PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL 2015: delivering better business beyond borders

The 5th International Packaging and Printing Exhibition for Asia (PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL 2015), jointly organised by Messe Düsseldorf Asia, The Thai Packaging Association and The Thai Printing Association is gearing up once again to offer the regional marketplace an excellent sourcing and buying platform. As Southeast Asia’s No. 1 trade show for the printing and packaging sectors, PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL 2015 will bring to the show floor at BITEC, Bangkok, Thailand a multifaceted exhibition showcase from August 26-29, 2015. Driven by the world’s leading trade shows – drupa and interpack. Exhibitors and visitors can look forward to a vibrant mix of onsite activities, including display of latest machineries, seminars, live product demonstrations and a host of networking opportunities from across the world to match the current trends and demands of the dynamic Southeast Asian markets. Companies who have committed to share their industry knowledge and expertise at the upcoming show edition include Hewlett-Packard Asia Pacific, Fuji Xerox, Ferrostaal, Riso, Rotometrics, Vt Graphic, Heidelberg, Koenig & Bauer Group and Dubuit Far East.

Economic vs industry outlook

Packaging and printing industries are set for greater heights with robust growth opportunities expected in the Southeast Asia region – particularly so with the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 – which will transform Southeast Asia into a region with free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labour, and free flow of capital.

Emphasising this, Gernot Ringling, managing director, Messe Dusseldorf Asia, shared, “With the launch of AEC this year, businesses within the region can look towards further growth prospects. PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL 2015 – a trade fair for the industry by the industry thus provides a timely, converging platform for industry players to meet and take advantage of the rising business opportunities and needs. Its value-fordemand staging and strong drawing power of the who’s who of the industry from all over the world to engage, network, and drive sales growth, is the winning formula behind every successful edition of PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL.”

Worldwide market outlook for both the packaging and printing industries is set to shine too. According to the Future of Global Printing to 2018 report, global printing industry is expected to reach $980 billion by 2018, with growth driven mainly by packaging and labels. Another trend observed is the shift in print technology used – in 2008, digital printing accounted for just 18.5 percent of the offset market in value terms, but by 2018, it is forecasted that digital printing will make up almost 50 percent of the global offset sector. The global packaging market on the other hand is projected to welcome bullish sales receipts of $975 billion by 2018, with sales of packaging largely concentrated in Asia.

By 2018, segmentation of the market is expected to change and Asia is predicted to represent over 40 percent of global demand for packaging.

In line with these projections, Chaivudhi Pungthong, president of The Thai Packaging Association, shared that “exports of packaging materials – primarily film, plastic and printed materials – could hit 100 billion baht with the implementation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) this year.” He went on to comment that, “Despite political challenges, the packaging industry will continue to grow because the industry is tied to the production of consumer goods which have increased substantially due to higher disposable income and affluence amongst the Thai population.”

Echoing Chaivudhi’s thoughts is Pimnara Jiranithitnon, president of The Thai Printing Association, who pointed out that Thailand has an industry representation of over 5,500 local printing and publishing houses, which attests to its strong market demand and potential. With the experience and skillsets earned, global players can strike up partnerships with local companies to more efficiently fulfill industry demands in offset, 3D and digital printing, in turn gaining a larger foothold in Asia’s thriving printing market.”

Hub for packing and printing industry players across Asia

Following the show’s successful staging in 2013 that attracted 202 exhibitors and 16,833 visitors over four show days, PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL 2015 is set to congregate the largest number of exhibitors ever spanning the nearly 15,000 square metres (sq m) of show space. Adding more depth to PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL 2015, a series of forums, seminars and workshops on recent developments and highlights from the areas of packaging and printing have been lined up to complement this world-class exhibition.

Concurrent Event

Co-locating with PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL 2015 is T-PLAS 2015 – International Trade Fair for the Plastics and Rubber Industries. Strategically positioned in Southeast Asia’s largest plastics processing industry, T-PLAS enhances its regional focus and provides an international outlook of the abundant strategic opportunities available for participating companies to springboard into the regional plastics and rubber markets.

Hewlett-Packard returns to Pack Print International 2015

Printing industries in the region are gearing up to welcome robust growth opportunities expected in Southeast Asia – following the establishment of the singleeconomy ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). Global print driver, digital printing, is set to ride on this upward trend. By 2018, it is forecasted that digital printing will make up almost 50 percent of the global offset sector according to the Future of Global Printing to 2018 report.

