With 2,700 exhibitors and 175,000 visitors the largest global packaging show, interpack 2014 finished on a fairly optimistic note with regard to the growth prospects of the industry. What this seven-day show has to offer is, mainly, an overview of filling, packaging and processing technologies used in the food, confectionery, beverages, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and chemical industries. Although one has to attend other trade fairs for in-depth packaging and processing applications in flexible and rigid plastics, metal, glass, paper, carton, corrugated and wood, interpack does provide some insights in the overall trends in these areas, as many
exhibitors offer the relevant ancillary equipment and materials.
For the second time in a row, interpack had a dedicated space for metal pack- aging, the Metal Packaging Plaza with around 40 exhibitors including Al- tana-Actega, Arcelor-Mittal, Huber, Linhardt, Skypack India, Tata Steel
Packaging, ThyssenKrupp and others. Many of these could also be found at the Metpack trade fair in nearby Essen. A separate three-day exhibition with 75 ex- hibitors in a corner of interpack was dedicated to packaging and processing com- ponents, including drives, sensors, image processing technologies, software and automation systems. Baumer, Microscan and Omron were some of the partici- pants in this small-scale enterprise.
More than half of interpack’s exhibitors had products for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry, which appear to be the packaging segments with the high- est growth rates, albeit from a smaller established base than food and beverages. Trends particularly highlighted at the show included the increased use of robots in the packaging and processing chain; bioplastics, smart packaging, waste reduc- tion, and recycling and energy saving technologies; and security packaging apply- ing anti-counterfeit and track-and-trace technologies such as RFID.
The barrier characteristics of smart packaging under development are to reg- ulate moisture, absorb oxygen and contain anti-microbial substances. Printed electronics were promoted by a joint initiative of Messe Düsseldorf and ESMA, the European Screen Printing Manufacturers Association, bringing together manu- facturers and research institutes in a ‘Printed Electronics Products and Solutions Pavilion.’
However, the fair’s main emphasis was on machinery, software, and standard materials. Hunkeler focused its presentations on waste reduction and recycling technologies, such as its PET bottle recycling system PRM 3000 and multi-materi- al shredders S25 and RS40 and also tailor-made solutions for various industry sec- tors. Robots, automation and inspection systems were shown by ABB, ATP, Bosch and its subsidiary Rexroth, Coesia-Norden, CO.RI.M.A, Fuji Robotics, Koch, Langhammer, Robopac, Rockwell, Schneider, Siemens, Weber and a handful of other mainly Italian and Swiss manufacturers. ABB, for instance, showcased a new generation of its high-speed picking and packing robots IRB 360 FlexPickers and related software applications.
For dosing and filling solutions one had to visit the stands of Bausch + Ströbel, Bosch, Hassia-Redatron, Hema, Ishida, Oystar, Valmatic, Vemag, Weckerle, Wind- möller & Hölscher, Wraptech, Yamato, Zhongshan Multiweigh and others. Oystar Hassia launched a new FFS machine for mini-portions and cups. An interesting chocolate manufacturing line was shown by Sao Paulo-based JAF Inox.
Filling and sealing
Actual packaging, sealing, processing and ancillary machinery was staged by ACG, Bosch, Bossar, Coesia, Erhardt + Leimer, Ferag, Fuji Machinery, Hassia, GEA-Tiro-
mat, Köra-Packmat, Nichrome, Omori, Oystar, Pakona, Romaco, Sandvik, Valco
Melton, Wraptech and multiple Chinese, Italian, Korean and Taiwanese compa- nies. Vietnamese Tien Tuan showcased a range of pharmaceutical packaging ma- chinery. Interpack’s largest stand, 2,000 square meters, was taken by the Coesia Group whose subsidiaries Norden, Laetus, Sacmo, Flexlink and others showcased various packaging and conveying systems for the cosmetics, food, tea, coffee and tobacco industries. Other Italian exhibitors included Bielloni, Bielomatik, IMS Deltamatic, Marchesini and Plastotecnica, among others.
