By Atoyebi Nike
17th May, 2025
The Project Manager for Market Intelligence and International Markets of the Machine and Equipment Manufacturers Association of Germany, popularly known as VDMA, Daniel Dellemann, speaks with ISMAEEL UTHMAN on how food processing is impacting the Nigerian economy and the Drinktec 2025 event coming up in October in Germany.
What are the objectives of Drinktec 2025, and how do they align with current industry trends?
I am with the Department for Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association of the Machine and Equipment Manufacturers Association of Germany. Our member companies are producers and manufacturers of technology, equipment, and machinery for food processing and packaging, which also includes, of course, the beverage industry. We have been partnering with Drinktec for decades, so we are the sectoral expert partner of Drinktec.
Drinktec is recognised as the leading trade fair in the beverage and liquid food industry. Our goal is to foster new business relationships and to serve as a platform for local and international exhibitors and visitors from over 170 countries worldwide. We believe that it creates innovation because human encounters are essential for fostering innovation. Personal exchanges are crucial for business success. The platform’s goal is really to show the future of the industry and boost innovation.
How will the event impact the global beverage and food processing industries, particularly in terms of technological advancements?
As I mentioned, innovation arises from human encounters, and Drinktec 2025 will be a hotbed of new ideas and solutions. We expect new technologies to be showcased. We base that assumption on the over 1,000 innovations and solutions that were presented at the last event in 2022. The industry is continuously advancing and focusing on different topics such as reducing energy consumption, optimizing product handling, and improving material usage. Exhibitors will present pilot studies, prototypes, the latest ideas, innovations, and solutions for the beverage and liquid food sector at that trade show.
How are stakeholders addressing sustainability challenges within the beverage industry in terms of reducing carbon footprints and improving recycling rates?
The key topics that we have identified together with Yontex, the trade show organizer, are going to be: data to value, how can I use the data produced in the production process to, for instance, produce more efficiently; lifestyle and health — all over the globe, we see people wanting healthier and more functional beverages, possibly enriched with vitamins or other additives; and circularity and resource management. All three topics really contribute to sustainability. But let me focus on the obvious one, circularity and resource management.
What we are seeing in the industry is a more holistic approach to processing and packaging. A holistic approach to how we can save resources and how that leads to innovative concepts.
If we talk about beverage production, the first thing that comes to mind is water. We need water for beverage and liquid food production. So, how can we reduce water input but still produce the same product, with the same quality? There is a lot of technology and innovation in that space. At the same time, for the water that’s used, how can we recycle it and put it back into some process, whether it’s in the same production process or used for something else?
There’s also the call for zero waste of raw materials. If I produce mango juice, I need to think about what I can do with the mango peel. I don’t want it to go to waste. All these solutions are going to be presented at Drinktec.
There is something I know is also very important in Nigeria, and all over the globe, packaging material. There are two sides to it. The first is: how can I reduce packaging material consumption? A lot has already happened over the last decades. If we compare a plastic water bottle from 30 years ago to what it is now, the bottles are much thinner. So, we need much less material to produce a water bottle, which means not only less material but also lighter bottles. That helps again with transport and reduces CO2 emissions.
Another area is that this bottle should not be a single-use bottle. It should be recycled. We don’t want it to end up in the streets or in a canal, thrown into nature. The idea is to reuse it, because a lot of energy has already been put into producing that bottle. We can recycle it. That is the idea of this whole holistic approach, from the input into the production process to the packaging at the end, and how we can be sustainable with it.
Are these recycled products and materials safe for human consumption?
We have seen a lot of innovations that are absolutely safe for human consumption. Most of what I have just mentioned is already being implemented and improved. There is absolutely no difference in quality.
The best example we see at the moment in real life is plastic PET bottles. We can recycle almost up to 100% of them, many times. The number of times a bottle can be recycled has increased significantly. There is absolutely no downside to it in terms of the quality of the bottle or its suitability for human consumption, not at all.
How can Nigeria make use of its population to enhance production in the food processing industry?
The population is growing, so there needs to be more production. I think what Nigeria should do is direct the growing population towards the production of raw materials. If we talk about beverage production, it is not only about machinery. There are jobs in the plants. Not everything has to be atomized. So, there’s a lot of opportunities there for employment.
Nigeria and a lot of other countries can also build a complete value chain with the raw materials. You have the agricultural land; the raw materials needed for beverage production could potentially and massively be produced in Nigeria. If you want to produce mango juice, Nigeria could probably provide all the mangoes. But from what I understand, in a lot of the production processes, the raw materials are not there. So, Nigeria should put its population to use in agriculture, be it in production or processing. If you produce more, you will get more people employed. If you produce more, the prices are going to be lower, and it is going to be more affordable for the population.
Do you have any form of partnership with the government or its agencies?
We do not have a direct partnership with Nigerian governments and institutions as such. But we collaborate on certain projects with institutions like UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization). We work with the team here in Germany, and that’s sometimes our bridge to a lot of the private companies in Nigeria. They organize delegation trips to German trade shows or the other way around. But there is nothing like any formal agreement between us. Of course, we have been talking to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria. I was in Nigeria in March at the agrofood and Plast Printpack in Lagos.
If we talk about partnerships (not with government) or agencies, we had in the past a project in Nigeria, Kenya, and Botswana. We had a partnership with the Dangote Academy. The project was called Skilled Workers for Africa, or in this case, Skilled Workers for Nigeria. What we did there was partner with the Dangote Academy to build up an educational programme based on the German model. For instance, in Germany, there are not only universities but also technical training programmes. As a young person of 16 or 18 years, you go into a company to gain practical experience by working there. But half of the time, you also attend school to learn about technical requirements, and so on. There are educational programmes for electricians, mechatronics, everything the industry needs. So, we built that programme together with the Dangote Academy. German companies provided the machinery for students to learn how to weld, maintain machinery, understand electrical circuits, and so on.
After three years, the students graduate and have an equivalent to a German educational degree. So, in theory, they can work in Nigeria or Germany. We have done that over the past few years. The project on our side has ended, but it is ongoing without our input. That was always the goal – to build an educational project that can continue without our support. Many young Nigerians are going through that programme. That is just one example of a partnership we had in the past in Nigeria.
In terms of job creation, how has the food processing and packaging machinery sector supported Nigeria’s economy?
A lot of our member companies are active in Nigeria. We have some companies that employ many people locally. We have hundreds of people employed by these companies in Nigeria, so that is creating employment. Many people are involved in sales activities, technician roles for after-sales service, and various other jobs. These companies are active in Nigeria even without a direct presence. How do they do that? Through a local sales representative.
German manufacturers are very focused on training customer staff on machine operation and maintenance, and on upskilling workers, because they want the machines to work and be maintained. You can’t always fly someone from Germany to Nigeria every time. So, upskilling these workers to handle basic maintenance and fix simple problems themselves is necessary. Some companies offer training programmes for employees. That is how they contribute to the local workforce.
Are there specific things you want the government to implement to enhance the performance of your sector?
We can’t make any demands, but generally speaking, what is crucial for any type of economic activity is stability and the ability to plan ahead. Two examples: We can talk about streamlined customs processes. If I send a machine to Nigeria, and it goes through customs and I have everything done correctly, like I’ve done in the past, there should be no problem with it clearing customs. I should be able to expect that it’s going to go through without challenges because I have done it right. So, these kinds of streamlined processes are important. The same goes for the currency. It would be much easier if companies that want to invest can get dollars or euros so they can actually invest in machinery. These basics are really essential for long-term investments.
(PUNCH)
