Ceepackaging

The new administrative building of HSM GmbH + Co. KG in Frickingen has been complete for some time now and a few weeks ago the manufacturer of document shredders, cutting machines and baling presses from Baden, Germany moved in.

Krones AG, Neutraubling, Germany, has developed a system called MouldXpress Advanced, which downsizes the change-over time for moulds in the Contiform, thus improving the availability levels of the stretch blow-moulding machine. The semi-automatic system integrated into the blowing wheel shortens the change-over time from about 3.5 minutes to less than one minute per blow-moulding station.

High quality German food manufacturer Buerger GmbH, has more than doubled packing speeds at its Crailsheim site in southern Germany, where it manufactures a range of popular traditional soups, following the installation of a 16-head Ishida RS-Series multihead weigher

The topic of "Art Goes Plastic" will also be presented to the public at what is certainly the most important European plastics fair of the year, the Fakuma 2009 (13 to 17 October 2009 in Friedrichshafen).

Monday evening, the celebratory awards ceremony of the 32nd German Packaging Prize took place at the FachPack+PrintPack+LogIntern event in Nuremberg. This year, the German Packaging Institute (dvi) had the pleasure of awarding 20 developments from 18 companies and 2 student projects in 7 categories. Innovative and functional concepts were distinguished, which further develop the packaging industry further in a commercial, technical, aesthetic, or ecological sense. This renowned competition has been a forum for packaging innovations for 46 years, and it qualifies as an entry into the WorldStar event, the industry's international exhibition.

GERNEP - manufacturer of labelling machines located in Southern Germany - which is already well established in the beverage as well as in the food and non-food market, will present at “FachPack 2009” recent technologies of the different labelling systems.

Rübezahl Schokoladen GmbH, one of Germany's leading confectionery manufacturers, has recently introduced Amcor E-Close® for their SUN RICE chocolate squares which are exclusively sold into ALDI supermarkets in Germany.

etma (european tube manufacturers association) celebrated its golden anniversary at its annual congress in Istanbul. And for 28 of those 50 years it has also been organising its “Tube of the Year” competition, which was held for the first time in 1981. Seven experts from etma’s circle of members selected the best and the most innovative tube in each of four categories: Aluminium Tubes, Laminate Tubes, Plastic Tubes and Prototypes.

At PackExpo Las Vegas 2009, Romaco will be presenting, for the first time, the Promatic P91 S intermittent motion cartoner. New technical standards are being set with its packaging speed of 140 cartons per minute. .

The customer expects consistent hygiene management from packaging manufacturers. At the same time, the current demands on a consistent hygiene management system must be integrated into the suppliers' internal processes. NORDENIA INTERNATIONAL AG, an international manufacturer of flexible packaging, technical films, and product components, is to receive certification in accordance with the new norm DIN EN 15593 ("Hygiene management in the production of packaging for foodstuffs") for the sites at which packaging for food, pet food, and hygiene products is produced. Integration into the existing management system is being systematically taken into account.

The idea to equip the carrier bag with Slide-Rite® re-closure was a good decision.” The sales figures prove Wolfgang Mollenhauer is right. The Managing Director of Tetra, one of the top manufacturers in the field of aquaristics and garden pond products world-wide, records increasing sales in the segment of premium fish food in Europe. A reason for this success is the innovative packaging concept developed for Tetra by the two packaging specialists Nordenia and Pactiv.

Promising perspectives: By introducing new multipacks, Australian snack food producer Smith’s would be able to save a substanial amount of its packaging volume - provided it could source a packaging line capable of positioning and filling the new secondary packaging which would enable high-level automation of all the involved processes and offer a constant availability rating of over 90 per cent. Having successfully overcome this hurdle, decorative display cartons embellished with this traditional brand have been a firm feature on supermarket shelves “down under” since March 2008.

Especially in times of economic difficulty, it is important to develop optimism and forward-thinking ideas. The market is driven by creativity and competition, and these forces also determine quality and the direction of further development. For this reason, the German Packaging Institute (dvi) is also active this year in its search for new concepts, packaging, and machine technology. For this reason, the German Packaging Prize is sending positive signals, and once again, it seeks to test the performance of the industry. The 32nd international competition, which also qualifies as entry into the WorldStar program, focuses on manufacturers, developers, designers, and users of innovative packaging solutions. The competition deadline for the German Packaging Prize runs until 17 July.

