Last time around, interpack drew 166,000 visitors to see what 2,703 exhibitors had to offer. From food and beverages to pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and industrial goods, it was all on display at the 2011 show, and it will be again this year when the interpack curtain goes up.
New this year is a parallel event called the Components for Processing and Packaging Show. It takes place on the first three days of interpack, May 8-10, in the Congress Center South. It’s geared toward suppliers to the packaging industry, especially companies specializing in:
• motor, drive, control, and sensor technology
• products for machinery image data processing as well as handling technology
• industrial software and communication services
• complete automation systems for packaging machinery
It’s also directed at manufacturers of machinery parts, components, accessories, and peripheral equipment, and components and auxiliaries for packaging material.
Save Food Congress is another highlight of the interpack experience. Taking place May 7 and 8 in the Congress Center South, this two-day event is directed at both nonprofit organizations and industry. It will highlight the topic of global food loss and food waste while exploring strategies to address this serious problem. A broad audience will be addressed. Thus, interpack will again provide a unique international platform for exchanges between all those concerned with this critical issue. The Save Food initiative is a co-operation between the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and Messe Düsseldorf. It was originally launched in 2011 with a very successful congress staged parallel to interpack, and it’s now being supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Since 2011, the topic of food loss and food waste has become a much higher priority on political and media agendas. The 2014 event will present various aspects, including the results of FAO studies conducted in developing and emerging countries to research local food losses.
The congress will support the fundamental goals of the initiative, which seeks to establish fruitful networking among the key players in business, government, and research, while encouraging dialogue aimed at finding solutions to reduce food loss and waste along the entire food value chain. “All the industries involved in the food, packaging, and logistics sectors have an especially important role to play in the Save Food initiative. Ultimately, it is the products developed by these companies that offer concrete approaches to solving the problems we all face. We want Save Food to act as a catalyst for establishing contact with other enterprises and organizations to carry these approaches further,” says Save Food and interpack Director Bernd Jablonowski.
Innovationparc
A regular feature at interpack, the special show Innovationparc Packaging (IPP) 2014 will be staged on about 26,900 sq ft in a tent structure between Halls 2 and 3. IPP will also have Save Food as its motto. Participating companies from all stages along the value chain will showcase their solutions to avoid food loss and food waste. This special show will present practical approaches from areas such as packaging design, packaging materials, and machinery production. An additional display will demonstrate the dimensions of international food losses along the food value chain. Since early 2012, the Save Food initiative has been open to corporate members and private individuals interested in supporting its goals both through financial sponsorship and by providing new ideas. In addition to individual companies in the packaging industry, almost all the leading trade associations in the sector have joined this initiative. Packaging World, too, is on board as a charter media sponsor.
Metal packaging
interpack 2014 will again feature the Metal Packaging Plaza in Hall 11, providing a platform for the international metal packaging community and its supplier industry. The proven concept of this special exhibition will be jointly organized by the German Metal Packaging Association (VMW) and the European Metal Packaging Association (Empac). For the first time, exhibitors at the Metal Packaging Plaza will include steel packaging manufacturers such as ThyssenKrupp Rasselstein and ArcelorMittal under the umbrella of the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging (APEAL). In addition to the exhibits of about 40 companies, the Metal Packaging Plaza 2014 will offer an information platform with a forum, bar/lounge, and meeting points.
The interpack website gives attendees many helpful tools to efficiently prepare for their visit, such as entrance passes at reduced rates, the exhibitor database with the option to generate a personalized hall floor plan, a matchmaking function to establish contact with exhibitors, and information on all the new developments presented by the participating companies. The interpack services can also be accessed by smart phone via http://mobile.interpack.com. In addition, iPhone and Android apps offer daily updated exhibitor and event databases, graphically optimized hall plans, and exhibitor data, including contact details, product information, and forms for arranging meetings and writing notes about individual exhibitors. Visitors can also use the app to synchronize their trade fair planning between a desktop computer and their handheld device. All individual editing, such as personalized display of favorites on the hall floor plan or notes about companies, will be available on both platforms no matter where it was originally created. The interpack home page also includes hotel booking information as well as tips on cultural attractions in the city of Düsseldorf.
Entrance passes for interpack 2014 can be ordered online at reduced rates. The online price for a 1-day ticket is €49 (US $67) instead of €60 (US $85) on the show site and a 3-day ticket is available online for €99 (US $136) instead of €120 (US $165) when purchased at the show. The interpack entrance passes also allow free use of all public transportation on all days of the trade fair within the Rhein-Ruhr transportation network (VRR) of Düsseldorf (exhibitors can also ride free of charge two days before and after the show).
For further information about visiting or exhibiting at interpack 2014, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America.
