FachPack on the fast track

Occupying Halls 1 to 9 at the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre, FachPack visitors will have a comprehensive, hands-on experience of the
latest innovations in packaging technology, materials, processing, finishing techniques and logistics.

At FachPack in 2012, 1,466 exhibitors and 36,986 visitors were recorded - figures that mark the event unarguably as one of the
leading trade fairs in Europe's packaging sector. Organiser NürnbergMesse reported that 90% of FachPack exhibitors were able to establish new business relationships; 93% were able to reach their most important target groups; and 95% were satisfied with
the professional expertise of the visitors - one in five of whom had travelled from outside Germany.

As well as the wide range of exhibits around the halls, FachPack 2013 will offer a special feature entitled World of Experience of Solid Board, organised by the Branch Association of the German Solid Board Industry VVK, which is celebrating it's 60th jubilee this year.

The daily PackBox Forum in Hall 4 will be dedicated to the three essentials of "inspiration, innovation and information", with short presentations and discussion groups (German language only). And in a Corrugated Cardboard Forum on the second day, supply chain experts from industry and the packaging sector will discuss how to make the most of the added value of the world's top-choice transport package.

The second AIPIA Congress will run on the first day of FachPack, headlined 'Active & Intelligent Packaging as the New Marketing Tool', while a selection of winners from this year's German Packaging Awards - celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2013 - will be on view throughout the three days of the exhibition, on the stand of the German Packaging Institute (dvi) in Hall 6.

Machinery & equipment
All-round packaging solutions provider and thermoform packaging machinery specialist Multivac (Hall 1, 321/221) will be presenting Fachpack visitors with a number of concepts aimed at reducing the consumption of film material, energy and water in the packaging procedure. The Germany-based company has already integrated the innovations in several thermoforming packaging machines. The
latest model, the R 105 e-concept, can be seen at the Fachpack show.

Multivac will also be showing one of its R 535 high speed thermoforming packaging machines, for the packaging of USB cards, integrated into an automatic packaging line and equipped with an H 240 handling module for automatic loading; the twin-track T 700 high-end traysealer, designed for the fully automatic packing of large and medium-sized volumes in trays, which is said to set "new standards in process reliability, efficiency and Hygiene Design"; and an R 145 packaging system with Multivac Clean Design
configured to meet the special requirements of the medical sector and pharmaceutical industry.

Multivac Marking & Inspection will be exhibiting its in-house designed thermal transfer printer (TTP), optimised for the integration into Multivac packaging machines and labelling and printing systems, and its cross-web labellers, which are specially suited to serialisation applications in the top and/or bottom labelling of thermoformed packs. On view there will also be a labeller forpharmaceutical packs, which seals the tuck-in flaps of folding cartons with a label to ensure immediate tamper evidence for the consumer.

Operating from above and below at an output of up to 400 cycles/min, a data matrix code for serialisation can be printed on the
tuck-in flap by means of an integrated printing system.

Selig Group (Hall 7, 409) will exhibit both its flexible packaging product line and its induction sealing product line. Highlights will be Selig's 10-colour rotogravure printing capabilities and extreme barrier laminate offerings from the company's Zurich-based flexible packaging business.

"These laminates will be of interest to a wide range of industries, from flexible packaging for the confectionery and food industries, to more rigid thermoform materials for the electronics, pharmaceutical and military industries where extreme barrier materials are specified," the company says. Also on show will be Selig's line of "industry leading" induction sealing materials, including the Lift 'n'Peel brand induction seals, also available with high resolution printed graphics.

Swiss digital cutting specialist Zünd will be represented on the stand of its German distributor ERPA (Hall 1/341), where visitors
will be able to view a Zünd S3 M1600 with tandem function, as well as a Cut Center (driving system for the Cutter).

According to the company, with tandem vacuum, the active working area of the cutter can be divided into front and back processing areas. "By minimising machine idle time, this tandem-production workflow is highly efficient and leads to significant increases in productivity," the company says. The vacuum in either area can be turned off, thereby limiting the S3 to the exact size of the material.

Industrial automation specialist KEBA (Hall 4, 634) will be focusing on its 'Intelligent Motion' multi-robot control system KeMotion, which permits the unimpeded operation of multiple robots in a shared working space.

KeMotion predicts exactly when and where all the robot arms and other moving objects will be in a process, which allows for "look-ahead, kinematics-conserving movement planning", thereby increasing throughput and reducing energy consumption. For the packaging industry, KEBA has developed special system solutions for pick & place and palletising applications. "Commissioning within a few hours is possible," the company says, with "no need for programming". KEBA will also be exhibiting a robotic packaging cell with two novel delta robots.

From filling and forming to repackaging and palletising, automation specialist Beckhoff (Hall 4A, 417) will present high efficiency automation solutions for the complete packaging process, focusing on reduced engineering costs, reduced footprint and optimised flexibility.

The company's XTS (eXtended Transport System) Linear Transport System combines the advantages of the two established linear
and rotary drive principles in a single system, offering "new freedom for mechanical engineering". The motor is completely integrated together with power electronics and displacement measurement.

