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What Fachpack 2021 was like

The industry had to wait two long years for the next Fachpack - including numerous cancellations and postponements of other trade fairs and corresponding events due to the pandemic. Here is our review of the first major trade fair for the industry since the start of coronavirus.

The industry had to wait two long years for the next Fachpack - including numerous cancellations and postponements of other trade fairs and corresponding events due to the pandemic. But at the end of September, the time had finally come: for three days, around 24,000 trade visitors and 788 exhibitors from 33 countries came together in seven halls at Messe Nuremberg.

In the run-up to the trade fair, there was scepticism in the industry as to whether the trade fair would be as successful as usual in times of coronavirus. This was not only reflected in the lower number of exhibitors (2019: 1,591 exhibitors), but the trade fair concept was a success: Full exhibition halls, crowds of people, three whole days of colourful hustle and bustle at Messe Nürnberg. For some, this was certainly unimaginable after almost two years of the coronavirus pandemic. And yet Fachpack 2021 from 28 to 30 September turned out to be just that, thanks to the 3G hygiene concept.

One topic dominated this year's trade fair: the Perennial topic „Sustainability“, which was reflected in the main theme of the trade fair „Environmentally friendly packaging“. With its two-pronged combination of offline and online offerings, Fachpack also presented itself as a contemporary and conscientiously prepared event.

(Image: NürnbergMesse / Thomas Geiger)

Using the specially developed „myFachpack“ tool, visitors were able to arrange fixed meetings with exhibitors at the stand in advance, find out about products and companies and watch the technical presentations. Around 9,500 visitors attended the 101 presentations in the Packbox, Techbox and Innovationsbox forums. Anyone who missed a presentation at the trade fair can still watch it on the digital tool until the end of the year.

Display

Meet old friends, make new contacts

Overall, Fachpack offered a comprehensive range of products along the packaging process chain: from packaging materials and packaging machines to packaging printing and finishing to logistics systems and services. 41 per cent of exhibitors and around one in three visitors travelled from abroad, The most important countries are Austria, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Poland, France and Belgium.

Our readers are particularly impressed by the great response in our LinkedIn survey surprised. After two years of the pandemic, not everyone was expecting this. „It was our first time at Fachpack and we were all very excited to see how the first live trade fair would be received after such a long time. And we were pleasantly surprised: the trade fair was well attended from the very first day and our team was finally able to meet customers again and make new contacts,“ reports Susanne Kleinhans, Ima Dairy & Food.

Jürgen Kohl, who is responsible for Duoplast was there, was particularly impressed by the direct, personal contact: „From my point of view, the trade fair was a complete success. Good discussions, promising initial contacts and lots of other contacts with existing customers. It was great to talk to people directly and not just about computers. Too bad there weren't more exhibitors.“

„No question of being there“

But not only participants in our survey were impressed by Fachpack, other exhibitors also gave positive feedback. For example Bernd Wieland, Sales Manager for the DACH region at the machine manufacturer Bausch and Ströbel„We were very much looking forward to the personal contact and also sensed this anticipation among our customers. For us, there was no question of being there in Nuremberg, even if it meant a little more effort due to the necessary implementation of the hygiene concept.“ Although the number of visitors and exhibitors was still noticeably below the pre-pandemic level, this did not detract from the positive overall experience. „We were all very happy to be able to make direct contact again. Almost everyone had specific enquiries. My colleagues and I had some really good discussions here.“

„We were very much looking forward to the personal contact and also sensed this anticipation among our customers. For us, there was no question of being there in Nuremberg, even if it meant a little more effort due to the necessary implementation of the hygiene concept.“
Bernd Wieland
Sales Manager DACH Region

Characterised by the topic of sustainability

Sylvia Di Felice, Head of Product Management and Marketing at the Allgäu-based adhesive tape manufacturer Assembly, was surprised by the heterogeneous audience: „Overall, the trade fair audience was more international than expected, which we found positive. The demand for our product range was consistently high, even higher than expected, which naturally pleases us and reinforces our sustainable product strategy.“

The trend of the trade fair was clearly recognisable for Di Felice: „Fachpack was strongly characterised by the topic of sustainability. We noticed that the demand for environmentally friendly solutions was clearly coming from B2B end users.“ However, it wasn't just the content, but also the „real“ encounters that made Fachpack so special for Di Felice: „It was clear to see that all trade fair participants really enjoyed the long-awaited personal dialogue. We were also delighted with every single conversation and enjoyed being able to walk around a trade fair again and make new contacts.“

„Fachpack was strongly characterised by the topic of sustainability. We noticed that the demand for environmentally friendly solutions is clearly coming from B2B end users.“
Sylvia Di Felice
Head of Product Management

This impression is shared by Tim Litjens, Managing Director of the Cabka Group based in Berlin: „We are very satisfied with the first Fachpack after the break. We were finally able to get in touch with our partners, customers and the entire industry live on site again. The number and quality of leads are very good. We had many interesting and fruitful discussions.“

(Photo: Frank Boxler / NürnbergMesse)

The team at Messe Nürnberg is also more than satisfied. „Exhausted, but blissful!“ is how you can describe the state of mind of Heike Slotta, Executive Director Exhibitions, NürnbergMesse, shortly before the trade fair gates closed. Many people at the trade fair were like her. No one knew beforehand how things would turn out in this extraordinary year characterised by the pandemic and how many visitors would actually come to Nuremberg. The fact that there were so many in the end surprised not only the exhibitors, but also the trade fair organisers. And it shows that despite all the digital possibilities, there is no substitute for a live event. „What visitors particularly appreciate about Fachpack are the fruitful discussions with exhibitors, in which ideas for solutions to their packaging problems emerge,“ knows Phillip Blass, Director Fachpack, NürnbergMesse. „Fachpack is simply a real working trade fair - and that's what makes it so special.“

„Fachpack is simply a real working trade fair - and that's what makes it so special.“
Phillip Blass
Director Fachpack, NürnbergMesse

Exhibitors particularly praised the High quality of the professional audience. The results of a visitor survey conducted by an independent institute confirm this: Around 90 per cent of trade visitors stated that they were involved in purchasing and procurement decisions at their company. Around two thirds of the trade visitors have a managerial position, with more than one in five being in management. The visitors mainly came from the following sectors Food and beverages, pharmaceuticals and medicine, cosmetics, chemicals, electronics and automotive.

Into the future

In short: Fachpack 2021 was a complete success. After a long pandemic year and a half, the trade fair was a welcome opportunity for all participants to meet face to face, exchange innovations and ideas and find out all about the latest trends and developments in the industry.

By the way: The date for the next Fachpack has already been set. From 27 to 29 September 2022 Nuremberg will once again be the centre of attention. Next year's main theme will be „Transition in packaging“. This is because not only legislators but also consumers are demanding sustainability - and this is profoundly changing the industry. Topics such as the circular economy, digitalisation and e-commerce will follow. COVID-19 has put the focus on product protection from a hygiene perspective. It has also allowed areas such as online shopping and home delivery to grow even more. What shopping behaviour will consumers exhibit in the future? All of these topics are not only a challenge for the packaging industry, they also offer a great opportunity for change.

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