Innovations intended to help businesses overcome the crises will be exhibited at the 65th International Technical Fair. The event is organized from 28 September to 3 October 2009 in Plovdiv with the participation of 1,985 companies (787 Bulgarian and 1,198 foreign ones) from 43 countries. On display at the ITF 2009 will be 15 worldwide innovations and 72 products appearing for the first time on the Bulgarian market.
"We have expected a more modest participation due to the crisis, but the situation is completely different. It looks as if the crisis has spurred the companies to show their innovative capabilities", announced Ivan Sokolov, Senior Director of International Fair Plovdiv at the press conference on the occasion of the Autumn Fair 2009. " The crisis has been the reason for the cancellation of many exhibition events worldwide, but International Fair Plovdiv has managed to keep all the events of the exhibition calendar. We hope that this tendency will continue next year as well", commented Mr. Sokolov.
The Partner Country of the 65th International Technical Fair is Hungary, whose exposition is organized under the motto "Tradition in Innovation". "We are going to show technologies and products that are world inventions. The encouragement of the scientific research could be a way out of the crisis", said H.E. Judith Lang, the Ambassador of Hungary to Bulgaria, at the press conference. "It is a great honour for us to be a Partner Country, because the ITF is considered to be the most important international fair in Southeast Europe", underlined the Ambassador.
Hungary has been participating in the Autumn Fair for 10 years now. The current exposition comprises about 60 companies active in machine building, automobile industry, power engineering, environment protection, precision engineering, construction. Moreover, forums on investment and establishment of business parks, meetings and presentations are scheduled in the Business Events Programme.
Plovdiv will be the second European city after London to launch the new derivative of the famous Rubik's Cube, now shaped as a sphere. Demonstrations of the fastest solving techniques and competitions for visitors will be organized within the duration of the ITF. Csárdás dance lessons and a Hungarian restaurant will reveal further aspects of the traditions of the Partner Country.
An exhibition of 30 holographic pictures will be staged, since the holography is a Hungarian invention along with the safety match, the ballpoint pen, the telephone exchange, the electrified railways, vitamin C, etc. Glass fibre concrete and light treatment equipment are among the newest inventions of the Hungarian scientists to be exhibited at the ITF 2009.
The commodity turnover with Bulgaria is 860 million euros. With investment of over one billion euros, Hungary takes the ninth place among the foreign investors in Bulgaria. "We hope that this tendency will remain despite the crisis", said Mrs. Lang.
In her opinion, the follow-up of Hungary's presentation at the ITF 2009 will be further development of the beneficial cooperation and partnership between companies from both countries. The Bulgarian businesses could draw on Hungarian experience in the utilization of EU funds, because Hungary holds leading position in terms of this indicator.