De Jong Verpakking has been present at the London Produce Show at Grosvenor House in the JW Mariott Hotel, in the centre of London, for a number of years. Now that the organisation is also starting a fair in Amsterdam, commercial director Arie Barendregt was quick to register as a exhibitor. "But I have to be honest, it was a leap in the dark. It could be a hit or a miss."
"Grosvenor House in London is one of the few places in the world where they will charge you 15 pounds extra for a boiled egg. The entire event is in this category and participation is expensive for the stall room you get, but the good news is that you meet the right people. I'm not that bothered about the quantity of the visitors, but they know how to get the right people together. Due to our growth in the British packaging sector, I think we should be there and I have also already signed up for the edition in London next year."
Arie Barendregt
"As the largest Dutch producer of corrugated carton packaging I believe we should be in Amsterdam and I believe our sellers agree. Whether this is a good choice will be apparent afterwards. From a Dutch point of view the entire fair in London might be a bit 'over the top', but due to the success in London I don't expect them to scale down this concept in the Netherlands. They are emphatically positioning themselves as a top category in what they offer and who they bring together and I expect them to copy England as much as possible."
"In my eyes the Westland should be the location in the Netherlands to show off our 'fresh produce industry', but I can't think of another luxury location where they have a similar fair floor. In this sense Grosvenor House is very unique. Amsterdam is good due to its accessibility and it's a neatly taken care of location. We'll wait and see!"
The Amsterdam Produce Show is being held from 2-4 November: www.amsterdamproduceshow.com
For more information:
Arie Barendregt
De Jong Verpakking
T: +31 (0)186 - 573 990
a.barendregt@dejongverpakking.nl
www.dejongverpakking.nl