&bull packaging forum started with launch event&bull three associations of vdma establish a platform for mechanical engineering manufacturers operating in the growing packaging market&bull vdma supports messe düsseldorf show activity &ldquoshanghai world of packaging&rdquofrankfurt, 9102014 &ndash sharing experiences, tracking technologies and markets, pooling knowhow these are the key objectives of the &ldquopackaging forum&rdquo launched thursday, 9 october 2014, within vdma. with this forum, the three associations of printing and paper technology, plastics and rubber machinery as well as food processing and packaging machinery within vdma create a joint platform for member companies that are already active in the packaging market or are seeking access to this growth market.according to forecasts, the global packaging market will grow by 130 billion &euro to 715 billion &euro in the period from 2014 to 2018. major drivers are the worldwide increase of awareness for hygiene, the urgent demand for longlasting food and the increasing willingness to consume among the growing middle classes in emerging and developing countries. last, but not least, the brand manufacturers of a wide variety of sectors use sophisticated and, for instance, especially ecofriendly types of packaging to make their products stand out from the competitors in mature markets. the key to that are innovative machines and equipment which shape, print and finish the packaging products fast, at favourable cost and in high quality &ndash no matter whether they are made of paper, board, plastic, glass, metal, or hybrid materials.the packaging forum combines the total process chainin future, the &ldquopackaging forum&rdquo will serve as a platform for the members of the associations involved which offer technologies for packing production, printing and finishing, for packing, filling as well as wrapping and palletizing. &ldquothe list of members of our associations comprises suppliers of all processes and technologies which play an important role in the packaging market,&rdquo stresses dr. markus heering, managing director of the printing and paper technology association. richard clemens, managing director of the food processing and packaging machinery association, adds &ldquowithin the packaging forum, we will gather and pool our broad knowhow from the total value chain.&rdquo their counterpart thorsten kühlmann, managing director of the plastics and rubber machinery association, emphasises the large potential of the exchange of experience among different disciplines of the mechanical engineering industry within this forum &ldquothis provides impetus for the further development of inhouse policies..&rdquobesides the interactive sharing of experiences, the analysis of technological and growth trends will be part of the key objectives of this forum. &ldquoour member companies are operating in the same markets. the obvious way forward is to place the observation of trends and developments in the sales markets on a common base,&rdquo says managing director heering of the printing and paper technology association. in addition to the pure market analyses, the &ldquopackaging forum&rdquo plans to regularly invite brand manufacturers and other important players of the packaging industry in order to learn what their vision is of the future of packaging. the beginning was made today with the launch event in frankfurt.vdma supports messe düsseldorf show activity &ldquoshanghai world of packaging&rdquoin line with the objective of the &ldquopackaging forum&rdquo to approach the international packaging market with pooled strength, the vdma supports the messe düsseldorf show activity &ldquoshanghai world of packaging&rdquo swop. this trade fair for the production, finishing and processing of packaging products and packaging materials, which will be carried out for the first time from 17 to 20 november in autumn next year, is aiming at attracting visitors and purchasers from the total asianpacific region within swop they will find &ldquopacpro asia&rdquo which covers the total process chain for packaging and combines the segments of the düsseldorfbased trade shows drupa, interpack, and k. further three other special trade fairs cover the following segments &ldquochina pharm&rdquo for production, processing and packaging technology for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry, &ldquofoodpex&rdquo presenting packaging solutions and processing technology for the food industry as well as &ldquobulkpex&ldquo for bulk packaging technology. as a result, the new trade fair offers the possibility for a concerted presentation in the markets of asia not only for the members of the new &ldquopackaging forum&rdquo. &ldquowe are very confident that the german mechanical engineering industry with its highly innovative solutions can take over a major role in the predicted growth of the international packaging markets,&rdquo says heering, adding that the launch of the &ldquopackaging forum&rdquo today is an important step to this end.