Jack Link's, one of the world's leading manufacturer of meat snacks, has chosen Amcor Flexibles to deliver the packaging for two new products, X-Bites and X-Sticks, which have recently been launched in the German market. The smoked sausage pieces and sticks are packed in a modified atmosphere to preserve the taste and the package has been enhanced by the 'Rip & Tip' functionality which enables easy opening and encourages eating on the go.

RPC Verpackungen Kutenholz is producing PET bottles in different designs, colours and sizes for Schwarzkopf & Henkel Production Europe.

Effective June 1, Jennifer-Moore-Braun (37) has assumed responsibility for the new position of deputy head of Corporate Media Relations BASF Group. In this function, Moore-Braun will focus in particular on further developing international media activities. As of the same date, Thomas Möller (32) will succeed her as head of Media Relations Europe. As of June 15, 2009, Ingrid Nienaber (36) will transfer from BASF’s Corporate Media Relations team in Ludwigshafen to the company’s Brussels office, where she will be responsible for media relations.

Cutting operating costs, saving space, increasing line efficiency levels, creating complete-system capabilities, using state-of-the-art technologies to expand the bandwidth of the products being handled, putting optimised hygiene and safety conditions in place, in short – creating need-responsive solutions: these are the driving considerations behind what Krones AG, Neutraubling, Germany, has developed for drinktec 2009.

Despite the availability of highly sophisticated silo logistics, bags continue playing an important role in the distribution of bulk goods. Especially for applications involving small batches or the packaging of demanding products, the manufacturers of chemicals, food, and non-food as well as mineral products tend to rely on bags because of their flexible use. When it comes to selecting the appropriate bagging system, the properties of the products to be packaged need to be taken into account. Free-flowing products such as PE resin or vitamin powder make other demands on the bagging technology than do heavy-flowing and/or powdery and dusty products such as E-PVC, starch or titanium dioxide. It is for this reason that engineering company Windmöller & Hölscher (W&H) is presenting at this year's ACHEMA with TOPAS and OPAL two different Form-Fill-Seal (FFS) packaging systems specially geared to these applications.

The highly elastic styrene-butadiene copolymer (SBC) Styroflex® 2G66 made by BASF, is now going into the serial production of films for stretch hoods by sev­eral industrial users. BISCHOF + KLEIN, a manufacturer of packaging material with worldwide operations, is now using Styroflex to produce the stretch hood films of its SmartFlex® SE series, and at almost the same time, two of its major international customers as well as the German company PCI Augsburg have switched over to this film for packaging their cargo. Owing to its high stretchability and recovery capacity, this Styroflex film lends itself very well for securing a wide array of palletized loads.

Düsseldorf-based etma - european tube manufacturers association is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation this year. Despite the economic crisis, the association’s 52 member companies from 19 European countries reported good figures for 2008. But the association will not only be celebrating at its annual congress, which will be held from 10-12 June 2009 in Istanbul. Innovative strategies and greater flexibility are called for in order to successfully master the increased challenges that European tube producers are now facing.

Veriplast Solutions is delighted to congratulate its partner Unilever on winning a 2008 Deutscher Verpackungs Preis (German Packaging Award) and a WorldStar Packaging Award: “We are particularly satisfied that one of our key customers has won such a prestigious award with one of our new innovation concepts; these awards endorse the development capabilities of our Group”, declared Thierry Tomasov, Veriplast Solutions’ CEO.

With a multi-million investment programme, Töpfer Kulmbach GmbH has laid the way for further growth. Around ten months after the approval of public funding, the work for the planned plant expansion has begun. With this move, the company, which is already one of the leading label manufacturers in Europe, will further expand its market position.

Hopes that Germany can steer Europe through the recession are fading, with latest figures revealing shrinking growth, rising unemployment and empty order books across the EU's traditional economic powerhouse.

The “Triquilar” wallet by August Faller KG is one of the patient-friendliest new packages to be developed this year. At the annual conference of the European Healthcare Compliance Packaging Councils (HCPC) in Vienna, this producer of pharmaceutical packaging was among the finalists for the HCPC Packaging Awards with this three-part wallet with calendar labels. Faller developed it for a contraceptive that is sold by Bayer Schering Pharma AG in Berlin and produced by Schering GmbH und Co. Produktions KG in Weimar, Germany.

