VPE: launche for the newco set up by Veronafiere & Fiere di Parma. Italian wine&food looking well ahead

Verona, 4rd December 2017 – VPE (Verona Parma Exhibitions) is the name of the new company set up by Veronafiere and Fiere di Parma that together are the leading direct organisers of exhibitions dedicated to agricultural and agro-food sectors in Italy and among the top in Europe in this segment. The two companies jointly rank as the second trade fair landmark in terms of both consolidated turnover in 2016 with 127 million euro (88 Verona, 39 Parma), and gross inside area with a total of 283 thousand square meters (153 Verona, 130 Parma).

In 2016, Verona and Parma organized an overall total of 91 exhibitions and events in Italy and abroad (67 Verona, 24 Parma) attracting 1.8 million visitors (1.3 Verona and 0.5 Parma) and 21.350 exhibitors (14.000 Verona and 7.350 Parma). And they also rank as two international platforms for Italian agro-food exports, with well-known brands in the food&wine sector, such as: Vinitaly, Sol&Agrifood, Enolitech, OperaWine, Vinitaly International Academy (Veronafiere) and Cibus, Cibus Tec, Cibus Connect and Cibus Market Check (Fiere di Parma).

The new company, a 50-50 venture between Verona and Parma, was presented by the Presidents and CEOs of Veronafiere and Fiere di Parma, respectively Maurizio Danese and Gian Domenico Auricchio, with Giovanni Mantovani and Antonio Cellie, and the President of the ICE Agency, Michele Scannavini.

In terms of international promotion, VPE’s initial activities will involve the acquisition of a significant share-holding in a trade fair operator in the food&beverage sector in Europe and North America and the development of a Cibus&Vinitaly format for new trade fairs or collateral events at consolidated events.