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That was Fachpack 2022

More than 1,150 exhibitors, around 32,000 visitors, three days of packaging at the centre of attention - that's a brief numerical summary of this year's Fachpack. And packaging journal was right in the middle of it all.

More than 1,150 exhibitors, around 32,000 visitors, three days of packaging at the centre of attention - that's a brief numerical summary of this year's Fachpack. But that would hardly do justice to the full scope and significance of the packaging trade fair. After all, at the end of September in Nuremberg, not only were hands shaken, business cards exchanged and kilometres made, but ideas were compared, innovations presented and business relationships initiated. And packaging journal was right in the middle of it all.

One thing is certain after the Specialist pack 2022: Even after two years of the pandemic, the "face-to-face trade fair" concept is far from obsolete - quite the opposite. From 27 to 29 September at the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre, you could almost forget that last year's meeting place for the German packaging industry only took place in a slimmed-down, hybrid form. Especially on Wednesday, the second day of the fair, visitors crowded through the aisles of the exhibition halls and gathered at the various stands. You could say that there was a human touch.

Caption: Personal dialogue, like here at the Metsä stand, is one of the great advantages of an in-person exhibition. (Image: NürnbergMesse / Frank Boxler)

The trade fair motto "Transition in Packaging" could be found everywhere in one form or another. Like many other industries, the packaging sector is facing an unprecedented upheavalThe entire industry is adapting to the climatic and economic challenges of our time. At the trade fair, this upheaval was expressed, for example, in the presentation of packaging materials that save raw materials or are made from renewable raw materials; in the form of packaging processes that achieve the same or even better results with far fewer materials than was previously the case; in the form of intelligent machines that, thanks to state-of-the-art software, have fewer runtime failures to report and can therefore convert energy more efficiently. In short, the industry is already in the midst of a transition that is setting the pace. In the midst of change. This was also evident in the panel discussion at the end of the trade fair, which was moderated by packaging-journal editor-in-chief Jan Malte Andresen.

Organiser fully satisfied

The organisers are also fully satisfied with the trade fair. "Even though the overall situation is not easy for many companies at the moment, the European packaging industry proved to be extremely innovative and solution-orientated at Fachpack," said Heike Slotta, Executive Director Exhibition, NürnbergMesse. "Trade fairs are melting points for new ideas, this is where the future becomes tangible. Of course, our immediate future seems anything but rosy as a result of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, rising energy costs and inflation. But that is precisely why we need to talk about how we shape change. And here we are speaking in the jargon of the consumer goods industry: Change has become a 'fast mover' since sustainability and digitalisation have picked up speed and consumer expectations and framework conditions are constantly changing."

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(Image: NürnbergMesse / Thomas Geiger)

According to a survey at the trade fair, visitors were also convinced. According to the organiser, more than 90 percent were satisfied with the trade fair offer. In turn, 85 per cent of trade visitors stated that they were involved in their company's purchasing and procurement decisions, with more than half holding management positions. Fachpack was therefore a thoroughly high-calibre event, and not just in terms of the machines and materials on show.

Versatile supporting programme

There was a lot on offer not only at the trade fair stands, but also in the supporting programme, including numerous exciting specialist presentations and panel discussions. There was a highlight right at the start of the trade fair. To kick off the first day of the trade fair, the German Packaging Award was presented - as is tradition - along with the Gold Awards, which were only announced on this day. The coveted trophy was awarded six times in the categories of profitability, sustainability, digitalisation, packaging machines and young talent. In the last category, young designer Hélène Fontaine from the Kunsthochschule Halle was able to secure the trophy. Her "Droplet" pharmaceutical dosing packaging enables people with motor impairments or visual impairments to dose medication with one hand and without assistance according to their individual needs. This shows once again that packaging fulfils far more functions than just product protection.

It was also an exciting week at the trade fair for packaging journal. In addition to our editorial presence at Fachpack, we had our own stand in Nuremberg for the first time this yearwhere we had many interesting and promising encounters and conversations and our visitors were able to have themselves placed on the magazine cover with our photo box. Our conclusion: We would love to come back.

http://www.fachpack.de

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