The financial crisis is impacting severely on Germany’s export-driven engineering industry, and Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) is no exception. As the third-quarter figures issued on 14 November revealed, tumbling demand in key export markets caused the volume of new orders for sheetfed presses to fall 15.8% below the equivalent figure for 2007, while orders for web and special presses were 9.1% down on a weak prior year. The volume of orders on hand shrank by €160m to €721.6m, and this has caused major fluctuations in plant utilisation since the beginning of October. As a countermeasure, overtime and holiday accounts are being run down at KBA’s web press production plants, and the Christmas closure extended. As was also announced on 14 November, KBA’s sheetfed facility, which officially introduced short-time work at the beginning of November, is having to trim its payroll by 400.

The exhibition year 2009 starts in January with Arabplast in Dubai. This show is a real showcase for Eastern Countries, and a bridge between Europe, North-Africa and India. Up to now, the Arabic regions seemed to still need catching up, in particular in the packaging sector. The growth in 2007 was outstanding; for Germany only, the growth amounted 63,5 % for machine suppliers. Among Golf countries, Saudi-Arabia, Oman and UAE were particularly dynamic. This is a good reason for relevant suppliers from Japan, Germany or Italy to participate. For the first time, Billion also decided to come and exhibit on the Arabplast show.

Seidenader Group, a leading supplier for inspection technology and vision systems for the pharmaceutical industry, has moved into the expansion building of their Markt Schwaben facility.

The growing market for self-service fresh meat in Eastern Europe has been reflected in increased demand for MAP meat tray solutions from RPC.

At the Emballage 2008, to be held from 17 to 21 November at the exhibition centre in Villepinte, Paris, Krones AG, Neutraubling, Germany, will be showing some of its numerous complete-system solutions. Including a newly developed pack grouping unit and a modularised labeller plus solutions for life-cycle service and intralogistics.

Fischer & Krecke’s SMARTGPS (Graphic Positioning System) first introduced at Drupa this year caused a sensation among experts during the exhibition. In the many weeks since Drupa, this fervent interest has not diminished. Printers from all parts of the world are currently testing the new system with their own print forms and on various substrates.

After more than two years of development it is finally done! In co-operation with Fraunhofer Institute Overath GmbH developed a new product which offers a new, intelligent and practical solution in the area of insulated transport packaging.

Krones AG, Neutraubling, Germany, will be using the BRAU Beviale 2008 primarily for showcasing new forms of service support. In the new interactive internet portal, called “LCS Remote Service”, for example, Krones is grouping together all existing online features of its Life-Cycle Service operation. Equipped with an access authorisation, both Krones clients and Krones staff will in future be able to enter the portal all over the world, even when they’re travelling. For the first time, all the LCS remote services are contained here for direct utilisation. These include the Help Desk for providing assistance with technological questions, remote diagnostics and teleservice, the eGate and the eCat spare parts catalogue and shop, plus agreement inquiries and the section for upgrade options, which in future every client will be able to generate himself for his own machinery.

MAUSER, a manufacturer of industrial packaging, has introduced a 220 l tight head drum as a refinement of its well proven threelayer concept for EX zones. The new 4-EX drum provides filling grounding through a conductive stripe integrated into the drum body and offers excellent cold drop performance. At the same time, production can be done with up to 20% less conductive material. 4-EX is CENELEC certified and the relevant UN approval is being applied for.

Suedzucker has been nominated for a German Packaging Institute (DVI) award with this interesting container.

With support from the OYSTAR Group, Milchhof Sterzing (Cooperativa Latteria Vipiteno) — in Italy has nearly doubled its capacity for producing yogurt. This permits it to meet the increasing demand for quality products of the “Sterzinger” brand. The investments in new packaging machines from OYSTAR Gasti in Schwäbisch-Hall and OYSTAR A+F in Kirchlengern have also strengthened Milchhof Sterzing’s position as the fourth-largest supplier of yogurt products to the Italian market.

A new strategic partnership with the U.S. display and packaging expert, Alliance, expands STI Group’s international network by adding a competent partner in the U.S. and Canadian markets.

In future ELAU will be the Packaging competence centre of Schneider Electric. Combined with a more intensive use of the group’s infrastructures, this strengthening of ELAU’s position is designed to accelerate the evolution into a global market leader for the automation of packaging machines.

