The wait is finally over. After a two-year break and many cancellations and postponements of trade fairs and events due to the pandemic, the European packaging industry will meet as scheduled and live on site at the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg for FACHPACK, the European Trade Fair for Packaging, Technology and Processes.
FACHPACK is thus the first of many subsequent events in the NürnbergMesse schedule. 782 exhibitors from 34 countries will present themselves from 28 to 30 September under the central theme of "Environmentally compatible packaging". They will show innovative solutions and products in seven exhibition halls. Trade visitors from the consumer and industrial goods industries are cordially invited to attend the live event or the digital extension myFACHPACK.
"With FACHPACK, we are heralding the restart at the Nuremberg exhibition venue. We are hugely excited to be able to offer the packaging industry its popular on-site meeting place at the Exhibition Centre. With our dual-track concept of FACHPACK and its digital extension myFACHPACK, we are combining the best of two worlds, onsite and online. This makes participation even more efficient for our exhibition visitors," explains Heike Slotta, Executive Director, NürnbergMesse. And Phillip Blass, new Director FACHPACK, NürnbergMesse, adds: "FACHPACK is somewhat smaller this year, but the industry is represented in its entire range of offerings, including internationally. 40 per cent of the exhibitors travel from abroad. FACHPACK will present a top-class programme and numerous new products and innovations that have not been presented at a trade fair for so long."
PACKBOX, TECHBOX and INNOVATIONBOX lecture forums
The two forums PACKBOX (Hall 7) and TECHBOX (Hall 3C), which will be supplemented this year by the new exhibitor forum, INNOVATIONBOX (Hall 4), are particularly popular with the public. Specialist lectures by renowned experts and discussion rounds will be held there every day. Each day, PACKBOX will focus on an overarching theme: "Consumers and Trade" (28.9.21), "Sustainability and Innovation" (29.9.21) and "Design and Materials" (30.9.21). The focus topics in the TECHBOX are "Resources and Sustainability" (28.9.21), "Innovation and Economy" (29.9.21) and "Digitalisation and Transformation" (30.9.21). The complete programme of all three forums is online at FACHPACK.de/programme.
Sustainable packaging as a special show in Hall 7
A sustainable lifestyle is important to more and more consumers. This is not only about the product, but also about the packaging and its design. The special show in Hall 7 curated by bayern design for FACHPACK 2021 will present future-oriented and creative design solutions from all over the world with 18 exhibits. From material experimentation, which focuses on the development of new materials, to prototyping and the conceptual development of new packaging solutions, to the implementation of sustainable packaging on the market.
Award ceremonies: The best in the spotlight
The stage will once again be set at FACHPACK 2021 for the presentation of the German Packaging Award, the most renowned European showcase for packaging. The prize is offered by the German Packaging Institute (dvi) and awarded in ten categories on the first day of the trade fair. After a successful premiere in 2019, the Sustainability Awards will once again be presented at FACHPACK on the second day of the trade fair in the PACKBOX Forum. The organiser is the British trade journal Packaging Europe.
myFACHPACK digitally enhances the trade fair on site
New this year is myFACHPACK, the digital extension of FACHPACK for matchmaking and knowledge transfer. It extends the on-site trade fair into the virtual world. Already in the run-up to the trade fair, the new tool offers networking opportunities and thus enables intensive preparation of the trade fair visit, for example with regard to researching products, exhibitors and participants on-site and digitally. In addition, the programme of the lecture forums is streamed live during the exhibition and is also available afterwards. myFACHPACK can be used on the desktop, but also on the move via an app.
Slight decline in the market for packaging in 2020
German packaging manufacturers recorded a slight decline in production and turnover in 2020. According to the Joint Committee of German Packaging Manufacturers (GADV), around 19 million tonnes of packaging were produced in 2020. This means that the production volume fell by 0.7 percent. The production value also decreased by 2.5 per cent and was around 32 billion euros in 2020. As in previous years, plastic packaging generated the largest share of production value with a share of around 45 percent; in terms of volume, packaging made of paper, cardboard and paperboard was the largest packaging material fraction with around 47 percent.
In terms of production, the picture is divided among the packaging material fractions: glass packaging recorded an increase of 0.9 percent. In contrast, production of aluminium packaging (minus 3.4 percent), steel (minus 5.7 percent) and plastic (minus 2.0 percent) declined. Packaging made of paper, cardboard and paperboard neither lost nor increased and thus reached the result of the previous year's period.
Demand for food and packaging machinery on the rise
After ten years, the Corona pandemic halted the growth of the food and packaging machinery sector last year. Despite the ongoing pandemic, however, demand among the 600 or so manufacturers in 2021 has already increased significantly again. According to the VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association, order volumes in the first half of 2021 grew by 28 per cent year-on-year; domestic and foreign orders rose by 35 and 26 per cent respectively. Exports increased by almost 5 per cent to €4.1 billion by the end of June 2021.
Last year, the production value fell by 9 per cent to 13.9 billion euros; compared to other mechanical engineering sectors, the decline was thus smaller. Exports fell by just under 7 per cent to 8.6 billion euros in 2020, but were able to maintain their leading position on the world market with a 21 per cent share. The packaging machinery sub-sector, which suffered a smaller percentage drop in exports, accounted for 6.7 billion euros in production value (previous year 7.3).
Hygiene concept: personal networking - but safe
Together with the Bavarian state government and the Bavarian exhibition companies, NürnbergMesse has developed a viable hygiene concept that ensures safe attendance at FACHPACK. The basis for this is the framework hygiene concept for trade fairs and exhibitions that is valid in Bavaria and is independent of incidence values. Concrete measures for the protection of trade fair participants include regular air exchange and a state-of-the-art ventilation concept, distance maintenance through area and capacity management, mandatory masks in indoor areas, hygiene precautions on site, digital registration and access systems and the associated possibility of contact tracking. Another essential cornerstone is the 3G concept, which provides for visitor access only for vaccinated, recovered or tested persons.
www.fachpack.de
