The first-ever key theme to be chosen, environmentally friendly packaging, was right on trend and was a thread running through the 12 exhibition halls and the supporting programme. (video: FachPack)

Trend at FachPack 2019 fair attracted a much larger number of visitors from outside Germany than in years past, just one way that FachPack is living up to its reputation as the leading European trade fair for packaging, processes and technology.

FachPack 2019 points the way ahead for Europe’s packaging industry: about 44,000 trade visitors (visitors 2018: 44,019, visitors 2016: 41,014) took the opportunity to learn about innovations and trends in the packaging sector from the 1,591 exhibitors (exhibitors 2018: 1,644, exhibitors 2016: 1,542) in attendance at FachPack 2019.

Trend at the fair FachPack 2019 — **Almost half of the 1,591 exhibitors had addressed the issue of environmentally friendly packaging at their exhibition booths. (photo: NuernbergMesse/Thomas Geiger)**

best trend at FachPack 2019 to discuss at exhibition booths

Attendees eagerly used the chance to network and discuss the best packaging options at the exhibition booths, forums and special shows.

The German Packaging Award and the Sustainability Awards honoured particularly innovative solutions at FachPack 2019 (Nuremberg, Germany from 24 to 26 September 2019).

Cornelia Fehlner, FachPack Exhibition Director at NürnbergMesse. (photo: FachPack)
“I am overwhelmed by the vibrancy, energy and innovative spirit shown by the packaging industry, which was evident at the exhibition over the past three days. There are so many trends, such as digitalisation, e-commerce and brand experience, and exhibitors are facing up to pressing issues and already presenting marketable products. This is especially true when it comes to sustainability, which has been an issue within the industry for many years, but has now really taken off,” notes Cornelia Fehlner, FachPack Exhibition Director at NürnbergMesse. Almost half of the 1,591 exhibitors had addressed the issue of environmentally friendly packaging at their exhibition booths.

European packaging and process’ trend at FachPack 2019 show the best technologies

FachPack featured a wide-ranging offer along the packaging process chain.

From packaging materials and machines to printing and finishing, and logistics systems and services.

Some 39 per cent of companies travelled to the event from outside Germany, primarily industry professionals (90 per cent make purchasing decisions) from:

Italy (76)
the Netherlands (55)
Switzerland (47)
Czech Republic (47)
Poland (47)
Turkey (42)
Austria (41)
France (39)
Spain (25)
Belgium (24).

Visitors came mainly from food and beverage, pharmaceutical and medical technology

Exhibitors were full of praise for the high quality of trade visitors. The results of a visitor survey carried out by an independent institution bear this out:

About 90 per cent of trade visitors said that they were involved in their company’s purchasing and procurement decisions. About half of trade visitors hold a senior position, while roughly one in five serve in management.

Visitors came mainly from the food and beverage, pharmaceutical and medical technology, cosmetics, chemical and automotive industries. Roughly one in every ten visitors is engaged in the retail business.

Forums, open workshops and start-ups very popular with visitors

With innovative formats like the open workshop area in Hall 9 and the three special areas where national and international start-ups showed off their prowess, the supporting programme proved to be very popular in the FachPack international event.

The PackBox and TechBox forums hosted 120 presentations, half of which covered different aspects of environmentally friendly packaging.

Hot topics like design for recycling, the circular economy and bio-based plastics were addressed by speakers from well-known companies like the zero-waste platform Loop, Tesco and Procter & Gamble.

Leading research institutes and associations were also represented. At some presentations, there were four times more attendees than chairs. A total audience of approximately 10,000 attendees (2018: 7,500) listened to sessions at the two forums across the three days of the exhibition.

Rewarding excellence: Packaging innovations 2019

An award ceremony on the first day of the exhibition, 24 September, honoured 34 outstanding solutions with the German Packaging Award 2019.

Four especially innovative products were recognised with the gold award:

a glass packaging container designed for a second use (the product is called Second Chance) developed by students Felicia Kopitzke, Sophia Huber and Daniela Betz.
universal packaging made out of post-consumer material to close raw material cycles from Pöppelmann GmbH.
a carton tray made out of recycled material with an innovative barrier solution called Food Protect from Smurfit Kappa Herzberg Solid Board GmbH.
pasta packaging as a unique film bag made out of untreated paper from ALB-GOLD Teigwaren GmbH.

Sustainability Awards, for the first time

The winners of the Sustainability Awards, handed out for the first time at the FachPack, were announced on the second day of the exhibition, on 25 September 2019. A total of eight products and projects were recognised. The overall winner was Gian De Belder with the Holy Grail project.