A good 1,400 exhibitors of beverage raw materials, technologies, logistics and marketing ideas present their products for the around 34,000 expected visitors at BRAU Beviale 2008 in the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg from 12-14 November. The event focuses on the whole technology spectrum with machinery and installations for production, filling and packing of beverages, operating and laboratory equipment, and energy systems. About half the exhibitors are in this segment. Beverage producers and suppliers with a special interest in this segment should possibly consider travelling to Nürnberg earlier, as the Academy and SGS Institute are organizing the English-language seminar “Filling Technology 2008” on 10-11 November immediately before BRAU Beviale. The one-and-a-half-day seminar in the CongressCenter Ost of NürnbergMesse is devoted to trends in filling technology: What must be considered when planning and taking new installations into operation? Where is optimization possible? How can the stringent hygiene regulations be fulfilled?

Haefner who specialise in plastic spools set up a medical clean room in just nine months. The production module is certificated in accordance with clean room Class 8 (ISO 14644) and is free of particles/germs in accordance with c’GMP* (current Good Manufacturing Practice) Class D. An injection moulding machine having a locking force of 3,500 kN forms the core of the new production module.

The company OYSTAR A+F of Kirchlengern enters the packaging technology market with two innovations: The company has extended its established Setline range with a sorting function and has developed a freestanding TWINLINE pick and place machine. OYSTAR A+F is part of OYSTAR. The Process & Packaging Group. OYSTAR HOLDING GmbH is headquartered in Stutensee near Karlsruhe.

The Saarbrucken based Meyer-Hentschel Institut is investigating the effects of advanced age and how this effects purchase decisions. With vital questions to be answered for packaging providers, CEE Packaging tries out the equipment.

The South-German packaging-specialist Gaplast is one of the recipients of a DuPont Packaging Award 2008. The company’s patented Bag-in Bottle technology, for the manufacture of disinfectant bottles with a capacity of 1000 ml. and airless functionality (see picture 1), succeeded against almost 80 entries from Europe, America and Asia. According to the jury, principal reasons for its selection were the responsible deployment of resources and optimised energy usage during production. Roland Kneer, proprietor and managing director at Gaplast, along with Stephan Kneer, technical manager, accepted the award on the company’s behalf during a ceremony held at DuPont headquarters (Wilmington, Delaware, US) on 17th April 2008.

The European Commission has closed an infringement procedure against Germany relating to the deposit system for one-way drinks packaging, such as cans and plastic bottles. The Commission considers that the rules applied are now in line with the requirements concerning the free movement of goods and Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste.

In 2006 HANSA-HEEMANN AG, one of Germany's leading mineral water and soft drink suppliers, purchased a new facility in Bruchsal, 20 kms North of Karlsruhe. Sidel handled the new plant’s lines design and equipment supply providing a customized, highly innovative proposal that met the customer’s high standards for quality, efficiency and flexibility.

Since February 2008 Yücel Kulu (34) is responsible for the region South Eastern Europe and Turkey at HSM GmbH + Co. KG, German producer of office and environmental products based on the Lake of Constance.

Thor pots from RPC Containers Blackburn are contributing to the premium image of a pioneering new range of fresh chilled convenience foods recently launched in Germany by a new company, Yes Please Foods GmbH.

Exact knowledge of a product’s properties is a prerequisite for offering the customer the most optimum machine with a satisfactory packing speed. Every day the experts of the Haver & Boecker Research & Development Center use various test instruments to acquire fundamental knowledge of a product’s properties, or the product packaging to be used. The HAVER Bulk Density Tester is such an instrument.

Many German businesses that relocated to Eastern Europe are returning to Germany. In particular, small and medium-sized companies have realised that profits were not as high as expected and are finding the German business environment more attractive. The increase in German companies staying at home is adding to the flourishing of the business environment.

Rhodia Acetow, based in Freiburg, Germany, was awarded a WorldStar 2007 in November by the World Packaging Organisation for its product TOWCUBE®. This is an innovative vacuum film developed specially for packing bales of cellulose acetate, which is used in the manufacture of cigarette filters. Before receiving this accolade, TOWCUBE® had already won the German Packing Award (“Deutscher Verpackungspreis) – see www.verpackung.org – during the FachPack 2007 trade fair. This is also a cause for celebration for Kobusch-Sengewald, the packaging specialist that makes the new film exclusively for Rhodia.

