PRESS RELEASES

Press release
Bologna, October 2nd 2009

Bolognafiere and Ipack-Ima Spa sign a milestone agreement: a new partnership is to take charge of Pharmintech.
The industry's leading companies confirm their participation in the next edition.

BolognaFiere and Ipack-Ima spa have recently signed an important partnership agreement: it establishes a new company, with both BolognaFiere and Ipack-Ima owning 51% and 49% of the capital respectively. The new company will take up the leadership of Pharmintech, the reference exhibition of packaging solutions for the pharmaceutical, personal care and nutraceutical industry; the next edition will be held at the Bologna exhibition complex from May 12th to 14th 2010.

The announcement was given this morning during a joint press conference by BolognaFiere and Ipack-Ima Spa, two important players in the domestic and international exhibition arena. The conference featured the participation of the Regional Counciler for productive activities of Emilia-Romagna Duccio Campagnoli and Unindustria Bologna President Maurizio Marchesini.

The new company will own the exhibition and its brand and will be in charge of its management, in conjunction with Unindustria Bologna. The organizing secretariat will continue to be run by Ipack-Ima spa.

"This acquisition shows that Pharmintech is deeply rooted in Bologna as a specialized, all-comprehensive exhibition, strengthening our position as an exhibition organizer specialized in the wellness, health and hygiene industry," said BolognaFiere CEO Federico Minoli.

"The acquisition is an important sign for all the pharmaceutical companies looking at Pharmintech as the industry's reference exhibition. We are certain they will promptly respond positively and that this acquisition will produce encouraging results," said Unindustria Bologna President Maurizio Marchesini.

Pharmintech takes place every three years at the Bologna exhibition complex and is the most prestigious European showcase of technology, materials and services for the processing and packaging of pharmaceutical, person care, nutraceutical and nutritional products.

"This agreement is the natural evolution of our partnership with BolognaFiere, established since the first edition of Pharmintech", added Ipack-Ima spa CEO Guido Corbella. "This further step will ensure the support of the major technology manufacturers for the future, as predicted by the president of Unindustria Bologna Maurizio Marchesini. These companies have looked at Pharmintech as the industry's reference exhibition in Europe since its establishment."

Pharmintech's second edition took place in 2007 taking up a 6.500 m² net exhibiting surface. 89% of exhibitors and 70% of visitors stated they were satisfied by Pharmintech. In addition, the participation of international market players was impressive: 30% of exhibitors and 18% of visitors came from countries outside of Italy.

The next edition of Pharmintech will have Sergio Dompé as president and will enjoy the patronage of Farmindustria, Italy's main trade association for the Pharmaceutical Industry. Based on the subscriptions collected so far, by 2010 the organizers expect the same massive participation of important companies as in the previous edition. This will strengthen Pharmintech's role as reference exhibition for the pharmaceutical business community in Europe.

Pharmintech will take advantage of its location in Bologna, whose territory features a high concentration of world leading companies in the pharmaceutical packaging segment.
In addition, the Bologna exhibition complex is the main showcase for the wellness, hygiene and health industry in general and hosts internationally renowned exhibitions such as Comoprof, Cosmopack, Cosmofarma, Exposanità and Sana.

"The synergies between pharmaceutical companies and industry suppliers – said Farmindustria President Sergio Dompé – create a drive towards innovation. These suppliers display excellent performance on international markets: their exports generate as much as 90% of their total turnover. Likewise, pharmaceutical companies can increase their efficiency thus responding to the challenges created by international competition.
The agreement can boost made-in-Italy products and stimulate investment, thus helping relaunch the Italian economy".

The BolognaFiere Group, a leading international exhibition organizer, includes 16 companies managing 3 different exhibition complexes and organizing over 80 exhibitions in Italy and abroad.
The company's strengths include the high specialization of its events, the strong international reach, cut-edge facilities (a total exhibiting surface of 375,000 m², both indoor and outdoor) and a wide offer of services.
The BolognaFiere Group, in addition to its activity as an exhibition organizer, includes a company dedicated to activities on international markets, a congress organizer, a service company and a catering company for exhibitions.

Ipack-Ima spa is Italy's most important exhibition organizer for packaging and processing technology, and ranks among the top exhibition organizers worldwide. Established in 1961, it acts as a connecting platform for demand and offer of technology and products on key markets, keeping up with market evolutions and creating tailor-made marketing tools to fulfill the needs of exhibitors and visitors participating in its events. Thanks to its ability to anticipate new market trends, Ipack-Ima spa is constantly developing and is well established among Italy's most important exhibition systems for instrumental mechanics.

For information:

ORGANIZER:

IPACK-IMA S.p.A
Maria Grazia Facchinetti
Marketing & Communication Manager
Tel. +39.02. 3191091
fax +39.02. 33619826
e-mail: ipackima@ipackima.it
web: www.pharmintech.it


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