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FachPack 2012:
Packaging industry is
confident
FachPack well equipped
for visitors with money
to invest Packaging
manufacturers keeping an
eye on energy efficiency
8
F&C
Magazine
Some 1,400 exhibitors from the packaging,
technology, processing and
logistics segments are expected at
FachPack 2012 from
25–27 September in the Exhibition Centre
Nuremberg. They come mainly from Germany,
the Netherlands, Switzerland, the Czech
RepubLIC, Austria, Italy, France, Belgium,
Poland and Great Britain. The good 35,000
trade visitors expected from all over Europe
confirm FachPack’s outstanding reputation
as a compact Euroregional gathering of
competent decision-makers from the packaging
sector.
The German economy is looking to the
future with cautious optimism despite the
euro and debt crisis. After last year’s good
3 % growth, most of the economists expect
growth in 2012, although at a modest level.
In the surveys conducted by the ifo Institut
für Wirtschaftsforschung (Institute for Economic
Research) at the beginning of the year,
the small and medium enterprises, which
include most of the German companies in
the packaging industry, were confident and
the German export motor is running at top
speed. Energy efficiency is the dominating
issue everywhere in the packaging supplies
industry due to rising energy and raw material
prices and the growing pressure of
competition. Social trends also have a great
impact on developments and innovations
in the packaging industry: Enjoyment and
quality are so important for consumers that
they are happy to spend more money on this
added value. The package is a major sales
argument in saturated markets. Consumers
also increasingly look for an environmental
label like FSC certification of paper and
cardboard or the CO2 footprint.
Paper, cardboard and paperboard:
high production level – smart ideas
The German paper industry largely maintained
the high level of the previous year
in 2011, but the dynamic upward trend of
2010 did not continue. Sales of paper, paperboard
and cardboard dropped slightly by
1.9 % to 22.6 million t. Production declined
by 1.6 % compared with the same period
Germany
of the previous year. However, as reported
by the Verband Deutscher Papierfabriken
(VDP – Paper Manufacturers Association),
sales rose by 7 % to 15.3 billion euros. The
high costs of raw materials and energy continue
to be a burden on results. Despite
macro-economic risks, the paper industry is
cautiously optimistic about the current year.
The demand for efficient, economical and
environment-compatible transport packaging
of corrugated cardboard is steady,
reports the Verband der Wellpappen-Industrie
(VDW – Corrugated Cardboard Industry
Association). The quantity sold in 2011 is
slightly above the previous year. The association
estimates that the level reached
will be maintained or slightly increased in
2012. Sales have risen appreciably, but accompanied
by higher costs for energy and
raw materials. The corrugated cardboard
industry has proved to be robust in the ups
and downs of the market, and the demand
for its products can also be expected to
grow in future. The member companies sold