From eCommerce 4.0 to sustainability goals - Interpack has it covered

Spotlight Talks & Trends at Interpack 2023 means seven days of input concerning important themes and trends in the area of processing and packaging. The programme is a joint presentation by Interpack, Dfv Conference Group and PackReport.

4 May: Logistics
The demand for faster and reliable deliveries, the scarcity of resources, regulations and standards of quality as well as the use of sustainable packaging materials – logistics pose many challenges to the packaging industry. To master these, companies have to concentrate on efficient planning and use of their supply chains. The first trade fair day at the forum Spotlight Talks & Trends focuses entirely on logistics.

Stephen Gryczka, director strategy and corporate development, Markem-Imaje, will touch upon “Empower your logistics with intelligent packaging” during the first half of the day and how intelligent packaging solutions make production lines more efficient and more reliable. Other than packaging, the focus here is on communication within logistics, which is made easier by many different steps: coding, traceability and data intelligence.

5 May: Circular economy
Circular economy is growing in importance and the packaging sector and processing industry is contributing many new ideas and technologies. On 5 May, speakers at Interpack will focus on different aspects of the issue. With “Green Lifecycle Management in Industrial Packaging”, Axel Schaefer, global head of commercial product management and marketing, Schütz, will offer an insight into the company’s solutions.

The concepts that make the carbon footprint of BASF, one of the world's largest chemical corporations, fit for the future will be explained by Sebastian Heitkamp, global industry segment manager packaging, BASF Plastic Additives. Advancing performance for circular packaging applications deals with technologies which improve recyclability and shelf-life. 

Further input will be on offer at the theme day for circular economy by Morchem, Metsä board development, HB Fuller and Constantia Flexibles International.

6 May: Reusable Packaging
The third day focuses on reusable packaging. Special interest is given to the European packaging regulation with its quotas for reusable packaging. The regulation has caused much necessity for talk - Is reusable packaging really the only solution?

The German professional association for the folding box industry, Fachverband Faltschachtel-Industrie (FFI) is evaluating reusable packaging in terms of sustainability. Followed by a panel discussion of the ecological, economic and hygienic consequences of the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). Representing on the stage will be, among others, the German forum for service packaging, and the European Paper Packaging Alliance (EPPA).

7 May: Sustainability
Responsible packaging – this is the topic for 7 May at Spotlight Talks & Trends. It starts with the lecture “smart engineering - the key to sustainable processing and packaging” by Richard Clemens, managing director, VDMA Food Machines and Packaging Machines. It will be followed by a lecture from the perspective of a brand manufacturer. Sebastian Roth, sustainable packaging manager - central Europe at Arla Foods reports on sustainable packaging within a multinational cooperative.

In the afternoon, the programme will feature an on-stage discussion about “Sustainability goals 2025 - are we on track”. The question of how to realistically put political sustainability goals into practice will be examined from several perspectives. Participants in this discussion are Ron Puvak, executive director at Contract Packers of North America; Dan Coppins, packaging technologist KMI Brands; Marc Van Den Maagdenberg, chief commercial officer, Vetipak; and Vincent Mooij, director, Circpack. The discussion will be moderated by Paul Jenkins, managing director, The PackHub. Further lectures that day will be held by KP Films and Energy-Nest.

8 May: Digital Technologies 
On Monday at interpack, the technology corporation Siemens will present a programme focused on digitalisation. Above all within special purpose machinery manufacture, which is dominated by mid-sized companies, the classic business model of (only once) selling “goods for money” has been practised with great success for decades. The digital transformation however not only opens up new technical possibilities, but also new economic and business opportunities, up to and including wholly novel business models. But what is behind the successful entry into such novel marketing concepts, and why does this allow for access to entire new markets and customer segments? One example of such a novel business concept is “Pay per Outcome”. This will be discussed by Bernhard Wieczorek, Global Account Manager Jagenberg Group, Siemens AG, and Thomas Fuest, Head of Sales and Marketing at SN Maschinenbau. Further digital innovations are presented on the same day by Balluff, ROI-EFESO Mgt. Consulting, FlexBlow, Watttron and the Central Agency for Green Commerce.

The political perspective has also been awaited with excitement. The guest, Dr. Wolfgang Trunk, a representative of the European Commission. During the lecture on “The EU Commission's Proposal for a Regulation on Packaging and Packaging Waste - Ready for Digital Technologies?” he will offer an overview of the political initial status of packaging and its waste, and what this means for the producing industry in the future.

9 May: Product safety
How can automation of packaging processes help to increase productivity and to avoid the loss and waste of food? What innovations are there in the area of product safety? These are the questions the forum will discuss on 9 May. One of our guests is Wim Hermans, Regional General Manager, North & Eastern Europe at Ishida Europe Limited. He will demonstrate how Ishida can maximise productivity in production while at the same time preventing food waste at an early stage.

Still in the prototype phase is a project by Bahçeşehir University (BAU) in Istanbul together with the Save Food Initiative. The results of the study for producing bio-based and compostable packaging from waste food or the byproducts of the food industry show a lot of potential and will be presented to the forum for the first time.

Further exciting lectures will be given by Mettler-Toledo, another member of SAVE FOOD, Pilz GmbH, FAO in Europe and Central Asia as well as the World Packaging Organization (WPO), which will present best practices.

10 May: E-Commerce
Developments in the growing e-commerce market are the topic for the last day of the trade fair. Jonathan Manterfield, e-Commerce business development at H.B. Fuller starts with “Packaging Component Innovations for Tomorrow’s Box”. The manufacturer of industrial glue presents solutions that consider the dynamics of sustainability versus product safety.

A completely different perspective on the developments within e-commerce is presented by Markus Reckling, CEO DHL Express, in his lecture “e-Commerce Beyond Retail 4.0” which focuses on logistics. The fast-paced technological development has catapulted retail to a new level over the last years. The consequences of Retail 4.0 for logistics on the “last mile” and the technological concepts that make sure shoppers nevertheless receive their orders in the shortest time possible, will be presented to visitors by DHL Express.

The multi-faceted programme which covered seven days of the trade fair finishes with the lecture by Prof. Dr. Martine Peuser, professor for general economics with a focus on organisation and project management at the Leibniz University of Applied Sciences in Hanover. She will talk about digitalisation as a driving force for agile organisation concepts in logistics and packaging.   

The forum will take place on all days of the trade fair in the North Entrance Area station and is open to visitors of interpack free of charge.