Product category:
Exhibitions
News Release from: easyFairs UK | Subject: Packaging shows
Edited by the Marketingservicestalk Editorial
Team on 13 February 2008
Speakers will pack plenty into show
seminars
Some of the UK's most influential packaging innovators take centre stage when a quartet of exhibitions bring together designers, brand managers, materials suppliers and engineers at the NEC.
Trade show specialist easyFairs has attracted an impressive array of expert speakers to its 12 and 13 March expositions - easyFairs Packaging Innovations, Ecopack, Packtech, and Contract Pack Between them they'll address everything from latest packaging designs and trends, to the machinery and equipment needed to deliver them, and spanning the entire role of packaging from brand enhancement, security and hygiene to environmental concerns and legislation updates
This article was originally published on Marketingservicestalk on 9 Oct 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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Keynote deliveries and practical case studies will come from leading firms such as Smurfit Kappa, Rexam, Seymour Powell, Tetra Pak, Reckitt Benckiser and Sun Chemicals, plus think tanks like Packaging Materials Link, and eco-advisers WRAP and Envirowise.
EasyFairs Managing Director, Peter Heath, said: "The learnShop seminars are a signature element of all easyFairs shows; they present a great opportunity to share best practice, network with business peers, and get up to speed on the latest industry technology, trends and legislation".
Packaging Materials Link (PML) - a knowledge transfer portal for packaging providers - will be encouraging easyFairs learnShop delegates to get touchy feely.
Further reading
Packaging is key to product innovation
Product innovation is high on major brand agendas for 2008 and much of that innovation will come through packaging, according to the easyFairs Packaging Report.
Drawing on academic research, they'll explore how tactile feedback from packaging - not just visual appeal - can influence buying decisions and product loyalty.
Representatives Dr Cathy Barnes, Human Sciences and Design Manager at FaraPack Knowledge, and Sun Chemical's Barry Ferne, will also explain why certain material textures work best with certain products.
In another PML presentation, Dr Malcolm Butler poses the question whether the death knell is ringing for dyes by illustrating how imaginative use and clever positioning of polymers can create a spectrum of colour effects without using dyes.
Elsewhere, Smurfit Kappa's UK Packaging Development Manager Phil Husband discusses the opportunities and challenges for FMCG in 2008; Rexam reveals its latest beverage can innovations; and pack technology specialist Watt Gilchrist offers advice on businesses considering outsourcing production to developing nations.
Plant automation is a key theme in the easyFairs PACKTECH seminars.
Dr Ken Young from the British Automation Robotics Association (BARA), and head of Warwick University's Automation Research Group, will give practical advice on implementing effective automation.
He said: "Too many plant managers view automation solely as a way to cut down on the wage bill - but of much greater benefit are the potential quality and consistency gains.
"In fact, having the right people in place is even more important when implementing robotics".
DR Young will highlight various case studies to support his opinion.
He added: "I've known automation projects that have had no right to succeed but, thanks to having the right people on board, have been successful - and conversely, ones that should have been a guaranteed success but floundered due to poor management".
Research conducted by show organisers easyFairs has revealed that 58 per cent of major brands are looking to develop packaging innovations that deliver environmental improvement over the next 12 months.
Cutting down on the amount of packaging, using recycled content, and biodegradable packaging all ranked high on board agendas, whilst 34 per cent said they'd pursue interest in solutions to extend product shelf life.
The latter indicates that food waste, both back of store and in the home, is becoming a pressing concern - no wonder, given that a third of all food bought (almost seven million tonnes) is thrown away.
At the learnShops, WRAP's Food Waste Minimisation Manager, Andrew Parry, will examine how packaging can make a difference.
He said: "Developing existing formats - such as resealable or portioning solutions - and creating innovative new solutions may be one way to reduce food waste.
"This is to be welcomed and shows how innovative the packaging industry is in helping consumers make the best use of the food it protects".
Other WRAP talks include tackling the trend of over-packaged premium products, a life-cycle analysis of drinks packaging, and a thought-provoking delivery on why caution is needed over biopolymer packaging derived from biomass.
Speaker and WRAP Project Manager Nicola Jenkin added: "There is a lot of confusion about compostable packaging and biopolymers; some of these materials have great potential, but it's vital they are introduced carefully, with the correct infrastructure in place, so that they can be dealt with properly after use".
Envirowise - the government-backed service giving green guidance to businesses - is encouraging visitors to bring examples of their packaging along to one of its easyFairs Ecopack workshops.
An expert packagers' panel will give feedback on submitted designs, offer advice on potential cost savings, and suggest redesign ideas that could reduce wastage and improve a company's carbon footprint.
The workshops will also update delegates on new and pending packaging legislation.
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