EFI, part of the Artexis Easyfairs group, has announced its acquisition of the French company Oriex Communication (Oriex), which organises the ADF & PCD (Aerosol & Dispensing Forum and Packaging Perfumes, Cosmetics & Design) events held last week in Paris.

The combined events attracted 6,000 attendees from over 70 different countries, including packaging division representatives (R&D, innovation, development, purchasing, marketing, etc.) of hundreds of global brands, who were there to network with their main suppliers and technology and product providers (350 exhibitors).

Oriex exhibitions and congresses are renowned for their "international expert networking, innovation promotion and technology transfer" concept. They are structured around high-tech conferences, a sourcing, monitoring, benchmarking and networking platform, their awards scheme, a friendly ambience and a return on investment for both attendees and exhibitors alike.

ADF & PCD have seen sustained and regular growth in Paris. The first ever combined ADF & PCD event in New York takes place as part of a convention with Artexis Easyfairs’ US subsidiary, to be held on 13 and 14 September 2016 at the Altman Building & Metropolitan Pavilion. This launch was a hit with the international packaging expert community.

The aim of this Artexis Easyfairs group acquisition is to enhance its trade fair portfolio in the packaging sector, as Easyfairs organises such events as "Packaging Innovations", "Luxury Packaging", "Label&Print" and "Empack". Easyfairs' existing portfolio includes 32 events across 16 cities and 11 countries, attracting over 100,000 visitors and 3,500 exhibitors each year.

EFI intends to organise ADF & PCD events and conferences with existing Oriex staff, to provide continuity with the existing concept. Mrs Josette Appert, Oriex CEO and shareholder, stated: "We have accepted Mr Eric Everard's proposal and we are happy to allow our team to continue to organise these events, as they are experts in their field."

Oriex Communication will henceforth come under the leadership of Eric Everard, CEO of Artexis Easyfairs. The Paris team, which has in-depth knowledge of Oriex Communication events’ organisation and exhibitor contacts, shall now report to Matt Benyon, Global Managing Director of Easyfairs UK, who says: "We expect a number of synergies from this new connection, which will better serve the global community of packaging experts."

This acquisition comes in the wake of a series of previous Easyfairs acquisitions in the packaging sector in 2015: Macropak in Utrecht, Pack&Move Basel, and Northeral, organisers of the Maghreb Pharma expo in Algiers.