Internationalism in Europe

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Sizoo: Established in SpainThe Spanish pet sector is in transition, something that was evident once again at Sizoo in Barcelona. Since the established show was faced two years ago with the arrival of Iberzoo in Zaragoza as a rival event and suffered a decline in terms of visitor and exhibitor figures, no-one quite knew what to expect of Sizoo 2007. "Here in Barcelona, exhibitors and visitors come to present and look at new products. They go to Iberzoo in Zaragoza to order," say many Spanish industry insiders, voicing pretty much the same comment. The more cosmopolitan flavour of the show compared with last year was striking, with companies such as Novafoods from Sweden, Tropical of Poland, Sanpfist from Switzerland and Mera Dog from Germany all present. In spite of the slight upward trend again this year, the shadow of Zaragoza hanging over this established fair in Barcelona was still perceptible at Sizoo. "I hope that the organisers, currently at odds with one another, will yet overcome their differences and that the Spanish sector will once again come together in one place," hoped one Spanish manufacturer, probably echoing the opinion of many visitors and exhibitors.
Zoorf: Sweden's no. 1Growth in double figures and a stampede of foreign brands and firms is how the situation in the Swedish pet product industry can be summed up. The third edition of the Zoorf show, which takes place every two years, was therefore bursting at the seams even in advance of its opening. "We have reached the limits of our exhibition space capacity," enthused Mats Danielsson, fair organiser and chairman of Zoorf in the run-up to the fair. The venue for the show was the exclusive Scandic Infra City hotel and business complex to the north of Stockholm. And the event on the Saturday evening, attended by over 700 guests, took place in the specially decorated hotel lobby of the same building. Thus neither exhibitors nor visitors had to worry about transfers to get them back and forth from fair to hotel room. "If we should have to expand Zoorf markedly in two years' time, then we will regrettably have to look around for a new venue," says Mats Danielsson. At the evening function, the Swedish firm Lantmannen-Doggy, the Danish company Eldorado/Akva Stabil and the German retracting lead specialist Flexi-Bogdahn were all singled out for the attractiveness and visitor-friendly quality of their exhibition stands.
Glee: Decline in visitors to…