Capturing the prospects of the global printing market worth $980 billion, Hewlett-Packard is back and will join fellow industry players at the upcoming edition of PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL 2015. Helming it up as the largest digital printing booth at the exhibition, HP will showcase its extensive fleet of game changers, including the HP Indigo Digital Presses, HP Latex Printers – poised to encourage productivity and economic break-even points at higher run lengths. Visitors can also look forward to special workshops by HP in areas such as labels and packaging, corrugated packaging, as well as retail and advertising at the trade show.

FUJIFILM will bring to the show floor its expert graphic capabilities and print technology. A leader in computer-toplate (CtP) printing solutions, the brand’s line of Luxel machines are commendable solutions in providing maximum printing press support. Fujifilm will also be sharing their industry expertise in Advances CCD Technology, Advances Laser Beam, MultiGrain Technology and Thin-layer Thermal Transfer Technology to meet the needs of the evolving printing markets in Southeast Asia, for both for buyers and sellers alike.

FERROSTAAL, a long standing provider of printing solutions for the top-class consumables and equipment, will ramp up the show’s flow with its complete services for Prepress, Press Finishing in Offset, Flexo as well as Digital printing services from Kodak, MGI, Komori, Kolbus, Wohlenberg, Meccanotecnica, MBO, Conti- Air and many more.

Profit-making packaging through automation

Pune based Swiss company BOBST organised a three day ‘open house’ entitled Competence ’15 to showcase some path breaking technologies in converting process within Folding Carton segment. ‘Profit-Making Packaging through Automation’ was the theme for the event. The machines showcased at the extravagant event included the Novacut 106 ER, Expertfold 80 A2, Accucheck, Handypack and the all new Lila II 145 A2 folder-gluer. The theme of the event conveyed the underlying message that in today’s competitive business automation in production process will be the key to be more cost effective, minimise dependence on labour, minimise wastage and thus be more operationally efficient.

The Novacut 106 ER is a solution for in-line blank separation at a very cost effective way. It is an easy to operate machine and the operator can handle all operations from the outside. The edge waste is stripped off by the machine, leaving a final finished product that is delivered on a conveyor. This system lets the operator insert a new pallet of work into a flat bed die-cutter, or remove a pile of finished product, without the need to interrupt production. The machine is equipped with the latest generation of CUBE, BOBST’s operator-machine interface that features the revolutionary ‘Touch & Set’ navigation which makes even the most complex settings completely intuitive, saving valuable time. The machine handles up to 7,000 sheets per hour.

The BOBST Accucheck unit delivers the capability to inline quality check 100 percent of its folding carton production. The machine was placed inline with the Expertfold 80 A2 and Handypack. Accucheck checks each carton for issues such as printing defects, oil or water marks, ink splashes, carton damage or scratches, bad cut quality, or colour variation, and prevents any cartons with such defects from reaching the packing line.

The Lila II 145 A2 is a folder-gluer machine used for folding packaging material. It also has easy access for operation. The folder is five metres long, which results in a smooth nd natural folding. As per Upendra Deglurkar, president – Bobst India, “This is our proud product fully developed in India.” Live demonstrations were given to attendees, which made them understand the functioning of the machines better. “Innovation is the market need and that is what we focus at,” added Subhasis Roy, business director, Bobst India.

Abhijeet Kolhatkar, sales manager, Provin Technos Pvt Ltd, an exhibitor at the event, said, “We work with BOBST machines and understand that their machines are worthy of the price they command.” While Abhijeet expected to get many enquiries for their products at the event, he also shared his thoughts about the ‘Make in India’ call given by prime minister Narendra Modi. “Demand is increasing and although accessory manufacturing is being done in India, we still have a long way to go” he clarified.

While, Mukesh Nautiyal, business head of Nanpao, a resin company, another exhibitor at the event, highlighted the need to produce machinery in India. “Unless we begin manufacturing in India we will be in a position to increase exports,” he said. “The intervention of the government in offering sops (standard operating procedures) to the industry is crucial to its growth,” he pointed out.

“This Open House was organised to invite our discerning customers to our factory to showcase what BOBST is doing in India and also to demonstrate the efficacy of these technologies on display,” added Subhasis Roy.

BOBST is the world’s leading supplier of machinery and services to packaging manufacturers in the folding carton, corrugated board and flexible material industries. Founded in 1890 by Joseph Bobst in Lausanne, Switzerland, the company has a presence in more than 50 countries, runs 11 production facilities in eight countries and employs over 5,000 people around the world. Its India facility is based out of Pune.

–Ritu Goyal Harish