During a ceremonious event in Oelde on December 18, 2007, the 5000th Haver & Boecker MEC III electronic weigher system was delivered to Dyckerhoff Cement GmbH. This jubilee electronic weigher system is part of a 2-spout INTEGRAÒ packing machine. The machine will go into operation in Neuwied, Germany and will be used for filling special binders for worldwide application in drilling technology.

‘We chose Frövi White for the print quality,’ says H&M packaging buyer Viveca Kleebinder. ‘The material’s properties enabled us to reduce grammage compared with FBB, which we have used in previous years. With this graphic design, we’re trying to communicate a feeling of luxury and flair, so print quality is essential. The whiter the cartonboard, the better the results.’

Haver & Boecker, Oelde/Germany,has won a large order from Senegal.

The German office and environmental equipment manufacturer HSM will be hosting the "HSM Europe 07" international partner conference in Athens, supported by Greek sales partners Mecanografic (office equipment) and Riak (environmental equipment). From the 14th to the 16th of November 2006, the HSM sales team and HSM's top management met over 60 partners from the European region. According to the annual rotation, which previously took the regional participants to Bangkok, Lisbon and Cairo it was now the turn of the capital of Greece. The focus was on presenting new products, new distribution and marketing strategies and swapping opinions and pooling experience.

A rail strike and snow storms marked the start of BRAU Beviale 2007 in the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg (14-16 November), but this did not deter the 34,456* trade visitors (2006: 36,260*) at this year’s most important capital goods exhibition for the beverage industry. The share of international visitors rose in both percentage and absolute terms. 28 % came mainly from Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Russia, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, France, Great Britain, Italy and other growth markets in Central Eastern and Eastern Europe to source information about beverage raw materials, technologies, logistics and marketing from the 1,416* exhibitors (2006: 1,437*) – almost 40 % of them international.

There still are new machines that are not controlled electronically. But they are getting fewer and fewer. This is because the advantages of machines or tools operating under the mechatronical interplay of mechanics, electronics, and software are undisputed. But one thing is clear : It is just as undisputed that both the functional and organizational complexity ­ during development and implementation is increasing as well. As a member of the research project BESTVOR, Optima contributes its knowledge and expertise to improve organizational processes.

Salem – HSM GmbH + Co. KG is one of the 100 most innovative small and mediumsized companies (SMEs) in Germany according to this year's nationwide Top 100 corporate bench-marking competition. Now in its 15th year, the aim of this competition is to seek out outstanding examples of innovation management in Germany's SME sector. Lothar Späth, former state premier of Baden-Württemberg, awarded this prestigious seal of approval to HSM at an official ceremony at the Phönixhalle in Stuttgart.

From 1st December 2007, Hendrik Matischak will take over the responsibility as “Strategic Business Development Manager, International Sales” at HSM and will report directly to the Managing Director, Irene Dengler.

The German Packaging Institute (dvi), as representative for Germany in the World Packaging Organisation, can again this year convey excellent results. As Winfried Batzke, the director of the dvi, who took part in the jury meeting on October 24th 2007 in Athens, reports, a total of 13 out of the 16 German entries were awarded the WorldStar 2007.

For the first time in the company’s history, workers at Rasselstein GmbH have produced 1,500,000 tons of tinplate within a year. Only a few days before the end of the fiscal year, the final 9-ton coil taking the total over the one-and-a-half million mark left the coating line and was packaged in the new finished-parts store ready for shipment to Impress, Erftstadt.

Herrmann Ultraschalltechnik GmbH & Co. KG. has begun an extension of its headquarters in Karlsbad. This strategic investment signals the company’s clear commitment to Germany as a business location.

The central association of German packaging manufacturers (GADV) reports that 2006 was an encouraging year. Packaging production increased again considerably last year, with produc-tion volume five per cent higher at 17.6 million tonnes. Production value was up as much as almost nine per cent over the previous year at EUR 27.6 billion.

Increased safety – and in addition increased economy through the entire process chain: with these qualities an innovative closure system for pharmaceutical products totally convinced the jury for the 2007 German Packaging Award. This internationally prestigious prize was awarded to the new type of desiccant closures for tablet containers which Gerresheimer has developed under the Duma® trademark. It is the first company in the world to produce the multi-function plastic products completely in one connected process – together with the integrated desiccant elements. The result is regarded as a pioneering innovation: for the pharma industry it also facilitates fulfilment of the prescribed registration requirements.

