There will be a cosy atmosphere in the FachPack halls in the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg from 25–27 September. After all, 1,465 companies (2010: 1,350) want to present their nicely packaged products and services for packaging, technology, processing and logistics to the over 35,000 packaging specialists expected (2010:35,360). Exhibition Director Heike Slotta has good reason to be pleased: “The 115 more exhibitors even filled the extra hall in no time at all. It is clearly noticeable that after a year’s abstinence the European packaging industry is eagerly looking forward to a successful FachPack.”
Unusual questions are grabbing attention in the run-up to the exhibition: Ever packed love? Ever packed a fright? The right answer is: FachPack simply makes the impossible possible! It opens in 2012 in a new outfit, but its “inner values” are lasting. After all, FachPack is one of the proven models of success at the Nürnberg exhibition venue. What started in 1979 as a regional exhibition with just under 100 exhibitors has developed into an exhibition of European ranking.The efficient German packaging industry is strongly represented in Nürnberg with 1,103 companies. Another quarter of the exhibitors travel to Nürnberg mainly from the neighbouring countries – the Netherlands (52), the Czech Republic (44), Switzerland (40), Austria (37) and Italy (36).
Ever packaged knowledge?
In the packaging segment, FachPack scores with recognized expertiseand this segment has the strongest growth in 2012. Some 670 exhibitors present packaging materials, supplies and ancillaries of paper, paperboard, cardboard, plastic, glass, metal or wood. Approx. 550 firms show innovative technology – packaging machinery, labelling and marking equipment, packaging recycling and package testing. The packaging logistics segment is determined by approx. 350 companies with conveying, loading, storage and order-picking systems, material flow software, control, identification and coding systems, and logistic services. The product spectrum of the approx. 200 specialists in packaging printing, processing and design ranges from individual to luxurious, from pre-press, packaging design and package and label printing to packaging supplies production and print processing. (The difference over the total of 1,465 exhibitors makes it clear that a good fifth of the FachPack exhibitors show products and services in several segments of the packaging process chain.)
The exhibition’s supporting programme is also more varied than ever:
– PackBox Forum: Inspiration – Innovation – Information, hall 4
– Special Show “Unpacking made easy“, hall 8
– Special Show “Marketplace for innovative logistics solutions“ (VVL), hall 4
– German Packaging Award (dvi), hall 6
– German Packaging Museum, hall 6
– Forum “The long way up to the shelves“ (Matthews Gruppe), hall 7
– Cinema: Polysterene protects (Initiative Styropor im IK), hall 7
– Special Show “Packaging Design“ – Innovation through Design (bayern design), hall 7A
– Theme Park “Packaging in Medical Technology and Pharmacy“ (Hüthig Verlag), hall 9
– Corrugated Cardboard Forum “Ecological packaging”(26 September), NCC Ost
– Pavilion for young innovative companies, hall 9
“Unpacking made easy” is the motto of the largest special show of some 1,000 m². Avariety of positive examples show how the balancing act between user-friendly concept and product protection succeeds perfectly for industry, trade and end consumers: cartons of corrugated cardboard with integrated opening aids or breakpoints, screw closures that can be easily opened, plastic fish cans with a sealed lid that does not spill the contents on opening, a machine for industrial packages that cuts open cartons in no time at all, and many more examples. Those who prefer to sit down and listen after a lot of walking and looking should enjoy their coffee in the stylish PackBox, where it is served with the latest information from FachPack’s whole product spectrum.
The good 35,000 investment-willing packaging specialists expected appreciate the creative working atmosphere at FachPack. Information and cultivation of contacts are just as important here as answering specific technical inquiries. The good mood is catching and attracted almost 7,000 international visitors at the last event. They come mainly from the neighbouring countries of Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland and France. The typical FachPack visitor works in industries like printing/paper/cardboard, food/beverages, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals/cosmetics, packaging- and logistics-related services, automotive engineering and component supply, and electrical equipment/components.
Ever packed growth?
Thanks to the good domestic economy and the growing demand for innovative packaging solutions, German manufacturers produced almost 20 million tons of packaging supplies (+4 %) worth more than 32 billion euros (+8 %) in 2011. As in the previous years, packaging of paper, paperboard and cardboard accounted for the largest amount of packaging supplies with a 48 % share. The most appreciable growth was shown by glass (9 %), followed by plastic (5 %), metal (3 %) and paper, cardboard and paperboard (2 %). In terms of sales, plastic packaging came out top again with a 41 % market share. The strongest growth here was achieved by packaging of paper, cardboard and paperboard with 10 % – ahead of plastic (9 %), glass (8 %) and metal (2 %). The Gemeinschaftsausschuss Deutscher Verpackungshersteller (GADV), the German packaging manufacturers association, is cautiously optimistic about 2012, but is concerned about raw material prices and the increased costs associated with the energy turnaround.
The German packaging machinery sector is less adversely affected by economic cycles than the machinery construction sector overall. Orders received for packaging machinery in the first half of 2012 were up in real terms by almost 8 % compared with the same period of the previous year, whereas machinery construction overall dropped by 7 %. The growth for packaging machinery is made up of 6 % more from Germany and 9 % more from abroad. Despite the euro debt crisis, orders received from the euro countries increased disproportionately by 13 %. The Fachverband Nahrungsmittelmaschinen und Verpackungsmaschinen (VDMA), the German Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association, expects 14 % more sales for the packaging machinery sector in 2012.
The German packaging machinery sector has made up a lot of ground since the decline due to the worldwide financial and economic crisis in 2009. The production value in 2011 rose by 7.6 % to 5.11 billion euros (2010: 4.75 billion euros) and in 2012 should move back towards the top value of 5.4 billion euros achieved in 2008.
The average export share of the around 300 firms in the German packaging machinery sector with their approx. 28,000 employees is more than 80 %. Packaging machinery worth 2.27 billion euros was exported in the first half of 2012, which corresponds to 13.4 % more. The values of exports for the two most important single markets, China and the USA, rose by above-average amounts, whereas deliveries to the third largest single market, Russia, dropped slightly. The German packaging machinery sector has been the undisputed world export champion for years, followed by Italy.
More info: http://www.fachpack.de