Trade brisk within the PestEx exhibition

With over 60 stands to visit in the exhibition, you needed a good pair of feet and the tenacity of a ratting terrier to get around them all! Almost to a man, the exhibitors viewed PestEx 2009 as a positive and business-generating exercise.

PestEx exhibitions are always viewed as very international events and this year was no exception. Whilst the quantity of visitors might be small in number (the figures mentioned by the organisers were over 750 on day one and 500 on day two) their quality (meaning more managers than technicians) makes up for it.

All the usual companies making up the UK pest control business were present. Sorex and Network had undergone a transformation reflecting their acquisition by BASF and the products of all three organisations were on public display for the very first time under the BASF Pest Control Solutions banner – click here for details.

Probably the exhibitor who had come the furthest was Airofog from China. Unlike other speciality chemical markets, such as agrochemicals, there has yet to be an influx of Chinese manufacturers at our European events. Sometimes ”small” certainly is beautiful, as pest control (thankfully many would say) seems a market yet to be discovered by the Chinese – so far…

There was strong representation from Europe with Alochem, Babolna Bio, Ecotrade, Fumi-Hogar, I.N.D.I.A., Igeba, Liphatech, MO-El, OR.MA, Pecom, Plastdiversity, Silvandersson, Sitno and Urbanguard all present.

From the ‘other side of the pond’, Orkin was once again present looking to sign-up international franchises, whilst AP&G and Earth Care, along with the friendly and familiar presence of Steve Cooper from Kness, had their products on display.

Without doubt products connected to bedbug management were the stars of the show. There were no less than four bedbug monitors out on their maiden display plus a new heat (cold) system using liquid nitrogen called Criopest.

In an attempt to draw these bedbug products together, there was a “Bedbugs in the house” display consisting of a mocked-up bedroom scene with the sponsor’s products in situ.

On the new chemicals front, of particular note was the much heralded Maxforce Quantum from Bayer Environmental Science which has imidacloprid – a totally new ingredient to this market – as its active component. This product promises to set new standards in black ant managenent which can be notoriously troublesome, along with control of the ever-increasing varieties of tropical ants. There was also a whole stand dedicated to the new rodenticide product, Romax (coumatatralyl) from Barrettine Environmental Health.

A more detailed round-up of the new products seen at PestEx will be in the forthcoming edition ofPestmagazine.

After the close of the exhibition on the first day, an industry evening event was organised by BPCA. Reports as to the success and the standard of catering for this by the limited few who attended were very mixed. During the evening numerous industry awards were presented, but regrettably details of these are unavailable from BPCA. What a shame.

Pelgar stand The busy exhibition floor