The two-day event provides visitors with the opportunity to learn and interact with influential names from the packaging industry. New for 2017 will be The Ideas Factory, which will enable visitors to gain fresh ideas and inspiration by learning from experts from non-packaging based companies such as British Gas and Jaguar Land Rover. This will allow cutting-edge techniques and knowledge from other industries to be applied to the packaging sector.   

Inclusivity is a hot topic in the industry, as companies consider the impact their packaging design has on consumers. David Wiggins of DRW Packaging Consultants will host a new feature examining how packaging can be more inclusive at the design stage to better meet customers’ needs and maximise appeal. There will also be a series of interactive sensory experiments designed to test show visitors’ motor skills and sight.

Visitors will have the opportunity to get one-to-one expert advice on any packaging challenges they might be facing at The Packaging Consultancy Clinic, which is being hosted by the Packaging Society.  

Also returning for 2017, Nestle will host the Great Innovation Debate which, following its launch at last year’s show, will explore the value of innovation in packaging. 

Packaging Innovations 2017 will also include Contract Pack, a dedicated area run in conjunction with the British Contract Manufacturers & Packers Association.  This provides an opportunity for companies looking for an outsourced solution to review the many options in the market; the 25 companies that will feature in this part of the show include Lemonpath, Evolvepack, WePack, Alloga and XPO Logistics. 

A number of established show features will also be making a return, including The Big Print Debate, The Drinks Symposium and Pharmaceutical Symposium. 

Seminars

The two-day event will host more than 30 hours of practical and educational content, across five theatres. The seminars and case studies will provide inspiration and practical guidance on some of the biggest issues facing the industry and will feature Amazon, Innocent Drinks, Jaguar Land Rover, 2 Sisters Food Group, Mondelēz International, Lucozade Ribena Suntory, Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Marks & Spencer. 

The age of e-commerce has added another level of complexity to the packaging process as organisations must find ways to reduce waste, minimise damage whilst pleasing customers throughout the journey of the package. With this in mind, two of the world’s leading exponents of e-commerce packaging, Amazon’s Brent Nelson, senior manager of WW Packaging, Sustainability, and Justine Mahler, manager of WW Packaging, Sustainability, will give visitors an insight into the best-in-class solutions when designing packaging for e-commerce. 

Sustainability is arguably one of the hottest topics in packaging at the moment, with forecasts predicating that the global sustainable packaging market will be reach $303.60 Billion by 2020. Innocent Drinks has always had sustainability at its heart; its sustainability manager, Simon Reid, will present ‘Leaving things better than we find them’. During his talk, Simon will look at how Innocent ensures its supply chain meets not only environmental and social minimum standards, but how it is constantly striving to reduce waste and the amount of energy and water it uses. He will also explore Innocent’s historical work on pushing the boundaries for packaging, as well as its plans for the next few years.

Launching and maintaining manufacturing operations abroad is a challenging task in so many ways. With this in mind, Theodoros Striftompolas, international packaging engineer at Jaguar Land Rover, will present ‘High performance packaging behind the high performance cars’. He will detail how the JLR International Packaging team oversees the design, development and management of the packaging of parts, which are to be fitted in the firm’s international plants, and the challenges faced and the opportunities that arise during this process.

England’s waste management is experiencing major change and it is estimated that by 2020 waste could cost local authorities and businesses an extra £260 – £485 million per annum. In addition, around 15% of the UK’s current recycling capacity will close during this timeframe, reducing household recycling rates by 5% and leading to the loss of 8,000 jobs. This will result in the UK missing its recycling targets. Jacob Haylor, executive director of Environmental Services Associations (ESA), will discuss its proposed policy reform that will seek to tackle these issues by ensuring Britain has a world leading sustainable waste and resource management network. 

To ensure that the majority of the population can use a product or service, organisations must consider the principles of Inclusive Design. Mike Bradley, senior research associate at Cambridge University, will discuss the opportunities and challenges of applying these principles in automotive product development. This will be illustrated with a Ford Focus case study. 

Exhibitors 

In addition, to educational content, the show will feature more than 350 leading international suppliers, many of whom will be using the event to demonstrate the latest packaging technologies and machinery to the UK market. This includes the likes of Hewlett Packard, Herma UK, EPSON, EPAL, Norpak, Paramount Packaging and Croxons. 

Advanced Dynamics is a specialist supplier of feeding, counting wrapping and labelling equipment for flat products. At Empack it will be showing how, with the introduction of its Pack Leader range of labelling equipment, it now has systems ranging from its entry level table top ELF machines to the advanced PRO range, capable of dealing with the most demanding applications on all types of products including plastic and glass bottles, trigger sprays, tapered buckets, plastic food packs and vials.

Herma UK’s labelling product range includes simple manual dispensers through to tailor-made solutions for individual high-tech labelling tasks. It will be showcasing its Tamper Evident Labeller which has been developed to meet the requirements of the Falsified Medicine Directive 2011/62/EU. The labeller prints a unique 2D code and serial number to each carton. A vision system verifies and stores the codes. A tamper evident label is applied to each side of the pack and the secure packs exit the machine sealed with a unique identify. This means the product can then be traced at any point during the supply chain. 

PFM Packaging Machinery will exhibit its portfolio of horizontal, vertical form fill seal machinery and multi head weighers. These include its PFM Pearl Flowrapper which is suitable for start-ups and smaller businesses in the bakery, confectionery and produce sectors.

Those looking for pouches will want to see the company’s D-Series which through an exclusive design and construction, offers a new working concept in horizontal form fill seal machinery.

Penn Packaging will share the full range of primary and secondary packaging equipment from its European partners. such as wrap-around tray or case packers, shrink wrapping systems, palletisers, depalletisers and pouch packing solutions.

Networking 

Attendees will have the opportunity to network with more than 6000 industry peers, providing a useful platform to meet and do business. The official Networking party takes place at 17:00 on 1st March. 

Registration is open. To register for free, please visit www.easyfairs.com/PIUK, www.easyfairs.com/EmpackUK and www.easyfairs.com/Label&PrintUK or call the show team on the number below.