One or more movers - wireless, mobile carrier modules - can be moved highly dynamically at up to 4m/s on an almost arbitrary and flexible path configuration. Mechanical grippers can also be dispensed with, so that, according to the company, XTS "revolutionises drive technology in a compact design and offers high flexibility in product changes for consumer goods".

Paper-based
Sappi Fine Paper Europe (Hall 7, 604) will be exhibiting at FachPack for the first time this year, demonstrating how its range of paper and cartonboard substrates can allow brand-owners and converters to provide stand-out packaging for premium products, in the face of increasingly demanding on-shelf competition. "We are specialists in addressing challenging packaging and conversionrequirements," says Sappi marketing manager speciality papers, Kerstin Dietze.

"This includes providing materials that print well and can withstand complex finishing processes while at the same time offering the ultimate in product protection and regulatory compliance, especially for food or other sensitive products."

Featuring on the Sappi stand will be award-winning bright white cartonboard Algro Design; brilliant white topliner Fusion, for carton and corrugated board applications; Algro Finess and Algro Primess, used for applications in flexible packaging; and compostable flexible packaging substrate Algro Nature (also in conjunction with Innovia Films).

As well as displaying its standard portfolio of unbleached, wet strength and white top kraftliner grades, Sweden-based forest
products group SCA Containerboard (Hall 9, 637) will be unveiling its 'New SCA Containerboard' identity.

In a presentation to be held in Messe Nuremberg's Oslo room at 13:30 on the second day, SCA will deliver the message
that SCA Containerboard is now the independent European fresh fibre-based partner that offers innovative and sustainable solutions for the corrugating business. SCA Containerboard is upgrading its Munksund kraftliner mill to develop further improvements, especially to its Kraftliner White Top grades, with respect to substances (reducing to 115g/m²), surface characteristics and printability.

At FachPack, the company will also introduce its new Technical Customer Service Concept - a package that brings together the company's extensive R&D facilities functions and its in-depth knowledge of fibre technology, papermaking and box-making, as well as service offerings, helping to improve the performance of corrugating operations.

Paper-based packaging services group Mondi (Hall 7, 254/160) will be showing its full range of products with an 'Around the Mondi world in three days' theme - accompanied by a hanging hot air balloon centrepiece. According to the company's director of marketing & communication, Albert Klinkhammer, the Mondi exhibit will range "from sophisticated consumer packaging solutions to corrugated
packaging and food safety solutions".

The latest Mondi products on display will include: Aroprotex, a new tailor-made aroma barrier to protect food from external influences;
PolyWoven Bag, the new "extremely durable, strong yet lightweight" packaging with pinch bottom and all-over print; ProVantage
Kraftliner Aqua, a new solution for packaging applications in very humid environments; and Stac-Pac, a weather-resistant dispatch and storage container made from punched, heavy corrugated board.

Mondi's new In Touch Every Day marketing line will also be launched at the show, designed to illustrate how the company connects with "millions of people every day through our broad range of products that are in use across the world", according to Klinkhammer.

Around the stands
With this year marking the 10th anniversary of its compostable NatureFlex packaging films, and the 80th anniversary of Cellophane production at its site in the UK, Innovia Films (Hall 7, 608) will be showing its existing range of BOPP and cellulose films, as well as new products.

Visitors can find out more about NatureFlex films, made from renewable raw materials (wood pulp from trees) and how NatureFlex can be used on its own or combined with other bio-materials to create a tailored packaging solution. Also on the stand will be examples of Innovia's partnership that combines NatureFlex film with Sappi's Algro Nature paper, creating laminate structures that are
described as complex yet compostable and approved for food contact.

The Weidenhammer Packaging Group (Hall 5, 345) will present a comprehensive range of cartonboard and plastics packaging solutions at FachPack, with the focus on gastight packaging solutions with added value, including composite cans with Peel-off Top and the plastics 'reinvention of the can' packaging solution PermaSafe.

Counterfeit protection labelling expert 3S Simons Security Systems will be exhibiting on the Institute for Distribution and Trade Logistics (IDH) stand (Hall 4, 125).

3S has developed several industry solutions against product piracy, and for the packaging sector, Secupack allows any type of primary and secondary packaging, such as folded boxes, blisters, tubes and cans made of different materials, to be "unambiguously identified" as originals. Special colour codes are applied onto the materials by different printing methods, directly added to the products or applied by means of a dispenser - a standard microscope is all that is required for the authentication process.

Global testing and certification provider Intertek (Hall 9, 646) will have its experts on hand to inform and advise on the latest market developments and Intertek's technical and regulatory expertise for the packaging industry, with the focus on food contact and ongoing regulation in this key area. Intertek's services for the packaging industry include: EU/FDA and national food contact regulations; lifecycle assessments (LCA) and carbon footprint for packaging materials; material characterisation; quality assessment & control; process and product optimisation; and R&D support.

FachPack: the 34th edition
Where
Exhibition Centre, Nuremberg,Germany
When
24-26 September 2013
Opening: Tue/Weds, 09:00-18:00
Thurs: 09:00-17:00