Packaging market prepares for a global gathering

At interpack 2014, attendees will be served up a smorgasbord of solutions as they join together in the already sold out halls.

Every three years, packaging professionals gather together from around the globe to soak up an entire week at the world’s largest packaging show as they get acquainted with the latest developments in packaging materials, services and equipment. The show takes place in Düsseldorf, Germany, May 8-14, where more than 2,700 exhibitors from the food and beverage, confectionary and baked goods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics as well as non-food consumer goods and industrial goods industries will share their latest in technological advances as they are scattered throughout 19 sold-out halls that cover nearly 2 million net sq. ft on the fairgrounds.

Roughly 60 percent of the 166,000 visitors from the previous interpack in 2011 came from overseas—mainly from within Europe but also in ever increasing numbers from eastern and southern Asia. The exhibitors represent more than 60 countries.

Smart solutions to cut food waste
A regular staple at interpack, Innovationparc Packaging is a special show-within-a-show that serves as a platform for important themes for the future. This year’s central theme will be dedicated to Save Food—a joint initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Messe Düsseldorf GmbH against worldwide food loss and waste.

“All the industries involved in the food, packaging and logistics sectors have an especially important role to play in the Save Food initiative. Ultimately, it is the products developed by these companies which offer concrete approaches to solving the problems we all face. We want Save Food to act as a catalyst for establishing contact with other enterprises and organizations to carry these approaches further,” explains Save Food and interpack director Bernd Jablonowski.

Participating companies from all stages along the value chain will showcase their solutions to avoid food loss and food waste. This special show will present practical approaches from areas such as packaging design, packaging materials and machinery production. An additional display will demonstrate the dimensions of international food losses along the food value chain.

What’s new
Automation continues to advance in packaging operations. A new feature “Components for Processing and Packaging” will take place on the first three days of interpack (May 8-10, 2014) in the Congress Center South at the Düsseldorf fairgrounds. The program is geared towards suppliers to the packaging industry, especially companies that specialize in motor, drive, control and sensor technology, products for machinery image data processing, as well as handling technology, industrial software and communication and complete automation systems for packaging machinery. It is also aimed at manufacturers of machinery parts, components, accessories, peripheral equipment and components and auxiliaries for packaging material.

Entrance passes for interpack Processes and Packaging 2014, can be ordered online at www.interpack.com at reduced rates. The online price for a 1-day ticket is €49 instead of €60 on show site and a 3-day ticket is available online for €99 instead of €120 when purchased at the show. The interpack entrance passes also allow free use of all public transportation on all days of the trade fair within the Rhein-Ruhr transportation network (VRR) of Düsseldorf (exhibitors can also ride free of charge two days before and after the show).

The interpack website at www.interpack.com gives attendees many helpful tools to efficiently prepare for their visit, such as entrance passes at reduced rates, the exhibitor database with the option to generate a personalized hall floor plan, a matchmaking function to establish contact with exhibitors and information on all new developments presented by the participating companies. The interpack services can also be accessed by smart phone via http://mobile.interpack.com.