32 TRADE SHOW REVIEW PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 06/23 www.petpla.net Interpack 2023 review - part 1 Sustainability has long been heralded as THE top issue in the industry. At this year’s Interpack, one could see for oneself that it has really arrived on a broad scale. Whether it’s the use of lightweight solutions, resource management or the recycling cycle - the industry can supply what the customer demands. In addition, new digitalisation solutions in particular can help determine the new technological developments. Under the heading “Welcome Home”, the trade fair welcomed approx. 143,000 visitors from all over the world in Düsseldorf, Germany. Alongside many European countries, the largest visitor nations were India, Japan and the USA. Around 75% of visitors came from middle or top management to experience technologies and solutions of 2,807 exhibitors from 155 countries. The next Interpack will be held in Düsseldorf from May 7 to 13, 2026. www.interpack.de KHS, Andreas Klages, Project Processing – Product Support, Barrier Coating Technology 1) Overall, what were your impressions of Interpack? Sustainability and circular packaging are the major topics of the exhibition. This can be seen, for example, in relation to savings in material which in the PET sector is limited not just to lightweight bottles but is also relevant to secondary packaging. 2) What aspects of your company offer were you highlighting? When it comes to material savings, KHS offers solutions that replace shrink film with carrying handles for multipacks. Here, however, we can offer some improvements: the Nature MultiPack attaches beverage containers to a solid pack not by using shrink film but by means of easily detachable adhesive dots that have already achieved up to 90% savings in packaging material. By reducing the number of glue dots in the MultiPacks we are also continuing to address the issue of material savings. Another recent development is the introduction of a cardboard carrying handle. The new packs are processed on the modular KHS Innopack Kisters NMP packaging machine. A newly developed unit feeds in the alternative cardboard clip and slots it onto the PET containers. Former process steps such as distribution among different lanes, buffering and pack turning are no longer required. 3) What will be the coming trends in PET bottles? The amount of rPET in bottles will certainly continue to further increase in the future. Consumers and brands would very much like to use 100% rPET but at the moment this would come at a high cost for the material. Due to this and the currently limited availability of high-quality material some producers are temporarily reducing the actual rPET percentage. Another cont inuous trend is the demand for increased energy efficiency in bottle production. With DoGa in the KHS InnoPET Blomax Series V, the innovative two lane preform heating oven, energy savings of up to 30% are achieved compared to modern single-lane ovens. This will significantly reduce both the cost of energy and the CO2 generation. www.khs.com United Caps, Benoit Henckes, CEO 1) Overall, what were your impressions of Interpack? We are very pleased. It was a bit quieter at the weekend but we made many excellent contacts and had productive discussions on all the other days. 2) What aspects of your company offer were you highlighting? Sustainability! This is a big issue for us, as well globally, that we want to promote in our work. All our European plants are now operating with 100% renewable energy which has led to us signing an agreement with a wind farm operator in Sweden. We also want to use renewable or recycled plastic in as many caps as possible which will reduce our carbon footprint and help our customers to do the same. Another focus for us is tethered closures. We are nearing the EU deadline [July 2024] but many companies have yet to make the switch or even reached a decision. 3) What will be the coming trends in PET bottles? PET bottles comprise around 30% of United Caps’ Business. The tethered closures I have just mentioned are, of course, a major work area for us. There are customers in the EU who are shying away from extra investment, preferring to wait and see if and when the Directive is actually implemented. At the same time, companies from outside the EU are watching the situation extremely closely, particularly in terms of customer approval. Here, we are able to offer a variety of solutions, including moulded and slitted tethering styles that are consumer-friendly and can be handled intuitively. Further developments in the PET bottle closure sector can be seen by the increased use of PET bottles for edible oils for which we can also offer solutions. www.unitedcaps.com
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