into the halls and help more companies move to the area," predicts Hans-Joachim Heusler, commenting on future growth.

Indian analysis sector's "Hall of Fame": IAIA celebrates tenth anniversary

The vice president of the Indian Analytical Instruments Association (IAIA), S Thyagarajan, was very enthusiastic about the course of the fair and the success of the analytica Anacon Conference: "analytica Anacon India 2007 was perfectly organized, and the Hitex Center in Hyderabad is a world-class venue."

The international analytica Anacon Conference accompanied the three-day exhibition and featured 25 lectures on the latest innovations in pharmaceutical analysis, material research, chromatography and mass spectroscopy. A separate lecture panel focused on the latest equipment trends and analysis techniques related to the life science disciplines. Speakers from the US, Europe, Germany, Japan and Singapore followed the invitation of the IAIA and Munich International Trade Fairs to appear in Hyderabad. Keynote addresses were booked to capacity with up to 120 audience members, and the IAIA reported a total of more than 450 conference participants. For the next analytica Anacon Conference, S Thyagarajan is planning to increase the number of events to approximately 40 presentations that will take place in simultaneous panels. According to the vice president of the IAIA, Hyderabad is the preferred location because the exhibition and conference center meets western standards and features the amenities that international businesspeople, key players and the industry's leading speakers expect.

The IAIA used this year's analytica Anacon India to celebrate its tenth anniversary on the first evening of the fair. It held a large gala where ten members of the IAIA were honored for their commitment and for their achievements benefiting the analysis industry in India and inducted into the "2007 Hall of Fame". Members were honored in three categories, i.e. for developing and manufacturing high-tech analysis equipment such as modern gas chromatographs, for establishing distribution channels for the sale and service of analysis equipment in India and for their commitment to paving the way for the distribution and use of state-of-the-art analysis techniques in Indian laboratories.

The next analytica Anacon India will take place in the autumn of 2009.