World packaging 'capital' shifts to interpack

According to Messe Dsseldorf, worldwide packaging machinery sales total about US$17 billion, with Germany accounting for about one-third. More than 80% of Germany's packaging machine production is exported. The total volume of all packaging in Germany was estimated at US$22 billion in '96.

Based on the '96 show, 81% of the exhibition space is devoted to packaging machinery and materials, plus another 4% offering services. At interpack 96, some 188ꯠ visitors from around the world were in attendance, about half from outside Germany. However, because European exhibitions typically do not require attendees to register, it's not possible to quantify the number of attendees from manufacturers. A survey from '96 indicated that more than two-thirds of attendees were involved in procurement decisions for their companies.

As of January 20, more than 900 exhibitors came from Germany, 400-plus from Italy and 100 from the U.S. Nearly half of the U.S. companies will be located in a special North American pavilion organized by Messe Dsseldorf North America and co-sponsored by the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (Arlington, VA).

Unlike most recent stagings of interpack, no conferences or special events have been scheduled. However, Apeal, the Assn. of European Producers of Steel for Packaging, will hold its Second Intl. Congress, May 6 in Dsseldorf (see p.69). And the fairgrounds at nearby Essen is staging Metpack '99, the Third Intl. Trade Fair for Metal Packaging, May 4 to 8 (for more details, phone: 011/49.201.7244.245, or check its Web site: www.messe-essen.de).

The exhibitor list that follows includes U.S. companies, plus many European companies that operate within the U.S.