The international vending show, Venditalia, will be held from May 20 to 23 at FieraMilano Rho, despite fears surrounding the spread of the coronavirus.
Venditalia’s President Ernesto Piloni said: “At the moment, we assume that in May everything will be back to normality.
“Rescheduling our trade show would be extremely risky and potentially useless.
Many other great trade shows in Italy, such as Vinitaly and Cibus, had their dates confirmed, in April and May. Furthermore, the famous “Salone del Mobile” fair in Milan has been postponed by only two months: it will take place in mid-June.”
“The dates of Venditalia are confirmed and we will do everything to make it the best event ever, because it is essential to support the economy of our companies, especially in such a complicated moment.
“You will agree with me that if in three months’ time if there is still a health hazard, the problem would be enormously greater for the national and international economy and for us as individuals than for the fairs.
“In conclusion, displaying the excellence of the vending sector at the fair in May means giving an important message to the markets and offering a great opportunity to the whole sector.”
This year, Venditalia hopes to bring many logistic advantages to participants in the new venue including wider space on a single floor, leading-edge services, more efficient transport connections, more car parks and better access to facilities.
With regards to the trade show plan, there will be more debates and workshops than previously. Thursday, May 24 and Friday, May 25 will be devoted to debates about the two main themes – technological innovation and environmental sustainability.
Sustainability has been the key subject of the ‘RiVending’ tour – developed by CONFIDA, the Italian Vending Association, COREPLA, the European Association of Plastics Recycling and Recovery Organisations and UNIONPLAST, the Italian Union of Plastic Processing Firms – with the aim of making the coffee break more sustainable by recycling coffee machines’ small glasses and stirrers.
The project will be one of the main highlights of Venditalia 2020 through debates about any aspects of sustainability linked to the vending sector.
