OREANDA-NEWS. July 05, 2010. Elegant smoking rooms; non-flammable professional textiles for hotels; heaters as interior elements; new products in the cleaning industry; and professional kitchen equipment – these were some of the areas covered by suppliers of equipment and services for restaurants, hotels and supermarkets at HOREX 2010, the 6th Central Asian International Hotel, Restaurant & Supermarket Exhibition, which took place in Almaty April and was organized by Iteca.

This year, the exhibition brought together about 100 suppliers and manufacturers from 7 countries. The exhibition demonstrated the full range of products and solutions necessary for the successful operation of hotels, restaurants and supermarkets. The countries represented at the exhibition included Germany, Israel, Kazakhstan, Russia, USA, Turkey and France. More than 5000 people visited the exhibition and participated in the numerous master-classes on using modern kitchen equipment and technologies, and the latest trends in the design of hotels.

HOREX is a major event in the hospitality industry, and accordingly the most visited hospitality event in the region. Traditionally, HOREX includes: an exhibition, culinary congress, contests, and seminars and workshops from exhibiting companies. In recent years, international hotel chains have opened in Kazakhstan - such as Rixos and Holiday Inn – as well new restaurants, shopping centres and entertainment centres. Major supermarket chains are also entering the market. One of the central positions at the exhibition was occupied by Metro Cash & Carry. At the stand of Metro Cash & Carry, shows and master classes were given hourly by world-renowned companies, such as Unilever, Maggi and Henkel, and domestic companies. There were also tasting sessions of Nescafe coffee and President cheeses, a presentation of Issyk Wine and a barman show from RG Brands.

Several major exhibitors stressed that modern restaurant equipment has successfully taken on an image function. This is especially important in an open kitchen, where equipment is installed directly in the trading area of the restaurant (for example, in establishments which employ the free flow concept), or used in the organisation of catering events.

One of the season’s most significant new products was professional textiles made of non-flammable polyester fibres by RosTextile. In Kazakhstan, RosTextile is a pioneering company providing Trevira non-flammable textiles for the hospitality and service industry. The use of such fabrics in hotel interiors is today a basic requirement (standard) of fire safety.

Among the new products presented at the exhibition were an elegant engineering solution for organising seating for smoking areas, bars, restaurants, hotels and offices from EES; new generation infrared heaters for restaurants and outdoor seating areas by Active Engineering; the Viking Combi 100E cooking kettle for professional kitchens, with a powerful built-in mixer, manufactured by Hackman, from Vermi Gastro Maschinen; and much more.

The 3rd Kazakhstan Culinary Congress “Kitchen Virtuosos” included two especially popular master classes: “Modern drinks receptions” and “New products of European cuisine”. The congress, which was organised by Iteca and the Kazakhstan National Guild of Chefs, was held in the same venue as the exhibition. For the third consecutive year, the General Sponsor of the Culinary Congress was USAPEEC, the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council. The two-day culinary congress consisted of eight professional master classes. Thematically, the congress remained unchanged from last year, such was the desire of delegates. The congress was attended by 56 delegates from 8 cities in Kazakhstan.

HOREX 2010 statistics:

13% of exhibitors signed contracts at the exhibition

At the exhibition, 70% of exhibitors established 50-100 useful contacts, 17% made 100-200 promising contacts and 4.5% replied in surveys that they managed to speak with 500 potential and existing clients.

Among the products and services that interested visitors at the exhibition were: dishes & accessories (53% of visitors), textiles and uniforms (43%), kitchen equipment (40%), furniture for hotels and restaurants (27%), food and drinks for restaurants, cafes and hotels (17%) and equipment for super- and mini-markets (10%)

97% of visitors stated in surveys that they will definitely come to the exhibition in 2011

HOREZ 2011 will take place in Almaty on 20-22 April.