15 years of German Federal Trainee Exchange Program: The German Federal Ministry for Nutrition, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) organises German-Russian Forum during the Russian Agricultural Exhibition „Golden Autumn“ in Moscow

RPC Verpackungen Kutenholz has developed a new 4 litre can for ARAL, part of the BP Group.

A recent study commissioned by the international accounting firm Ernst and Young, the "European Attractiveness Survey 2007," highlights Germany's advantages as an outstanding investment location. Investors see Germany's infrastructure, quality of research and development, workforce education, and political stability as major advantages.

The formation of the joint venture was finalised yesterday. On 20 March 2007 Gerresheimer had already announced the establishment of the joint venture with a subsidiary of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) in the USA. The outstanding conditions, particularly approval by the antitrust authorities, have now been fulfilled.

RPC Bebo Plastik has created a bespoke multi-layer tub for a range of sausage meats from leading German meat processor Stockmeyer.

beckers bester GmbH & Co KG, Lütgenrode, Germany, now produces fruit juices and nectars in deposit-free, non-returnable PET 1-litre bottles with 38mm Plasti-Twist closure. Up to now, the familiar environmentally friendly, returnable 1-litre glass bottles were being used.

Esko, the world's leading supplier of solutions for the digital imaging of flexo plates and for pre-production workflows in the packaging industry, announces the successful implementation of a JDF-based communication solution at Leeb Folien GmbH & Co KG. Working in collaboration with Dr. Lauterbach & Partner, Esko established an online connection between Esko BackStage and the SAP ERP system. Leeb Folien has also installed Esko WebCenter, a JDF-based online approval tool. A specialist in custom film packaging based in Memmingen, Germany, Leeb Folien has been using the new communications interface since February 2007. The installation has maximized the level of automation and significantly reduced error rates in the company's prepress workflow.

Fischer & Krecke delivers their first CI flexo press designed for the WetFlex process to UV-Flex GmbH, Aichstetten, Germany. The 10-color press, a FLEXPRESS 16S model, will be commissioned in the beginning of March. WetFlex is an innovative process in which the radiation cured inks developed by Sun Chemical are applied wet-on-wet to the substrate.

The 8th Moscow International Exhibition “Pharmtech – Technologies of Pharmaceutical Industry 2006” will take place in Expocentr from the 20th to the 23rd November 2006. This is the only specialised event in Russia and CIS dedicated to pharmaceuticals production. For the first time the exhibition will be held in a new venue, modern architecture and developed infrastructure of which provide for holding events up to the highest standards.

”Intelligent and creative packaging solutions with maximum selling power” was the general consideration taken into account in judging the entries from Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart in the first German Packaging Impact Design Award (PIDA). The competition for the new generation of designers was organized by the Swedish cartonboard producer Korsnäs (earlier AssiDomän Frövi), which has supported young European designer talents for more than ten years. The winning group in PIDA Germany 2006 invented a very ingenious and innovative packaging concept for muesli named ”hängbar”, designed to fit onto a key-ring.

The 1st of October this year Hartmut F. Rößler, the sales director of Fischer & Krecke, may look back on 40 years of activity at the Bielefeld printing press manufacturer. Shortly after his entrance into the company Rößler has been charged with establishing the structure of several agency offices for Northern Germany. Later further sales areas have been added and for more than 25 years he has led the complete sales department. Rößler quickly realized the move to globalization and the associated necessity to open new markets on all continents for the company’s future security. In this process beside a strong crew in sales department a world-wide agency network, in whose development he has been considerably involved his ability to spot market trends at an early stage provided assistance in establishing corporate direction.

About 2 % of the product value in Germany is attributed to the packaging. The worldwide production volume of packaging supplies and machinery is estimated at some 400 billion EUR. Almost every third packaging machine sold comes from Germany. With a production volume of around 4.2 billion EUR, this segment of the German mechanical engineering industry occupies first place ahead of the USA, Japan and Italy. The packaging manufacturers also occupy a leading position in the world market. The industry shows the innovations that have made it the world leader at FachPack+PrintPack+LogIntern 2006 in the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg from 26-28 September. A good 1,200 exhibitors (2004: 1,157), who expect over 30,000 visitors (2004: 29,260), will ensure a convincing show.