It is that time again. After 3 years of waiting ACHEMA is upon us. As the world forum for the pharmaceutical industry with 4000 exhibitors from 50 countries it promises to be an interesting and exciting show. In the exhibitors halls the topic of the Special Show this year is Innovative Energy Carriers and Storage. Other areas to be covered include Materials Technology, Mechanical Processes, and Pharmaceutical, Packaging and Storage Techniques. Materials Technology will cover an array of themes, from metallic and non-metallic materials and composites for chemical engineering, to quality assurance techniques during operations. If plant, apparatus, or drive units and cleaning technology is what you’re interested in then see you in Mechanical Processes. As ever, the integral topics of Biotechnology and Environmental Protection are represented. The congress programme is just as diverse. Adhesive bonding through Laboratory and Analytical Techniques to Water for Industrial Use are all represented. The fields of Pharmaceutical Production and Mixing and Separation Technology both offer an extensive range of subjects.

Petra Roth, mayor of Frankfurt, says of the city “it is the most international city in Germany, the largest financial centre on the continent, the historical city of coronations, the city of Goethe and the Frankfurt School… In brief, the smallest metropolis in the world, in which there is a lot to discover at close hand.” For those of you who appreciate culture, highlights of the Frankfurt social scene include the ‘Museumsufer’, where 11 well-known museums are lined up on both sides of the Main. There are about 50 other museums and exhibition halls, including the Schirn Kunsthalle, all in the immediate vicinity or in a central location. For the less refined of us there’s the Sachsenhausen. The old-town is filled with taverns devoted to the golden elixir, apple wine.

I am looking forward to meeting some of you and learning more about the industry. Myself and the rest of the PTE team will be in Hall 3.1, Stand J25. I hope to see you in Frankfurt!