Fachpack and what's happening in the packaging market
Firstly, you may be asking yourself, “what is Fachpack?” Fachpack is a compact three-day working trade fair where packaging issues are tackled together, with exhibitors and trade visitors from all industries finding a platform for inspiring dialog.
What happened at Fachpack?
While there were not as many exhibitors this year, Fachpack was still as busy as ever with people attending to find out more about what is happening in the market.
During the day, there were many insightful presentations to watch that highlighted new innovations and indicated where the packaging market was heading in the future. There were also plenty of stalls to have a browse around and be inspired by other packaging products and inventions.
What Swiftpak learnt at Fachpack?
Despite there being less exhibitors, there was so much to learn at Fachpack this year. From all the presentations, it was clear that paper-based packaging is only going to continue to grow in popularity.
We also learnt that when it comes to construction of objects including packaging organic and interconnected structures are the future. When the structure is ‘straight’ it is considered to be less stable and not as strong compared to those that were more curved and interconnected. The speakers pointed out that with an airplane model, they used to be designed with straight lines as well until it was realised that the model was stronger if they were curved and had a more interconnected/woven pattern.
There also seems to be continued confusion over sustainability as well as in the term “biodegradable” and what properties a product should have to fall under these categories. Here are some pointers from presentations:
- Biodegradable does not mean it can’t be from petrol/biofuel.
- Biobased polymers are not the same as biopolymer. Biopolymers are very expensive!
- Different compostable methods include home (1-year lower temperature) and industrial (3 months).
- Recycled grade is currently better than compostable (industrial) as products are not often picked up for composting.
- Chemical recycling takes a lot of energy – from polymer to monomer.
New packaging innovations discovered at Fachpack
The new packaging innovations all supported sustainability and the circular economy.
The new innovations showed that more discoveries are being made by businesses to build a more sustainable, and circular economy for our future.
Fachpack was an insightful event that gave promise for the future growth of the packaging market, making clearer where it was heading in terms of sustainability and packaging innovations. Keep your eyes peeled for more exciting innovations to come from Swiftpak.