Extrusion International 3-2017

and equipment as well as in training and operation. The sustainability theme also remained “omnipresent” at in- terpack 2017. Companies presented improved resource efficiency in terms of both the material used with ever smaller wall thicknesses and of manufacturing processes. Moreover, alternative packaging materials are gaining ground. Successful Special Features Not only the exhibitors had innovations in store for In- dustry 4.0 – the interpack special show of the same name organised in cooperation with the German Engineering Federation VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau e.V.) also showcased the latest ideas and approaches and was received extremely well by visitors. Proving one of the major attractions here was the Dem- onstrator “smart4i” that produced and packaged person- alised powerbanks. Here, not only the entire workflow was digital from online ordering to tracking and tracing, but the machine itself was also installed in record time thanks to a virtual twin and the networked planning in cooperation with several universities. SAVE FOOD Congress and innovationparc Six years after SAVE FOOD was launched, the initiative has grown into a broad-based alliance of over 850 inter- national members from industry, associations, NGOs and research institutes. One of the milestones of the Initiative is the SAVE FOOD Congress at interpack; its third edition held on 4 May was highly praised by delegates for its broad thematic coverage. The Congress pursued a multi- dimensional approach in order to address the issue of food losses and waste comprehensively. Participants in- cluded high-ranking political representatives as speakers such as Vytenis Andriukaitis, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, and Gargi Kaul, Joint Secretary & Finan- cial Adviser at the Indian Ministry for Food Processing In- dustries, as well as committed NGOs activists and repre- sentatives from business. Over the course of the Congress the perspective changed, focusing either on global views or national details and conditions – with India as a focal theme this time. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) presented results of a study in India funded by the Initiative; it had been carried out with the aim of identifying the mechanisms involved in losses of important base foodstuffs and of finding ap- proaches for solutions. components: New Concept Received Very Well The concept of “components – special trade fair by inter- pack”, which had been revised for interpack 2017, was re- ceived very well by visitors. According to the feedback re- ceived from the extremely satisfied exhibitors the quality of visitors was also high. “The decision to place the second “components” after a more subdued debut three years ago, in a central location of the exhibition centre now and to hold it in parallel with the complete interpack, proved absolutely right. There had never been any doubts about the importance of this theme anyway since upstream sup- pliers with their components and software for packaging and process technologies play a key role for the digitali- sation of manufacturing processes all the way down as Industry 4.0 approaches. We will therefore also establish “components” at trade fairs of interpack alliance abroad in future,” added Bernd Jablonowski, Global Portfolio Di- rector Processing & Packaging at Messe Düsseldorf. The coming interpack will be held in May 2020 in three years’ time at Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre – then with a completely new South entrance and a new Hall 1. The ex- act dates will be published at a later date. www.messe-duesseldorf.de 27 Extrusion International 3/2017