Even after 175 years the tube is a packaging solution with a future
At the invitation of the European Tube Manufacturers Association, etma, the global tube industry met in Berlin on 2 June 2016 to mark the 175th anniversary of the discovery of the tube by the American John Goffe Rand. As etma’s secretary general, Gregor Spengler, emphasised in his welcoming address to the 130 participants, there were not only representatives from almost all important tube manufacturers at the World Tube Congress but also global specialists and companies from the whole tube supply chain. To continue the success story of the tube as a packaging solution during the last 175 years one has to think outside the box and take a global and comprehensive view of the challenges and future opportunities for the tube as a packaging material. The congress offered an outstanding opportunity for this approach in the form of a series of excellent papers and presentations, with lively discussions that went into further detail.
Dr Monika Kopra-Schäfer, president of etma, Michael Hoard, president of the US Tube Council and Ashok Goel, CEO of Essel Propack, were concordantly optimistic about the future outlook for the tube in the most important markets, Europe, North America and Asia, even though diminishing growth in the global economy could make the situation somewhat more difficult. Moreover, the tube industry will have to cope with substantial challenges due to the increasing complexity of international markets, with ever-smaller batch sizes and continually growing demands with respect to decoration, more stringent statutory requirements for food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products coupled with growing expectations with regards the sustainability of packaging. The same applies to the requirements that arise as a result of megatrends, such as an ageing society, changed shopping behaviour, increasingly more mobile consumers (keyword: internet shopping) and ‘big data’ (packaging as a communications tool).
Daniel Stricker of KI Group presented the current situation in the raw materials market for plastics in his consideration of the global development of prices and capacities for those materials relevant to the tube industry.
Philippe Blank of Henkel shed light on the key requirements for packaging from the point of view of a brand owner operating successfully worldwide, Mathias Ponzelar (IWK) pointed out the opportunities that Supply Chain 4.0 offers the tube from the point of view of a leading manufacturer of tube filling machines and Marco Atzberger of EHI Retail Institute cast a fascinating glance into the future of the retail market with his new shopping world and its influence on the packaging sector.
“In addition to specialist input from the speakers, though, we wanted to offer all participants an opportunity for an interdisciplinary exchange of ideas,” stressed congress organiser Gregor Spengler. “Optimised co-operation, particularly at all stages of the process chain, will fuel the tube’s success still further. And that is something that we certainly managed to achieve in Berlin. The numerous discussions and stimulating conversations, and especially the broad range of disciplines and international companies represented bear witness to this.” The congress was sponsored by well-known companies, such as Mall+Herlan/Polytype, SunChemical, PacksysGlobal, Hapa, Aisa, Sprimag, Technopack and Mühlbauer.
