Packaging

VISITING DRINKTEC – MADE EASY

Monday 08. June 2009 - Visitor service for drinktec 2009

A visit to drinktec 2009, World Fair for Beverage and Liquid Food Technology, needs to be carefully planned. Organising travel, booking a hotel, obtaining information on the exhibitors ñ all no problem at all thanks to a range of services that drinktec is making available to trade visitors, so that producers of beverages and liquid food can arrive in Munich in September as stress-free as possible to enjoy the drinktec experience. Buy tickets online and save time and moneyTo save time and money, buy your drinktec ticket online. Buying a one-day ticket in this way costs only Ä25 instead of Ä49, a three-day ticket Ä44 instead of Ä88 and you are also entitled to travel to the fair on local public transport free of charge. In addition, if you have bought your admission ticket in advance, you save time when you arrive at the fair. The process is simple. When you book online you will be sent a ticket voucher by e-mail, which you must print out and bring to the fair with you. The voucher is also valid as a ticket for the U-Bahn (underground railway) and S-Bahn (suburban railway) in the Munich public transport network. You then exchange it quickly and simply for an admission ticket at the fair. Online visitor registration is available in twelve languages!
Getting there: Tickets and exhibitor passes are also travel tickets Whether you come by car, rail or air, the New Munich Trade Fair is easy to reach by all modes of transport and benefits from Munichís central position in the heart of Europe. An electronic traffic routing system shows car drivers the way to the fair and guides them to the nearest unoccupied parking spaces. The parking areas on the open-air exhibition site and in the multi-storey car park at the West Entrance ñ which has 5,000 parking spaces alone ñ open two hours before the fair begins and do not close until 11 p.m. A route planner is available on the drinktec website under the heading ‘Getting there’. There are also destination addresses to input into various navigation systems. People arriving at Munichís main railway station (Hauptbahnhof) should transfer to the underground railway (line U2). The journey to the trade fair centre ñ ëMessestadt Westí or ëMessestadt Ostí stations ñ takes around 20 minutes. In the morning and in the afternoon until the fair closes, the Underground runs at five minute intervals. Exhibitor passes and admission tickets are valid as tickets for the local public transport services, including the Underground. Which means that if you buy your drinktec entrance ticket online, you already have a ticket for getting to the fair. People travelling by air can use the airport shuttle service from the airport to the fair. Buses run at 30-minute intervals, and the bus stops are outside Terminal 1 (Exit A and central area) and Terminal 2 at Munich Airport. A return ticket to the trade fair centre costs Ä12. At the trade fair centre the shuttle buses arrive at the West Entrance. The journey takes a maximum of 45 minutes.
Accommodation: all categories on offer drinktec provides help with finding accommodation on its website under the heading ‘Your stay in Munich’. This lists several partners (tradefairs.com, STATTHOTEL, CHECK-IN), providing accommodation of all kinds ñ from B&B to luxury hotels. Of course you can also book online. It is worth booking early for rooms in all categories, as you will have more choice and can negotiate better rates.
Help with visas and travel arrangements drinktec is also a top trade fair at international level. It attracts visitors from around 170 countries, with 34,166 trade visitors from abroad attending last time. In order to help visitors from non-EU countries with their visa applications, drinktec has set up its own visa service on its website under the heading ‘For exhibitors’ and ‘For visitors’. This tells you which documents are necessary for your visa application and you can even apply for a visa invitation letter online. Links lead you to the appropriate German Federal Foreign Office website and to the foreign representatives of Messe M¸nchen International. They will provide information if you have any further questions on your visa application and will support you in making travel arrangements or organising group travel. With six affiliated companies abroad and 66 foreign representatives, supporting 89 countries, Messe M¸nchen International really does have a global network. Exhibitor and product database: company and product search at a click Company and product search made easy: the exhibitor and product database gives a quick overview of all the companies represented at drinktec and their products. Find what you are looking for with a click of the mouse. You can search by company name, hall, country or post code. The product directory makes searching for specific products, machinery, technologies or raw materials easier. Even the precise positioning of an exhibitor can be ascertained in a matter of seconds by using the Boothfinder facility. The exhibitor and product database can be accessed in five languages, while the product index is available in a further seven languages ñ a unique service in this form. All registered companies are included in an Excel file which can be downloaded at www.drinktec.com, under the heading ëExhibitor and product databaseí. 19 September, the day for service technicians Service technicians who maintain machinery and systems should make an note to visit drinktec on Saturday 19 September 2009, because this day is dedicated specifically to them. They can meet their colleagues from the supply industry at the exhibition stands and talk shop about the latest machines, systems and their applications. The slogan for the day is ‘Focusing on service and maintenance’. ìWe have set up this initiative for the service technicians jointly with our exhibitors,î says Petra Westphal, Exhibition Director of drinktec 2009. The dayís theme continues with two lectures in the exhibition forum, planned around issues of interest to service technicians. 19 September, the careers day The next generation of managers (students from vocational schools and colleges and universities) who aspire to a career in the beverage industry should also put 19 September 2009 in their diary. On this day drinktec shows the opportunities and options this exciting industry has to offer, with renowned training centres such as Doemens, VLB and Weihenstephan in attendance. By going round the fair, the young people learn from professionals what the day-to-day job entails, what qualifications are expected and the promotion prospects. From August, anyone looking for a job can access an online tool provided by drinktec 2009 at www.drinktec.com, where drinktec exhibitors post vacancies. And the job search can also begin at the trade fair centre, where the first port of call should be the ‘Job Wall’ in Hall B1.