analytica 2010 opens: International trade fair opens with increase in number of exhibitors

At the main press conference on March 23, 2010, Norbert Bargmann, Deputy CEO of Messe München GmbH, greeted exhibitors and visitors to the 22nd analytica in Munich with the fair's slogan "Welcome to the world of insights". Despite the difficult state of the economy during the last few months, the international trade fair has seen a slight increase in the number of exhibitors in 2010. For four days, 1,038 exhibitors from 37 countries will present marketable products and solutions in the laboratory-technology, analysis and biotechnology sectors on 50,000 square meters of exhibition space. They include international market leaders such as Akzo Nobel, agilent technologies, Analytik Jena, Bruker, Carl Zeiss, Deutsche Metrohm, Eppendorf, Hamamatsu, Horiba, JAS, Leica, Merck, Mettler Toledo, Olympus, Perkin Elmer, Shimadzu, Thermo Electron, Varian, VWR, Waters and WTW. The share of international exhibitors has increased slightly from 36 to 37.5 percent compared to 2008. In 2010, the top five exhibitor countries are Germany, the United States, Great Britain, France and Switzerland. "We are more than satisfied with the number of exhibitors at analytica 2010," explained Norbert Bargmann. "Not only have we maintained the level from 2008, we even surpassed it. We are pleased that analytica has a permanent place in companies' calendars, even in times of economic difficulty. During the next few days, Munich will once again be an international meeting place for industry representatives."

Trade association makes optimistic forecast
The trade association SPECTARIS is optimistic. According to Sven Behrens, CEO of the German Industry Association for Optical, Medical and Mechatronic Technologies, the association expects sales to increase slightly in 2010. It is also forecasting the number of jobs to increase by one percent to 34,700. After an eight-percent decline in sales to EUR 5.68 billion in 2009, that would put the analysis, biotechnology and laboratory-technology industry back on an upward trend. "Nearly all companies are sending positive signals," Behrens explained at the main press conference for analytica. "For the year 2010, we expect sales to increase by some seven to eight percent. And foreign sales should increase by nearly nine percent in 2010." In that case, the nearly 330 German manufacturers in the analysis, biotechnology and laboratory-technology sector would generate a total of EUR 6.11 billion from sales of their products in 2010.

Talking Science – Today's knowledge for tomorrow's applications
The analytica Conference has been an integral part of the trade fair for years. Three days, four plenary presentations and 23 symposia with renowned speakers from Germany and abroad – those are the key statistics for the 2010 analytica Conference which, once again, is being organized by Germany's three leading scientific associations, i.e. the German Chemical Society (GDCh), the Association for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM) and the German Association for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (DGKL). In 2008, the analytica Conference was attended by 1,140 visitors – 851 from Germany and 289 from abroad. Prof. Dr. Günter Gauglitz, Deputy Chairman of the GDCh Working Group for Analytical Chemistry, summarized the main themes of this year's conference: "Besides important analysis findings for biology, medicine and pharma research, the lectures and symposia at the conference demonstrate the latest successes in environmental analysis, which play a key role in the transition to increased sustainability in our high-tech society. The importance of food analysis to nutrition sciences is also a central theme of this year's lectures." The analytica Conference is being held in the rooms adjacent to Halls B1 – B4 from March 23 – 25, 2001.

Fine particles, chemical analysis techniques and personalized medicine
The most important topics that pertain to the environment include the recent debate about exposure to ultrafine particles, nanoparticles and aerosols. Prof. Ralf Zimmermann from the Joint Mass Spectrometry Center at Rostock University and Helmholtz Zentrum München is holding a full-day symposium on Thursday that is devoted to organic compounds in fine and ultrafine particles, their analysis and how they influence health. At the main press conference, Zimmermann gave participants an initial look at the focal points of the symposium and emphasized, "It is a proven fact that fine particles are extremely relevant to human health, and there are still several unanswered questions regarding the chemical composition and unhealthy mechanisms of the organic compounds in fine particles that must be answered to effectively protect our health. Low-emission zones alone are certainly not enough to solve the fine-particle health problem." Zimmermann's symposium titled "Organic Compounds in Fine and Ultrafine Dust – Analysis and Impact on Human Health," which is part of the analytica Conference, is being held in Room B11 (Hall B1) on Thursday, March 25, 2010 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In addition to the exhibition and the conference, during the next few days analytica 2010 will feature an extensive program of related events including practice-oriented exhibitor presentations, panel discussions and seminars in two forums that are open to the general public and in rooms adjacent to the exhibition. They also focus on the industry's latest hot topics such as food safety, personalized medicine and new analysis methods. Thanks to JobDay and FinanceDay, those getting started in the industry and new businesses have their own platforms on Friday.

A comprehensive look at the exhibition, the anayltica Conference and the entire program of related events at analytica 2010 is available in the analytica VisitorGuide.