Three weeks before the start of interpack 2026, packaging journal's editors-in-chief Jan Malte Andresen and Matthias Laux met for an hour-long live talk in the Merkur Spiel-Arena Düsseldorf – right next to the exhibition centre where the world of the packaging and processing industry will once again come together from 7 May.

Guests: Thomas Dohse, Director of interpack at Messe Düsseldorf, Markus Rustler, CEO of Theegarten-Pactec and President of interpack 2026, and Richard Clemens, Managing Director of the VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Associations.

The conversation revolved around the questions that are really occupying the industry right now: How does a highly export-oriented industry deal with tariffs, geopolitical uncertainty and the pressure to transform? What does the PPWR mean in practice? Where do automation and AI stand beyond the hype? And what do the around 2,800 exhibitors and their visitors from all over the world expect in Düsseldorf?

A conversation with three industry experts – direct, honest, and with genuine anticipation for the industry event of the year.