Messe Düsseldorf, the organizer of interpack, welcomed 174,798 visitors to interpack the last time it was held, which was three years ago in 2014. With around 2,700 exhibitors hailing from 60 different countries signed up for the 2017 version May 4-10, it’s a safe bet that attendees will once again pour into the Düsseldorf fairgrounds in big numbers.
interpack 2017 is recording the highest demand among exhibitors in its 55-year history. By the official close of registration for this outstanding international event for the packaging industry and related processing industries, exhibitors had booked about 20 percent more space than was available at the exhibition center with its 262,400 square meters in 19 halls. As before, a special exhibit and conference called Components for Processing and Packaging will be running in parallel. It will feature products from supplier industries of the packaging sector. This event, too, is now fully booked, yet it will occupy more than twice as much space as in 2014, which marked its premier.
Industry 4.0—in partnership with VDMA
Where size and internationalism are concerned, interpack is a unique platform for businesses offering products and solutions in packaging technology and related processes as well as packaging media and materials for the various segments of this industry: food, beverages, confectionery and baked goods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, non-food consumer goods, and industrial goods. The products and services presented here will be supplemented by several innovative specialist areas.
Working together with the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), Interpack 2017 will put the focus on Industry 4.0, in particular. The special show will take the form of a Technology Lounge at the VDMA stand, featuring examples of solutions in packaging machinery and process engineering and opening up new opportunities for applications in security, traceability, copying, and counterfeit protection as well as in customized packaging.
SAVE FOOD
As before, SAVE FOOD will play a role at interpack 2017. A special show called innovationparc will be held, with packaging ideas and solutions designed to reduce food losses and waste. They will include the winners of the international competitions for the SAVE FOOD Packaging Awards, held by the World Packaging Organisation (WPO). The prizes were awarded prior to interpack, and the winners are now set to compete with one another for the WorldStar Awards at the trade fair. innovationparc will include a presentation forum which can be used by companies to showcase their ideas and solutions. As before, innovationparc will be held in a high-quality marquee, situated between Halls 2 and 3.
The first day of the trade fair will also feature the third international SAVE FOOD convention, held in partnership with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Following its premier in 2014, the special Components for Processing and Packaging show has been substantially revised for 2017. Visitors will now find it at a central location within the exhibition center, in Hall 18, a temporary lightweight hall, approximately 5,000 square meters in size. It is situated between Halls 10 and 16, complementing interpack for its entire duration.
Hundreds of companies from the supplier industries will each have their own stands, offering products in drive, control, and sensor technology, industrial image processing, material handling technology, and other (machine) components. Components will be freely accessible to all interpack visitors and exhibitors. Further details are available at www.packaging-components.com.
Online services for trade fair visitors
www.interpack.com contains useful resources to help visitors prepare and plan each day at the trade fair efficiently. These resources include an exhibitors’ database with the option of compiling a personalized hall plan as well as a “matchmaking” function to contact exhibitors and to receive news of companies represented at the trade fair. The site has a responsive interface that also adjusts itself to a small display on a mobile device.
In addition, a visitors’ app is available for iPhone and Android users. Its functions include the exhibitors’ and event database (updated on a daily basis), graphically optimized hall plans, and exhibitors’ details, including contact details and product information, an appointment form, and the option of adding customized notes to exhibitors’ entries. The user’s settings and notes are available on all platforms, regardless of the device where they were originally created. The interpack website also has a hotel booking function and numerous tips on Düsseldorf’s cultural highlights, so that visitors can plan their stay. A full list of event preparation services can be found at www.interpack.com/tradefairplanner.
However, www.interpack.com offers more than direct preparation for the trade fair. The interpack magazine, which is issued at regular intervals, has numerous interesting articles on trends in the industry. It also has some worthwhile infographics and interviews with industry experts.
Opening hours and prices
interpack is open daily, from 4 to 10 May 2017, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. E-tickets are available, too. A day ticket can be purchased online in advance at www.interpack.com and costs €52.00 (€65.00 at the box office). The box office price for students and trainees is €15.00. A three-day ticket can be purchased online, in advance, for €105.00 (box office: €130.00). Tickets purchased online can be printed directly from a computer. An interpack 2017 entrance ticket or exhibitor’s pass entitles the holder to travel to and from the exhibition center for free, using the local transport company VRR. This covers all the towns and cities within the catchment area of the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre.