Software     Â
On the software side, around 60 companies presented applications directly linked to automation and other dedicated hardware features. Esko showcased the latest versions of its packaging design, workflow and content management software ap- plications, as well as its Kongsberg C flatbed cutting system. While Esko’s software modules cover the entire supply chain for packaging design, development, graph- ics, approval, previewing and sampling, other companies such as PAS Media showed software that addresses the artwork approval part of the packaging supply chain.
Coding, marking, printing and packaging converting equipment was brought to the show by Apex, Atlantic Zeiser, Avery Dennison, Bausch + Ströbel, Berhalter, Bluhm, Bobst, Comexi, Domino, Durst, Eidos, Gallus, Gruber, Hitachi, HP, KBA- Metronic, Markem-Imaje, Saueressig, Van Dam Dry-Offset, Videojet and Wind- möller & Hölscher. Labelling systems could be found at the stands of Avery Den- nison, CCL, Etipack and Jindal.
KBA-Metronic focused its presentations on offline inkjet and laser coding sys- tems as well as its code-M software. Its stand was also used for meetings with the other Koenig & Bauer subsidiaries recently reorganised: KBA-MePrint for UV off- set presses, KBA Radebeul for sheetfed offset presses, KBA Digital Web for inkjet, KBA-MetalPrint for metal decorating presses, KBA-Flexotecnica for CI flexo press- es, and KBA-Kammann for screen and digital printing of objects.
HP launched the HP Scitex 15000 corrugated press for the production of cor- rugated displays. Essentially the HP Scitex 10000 with the addition of material in- put and delivery systems, this first press specifically developed for corrugated has a maximum printable area of 160 x 320 cm and produces between 300 and 600 square metres or 120 full-size sheets an hour. It can also print several piles of small- er sheets at the same time. At interpack, the company also announced the gener- al availability of the HP Indigo 20000 and 30000 digital presses aimed at packaging and a partnership with Comexi, providing a dedicated lamination and coating unit for flexible packaging, the Comexi Nexus L20000. Presentations at Comexi’s own stand focused on the CI-8 offset press, the F2-WB flexo press, and a series of Proslit laser slitters.
Material manufacturers at the show included Actega, Amcor, BASF, Constan- tia, Dupont, Huber, Huhtamaki, Innovia, Mayr-Melnhof, Mitsui, Mondi, Sappi, SCA, Schur, Siegwerk, Stora Enso, Sun Chemical, Treofan, and numerous suppli- ers from China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the Mid- dle East.
As one of the main substrates in flexible packaging, BOPP could be found at the stands of at least 30 film suppliers mainly from India, China and the Middle East, among whom is the world’s largest BOPP producer, Jindal Poly Films. Jindal has capacities of close to 500,000 metric tonnes of BOPP since its takeover of Exxonmobil Films last year, followed closely by Taghleef Industries based in Dubai. Together these two businesses still account for a mere 12% of global pro- duction, and expectations are that they will soon be overtaken by Chinese groups such as Gettel and China Soft Packaging. Currently, global BOPP production amounts to over 7 million metric tonnes annually, valued at around US$ 18 bil- lion. Growth rates are estimated at 5 to 6% per year for the coming five years.
The next interpack is to be held from 11 to 17 May 2017. In the meantime, in- terpack organizer Messe Düsseldorf will start a new packaging show in Shanghai, SWOP or Shanghai World of Packaging, consisting of four distinct trade fairs, the China International Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Industry Exhibition, PacPro Asia (International Trade Fair for Packaging, Material Production and Process- ing), FoodPex (International Trade Fair for the Food Processing and Packaging Industries), and BulkPex (International Trade Fair for Technology and Equip- ment in Bulk Packaging). SWOP is to be held at the Shanghai New Exhibition Center from 17 to 20 November 2015.
