To be held in conjunction with PROTOBEX Asia the Asia region’s exclusive equipment, machinery, supplies and services exhibition

BANGKOK, THAILAND AND DORTMUND, GERMANY – INTER-TABAC ASIA, the first Asia regional business-to-business exhibition exclusively for the tobacco retail, wholesale, and distribution trade will be held in late March 2012 in Manila, Philippines.

The exhibition is a joint venture between Messe Westfalenhallen Dortmund, the owners and operators of Inter-tabac, the world’s largest exhibition of tobacco products and accessories; and October Multimedia, the owners of Tobacco Asia magazine, the Asia region’s leading trade magazine for the tobacco industry. The exact dates and venue will be announced shortly.
Messe Westfalenhallen Dortmund comes with much experience in organizing exhibitions for this particular segment of the industry, as owners/operators of the well known Inter-tabac exhibition, held annually in Dortmund, Germany for 32 years now. October Multimedia comes with wide experience in publishing and exhibitions in tobacco particularly, as owners of Tobacco Asia magazine, and organizer of Protobex Asia. Tobacco Asia is the largest magazine in advertising pages, circulation and readers in the Asia region concentrating mostly on the manufacturing side. Additionally, October’s extensive database of the region’s tobacco industry, including the wholesale and distribution network throughout Asia is a key to the success of this joint show.
“We’ve made the investment for 15 years now operating the only magazine exclusively for the regional tobacco industry, and we’re specialized in development of databases for the wholesale and products networks throughout Asia,” said Glenn Anthony John, director of October Multimedia.
“We found that brand owners were looking for an effective way to introduce tobacco products and accessories to Asia’s traders, wholesalers, and distributors,” said Stefan Baumann, managing director of Messe Westfalenhallen Dortmund. “Inter-tabac Asia will provide the central forum where suppliers and buyers will be able to enjoy the opportunities in Asia that Intertabac currently provides its customers in Europe.”

In addition, Inter-tabac Asia will be held in conjunction with PROTOBEX ASIA (www.protobex.com), a trade-only tobacco exhibition focused solely on equipment, machinery, supplies and services for manufacturers organized exclusively by October Multimedia.
“We believe that separate but concurrent exhibitions are the best way to service each of these different segments of the industry – each exhibition gets its own necessary focus, and those who have business in both segments can go to both shows,” said John. “Exhibitors can be assured those visiting are from only their segment.”
The history of tobacco in the Philippines is a history of tobacco itself and goes back almost to the beginning. The front page headlines of the weekly Tobacco magazine from 100 years ago were regularly about the Philippines’ burgeoning tobacco and cigar export business. Today, the Philippines has several cigar manufacturers and a few independent cigarette manufacturers. Several suppliers to the industry have their regional operations or factories for Southeast Asia in the Philippines, most notably, PDM (Schweitzer Mauduit), Trierenberg Holdings, and Swedish Match
The initial research shows an overwhelming welcome from the local tobacco companies and suppliers to the idea of a show coming to Manila.
“Our commitment to providing the best possible solution for tobacco products and accessories brand owners to showcase their products to qualified trade and industry buyers is undiminished, particularly in the increasingly difficult marketing environment the tobacco industry is constrained to operate in,” said Baumann. “Teaming up with October Multimedia and Tobacco Asia ensures that the event will receive the maximum trade publicity and support from the regional tobacco industry.”
“The Inter-tabac Asia show brings added value to exhibitors of Inter-tabac Dortmund,” said Baumann. “The profile of the trade fair brand will increase. As a consequence, even more visitors from Asia will come to Dortmund in the coming years.”

“October Multimedia and Tobacco Asia recognize that partnering with Messe Westfalenhallen allows us to be an integral part of the solution that the tobacco products and accessories sector has been looking for in the Asia region for many years,” said John. “The synergy between our two companies, the experience both sides bring to the table and the commitment to serving the tobacco industry that both parties share makes this a perfect fit, and we are looking forward to working together to bring Inter-tabac Asia to Manila in 2012.
The exact dates, venue, and dedicated websites will be announced in the next weeks.
For further information, or to be put on the media list for further information, please contact Inter-tabac Asia on Tel+66 22 55 6625, Fax +66 26 55 2211, US Voicemail and fax +1 212 937 3476, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .