With EMPACK 2018, trade fair organiser Easyfairs is coming to Dortmund for the first time in early 2018. The economically strong Ruhr area seems to the organisers to be a suitable region for a regional trade fair that is attracting interest from visitors from as far away as northern Germany and the Benelux countries. 90 percent of the stand spaces have already been allocated.
The Packaging trade fair EMPACK has been a permanent fixture in the portfolio of trade fair organiser „Easyfairs“ for many years. According to the organiser, there are packaging trade fairs in 43 locations - from Madrid to Helsinki. On 24 and 25 January 2018, EMPACK will be held for the first time at the exhibition grounds of the Westfalenhallen Dortmund. By locating in the Westphalian city, EMPACK aims to establish itself as a regional packaging trade fair for North Rhine-Westphalia, northern Germany and the Benelux countries.
Trade fair gap for an entire region is closed
„Empack 2018 closes the gap for the entire region in terms of a regionally focussed trade fair for the packaging industry,‚ says Siegbert Hieber, Managing Director of Empack 2018. Easyfairs Germany GmbH, is convinced. Thanks to the strong manufacturing industry, many important trading companies are present in the region, which opens up extremely attractive exhibitor and visitor potential.
The exhibitors' product portfolio includes Packaging material, Packaging materials, Packaging aids, Packaging technology, Packaging machines, labelling, marking and identification Printing technologies, Packaging logistics and services. The concept behind the Easyfairs trade fairs is to specifically address decision-makers from the respective target industries and offer them the right solutions. EMPACK exhibitors will therefore meet guests from the mechanical engineering, chemicals, food and beverage, automotive, retail, transport and logistics, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, metal and plastics processing, graphics and electronics industries.
Proven concept „at the heart of the industry“
What tipped the balance in favour of coming to Dortmund with the tried-and-tested EMPACK concept? Does the response meet the expectations of the organiser „Artexis Easyfairs“? The „packaging journal“ put these and other questions to the EMPACK event organiser Tom Friedrich.
Tom Friedrich is the project manager for EMPACK 2018 in Dortmund at „Artexis Easyfairs“. He confirms that, following next year's premiere, an EMPACK packaging trade fair will also be organised in Dortmund in 2019.
pj: You already organise trade fairs under the „EMPACK“ brand in Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden. What was the reason for bringing „EMPACK“ to Germany?
Tom Friedrich: The EMPACK and packaging trade fairs have been successfully organised in Germany for more than ten years, under the „Artexis Easyfairs“ brand „EMPACK“ since 2015. The uniform branding of the „EMPACK“ brand thus ensures faster penetration in the markets. The resulting synergies create added value for the trade fairs in terms of addressing exhibitors and visitors as well as the supporting programme and trends.
The range of products and services on show at EMPACK 2018 in Dortmund covers the entire value chain of the Packaging industry, labelling and printing technologies through to intra- and packaging logistics. In a technology country like Germany, where numerous innovations and solutions for the national and international packaging market are created, the EMPACK brand is a must. In conjunction with new legal regulations and digitalisation, there are always new challenges that need to be overcome. Ultimately, almost all industries have to deal with the topic of packaging - a trend that we will fulfil with EMPACK 2018 in Dortmund.
Dortmund is a technology centre with a perfect infrastructure
pj: What tipped the scales in favour of Dortmund as a trade fair location?
Tom Friedrich: Dortmund is an economically strong location at the heart of industry. Over 20 per cent of Germany's total gross value added is generated in North Rhine-Westphalia alone. As a technology centre with a perfect infrastructure, Dortmund sees itself as a gateway to attractive sales markets North Rhine-Westphalia, North-Central Germany and the neighbouring countries Benelux countries.
pj: Does the current booking situation meet your expectations?
Tom Friedrich: Absolutely, two months before the trade fair opens, over 90 per cent of the available stand space has already been booked.
pj: A glance at the exhibitor catalogue shows a certain concentration on the areas of labelling technology, inspection systems and packaging materials. Did you have these exhibitor groups in mind right from the start?
Tom Friedrich: We can supplement this certain concentration with the areas of packaging technology and machinery. These exhibition groups are deliberately the most heavily weighted, as they also offer the most solutions to meet the demand of our trade visitors.
[infotext icon]Free trade fair tickets available onlineEMPACK 2018 will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, 24 and 25 January 2018, in Hall 8 of the Westfalenhallen Dortmund. You can find all the necessary information on the trade fair website. A limited number of free trade fair tickets are also available there.
Homepage of EMPACK 2018[/infotext]
Trade visitors will find optimal solutions at the compact trade fair
pj: How do you intend to interest trade visitors in this new trade fair?
Tom Friedrich: Only the trade fair location is new, and this is precisely our starting point. On the visitor side, we know the need for a Packaging-relevant platform for the regions addressed. This demand is congruent with that of our exhibitors, which is confirmed by the current booking status. EMPACK 2018 in Dortmund is a compact two-day trade fair where trade visitors can find exactly the solutions they are looking for in our range of products and services. The effort involved is therefore relativised to a time- and cost-efficient trade fair visit.
We are also supported in terms of content and visitors by strong expertise partners such as the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML), the German Packaging Institute (dvi), the Media Production Association, and the Industry Association for Automatic Identification, Data Capture and Mobile Data Communication (AIM-D). In addition, we offer our trade visitors forward-looking and exciting specialist presentations. The topics range from „Packaging 4.0“ to „e-food“ and additive packaging production through to digital transformation. Our trade visitors will meet new and old acquaintances in a first-class networking atmosphere.
pj: Should the trade fair also be held in Dortmund in the coming years?
Tom Friedrich: Of course, EMPACK will also take place in Dortmund in 2019.
