Total success for the processing and packaging industries

The Total Processing and Packaging Exhibition continued its reign as the UK's largest three-day exhibition with over 400 exhibiting companies showcasing the latest production line solutions, material developments and product innovations. Returning to the NEC, Birmingham from 4-6 June 2013, the exhibition had a total attendance of 8,731* and brought together leading experts from across the processing and packaging industries to share the latest advice, reveal groundbreaking product innovations and put the spotlight on the sector's pressing issues.

Speaking about the optimistic atmosphere at the NEC, Simon Taylor, Sales and Marketing Director for Endoline said: "This year's Total Processing and Packaging Exhibition offered a timely reminder that we really do appear to be looking at a turn up in economic fortune. There was a general sense of optimism (at the show) and a purposeful demeanour to this year's visitors that has been missing from recent UK shows. The presence of some very important European companies also supported the view that the UK is on the move again."

Experts from leading processing, packaging and pharmaceutical organisations, including M&S, Dairy Crest, B&Q, GSK, Siemens and Bürkert delivered free-to-attend seminars across three dedicated areas including the Pakex Innovation Hub sponsored by Markem Imaje, The Manufacturing Forum, sponsored by Linx Printing Technologies and the Interphex Theatre, sponsored by  Bürkert Fluid Control Systems.

Dairy Crest, Marks & Spencer and Nampak's session was a must-attend offering a first-look at milk packaging for the 21st century, and the process behind the design and implementation of the UK's lightest and strongest milk bottle, Infini. Speaking about the session, Andrew Speck, Commercial and Environmental Packaging Manager at Marks & Spencer, said: "The seminar was a success with a lot of interested people with good questions. The people who get in touch with us afterwards are looking to learn more about how M&S work sustainably, which is great as it puts us in a position where we are recognised as a forward thinking company."

Other popular sessions included Perception Research Service's Executive Vice President, Joe Schurtz who offered an insight into what shoppers see when they look at brands supported by consumer research; British Retail Consortium's Packaging Technical Manager, Joanna Griffiths who highlighted how to get the best out of your packaging supply chain and Siemen's Division Director for Industry Automation, Brian Holliday who explained "why automation is worth the bother".

The exhibition was also the stage for a number of exhibitor success stories, with many exhibitors reporting high levels of good quality sales leads and product enquiries. Harry Norman, Managing Director for Olympus Automation, said: "It's highly unusual to take circa one million pounds worth of orders at a show, this reflects the markets excitement in our products."

Partners in Packaging, Quasar Automation and Illapack also announced on the first day that they had signed a significant contract to install a new biscuit processing line. Speaking about the contract, Duncan Macintrye, Director, Partners in Packaging said: "Our first day at the Total Processing and Packaging Exhibition was a resounding success. Within five minutes of the doors opening, we'd secured a significant contract with Quasar Automation. It just goes to show that while lead times on exhibitions can sometimes be longer, there are plenty of opportunities for the taking."

Following it's success at the PPMA show 2012, the Ones to Watch competition returned to the NEC, Birmingham, sponsored by Festo Training & Consulting to recognise promising under 35-year-olds who have made an impact on the processing and packaging industries.

The 2013 edition of the awards was one of the most competitive in the competition's history with more nominations, public votes and debate among the judging panel than ever before. Andrew Speck, Commercial and Packaging Manager at Marks & Spencer, was named winner at the award ceremony after the judges singled him out for the impact he has had both on his business and the wider packaging sector. Dan Jordan of Boomerang Plastics and Jake Norman of Olympus Automation collected Silver and Bronze awards respectively.

The Total Processing and Packaging Exhibition also offered visitors the chance to vote for their favourite ground-breaking packaging concepts. Finalists Innopak, Dip Dip and Papillon Ribbons displayed their packaging concepts across all three-days of the exhibition, with Innopak scooping first place for its ComboLid concept. Announced on the final day of the exhibition, Innopak was chosen as the winner by both the judges and visitors at the show, and praised for its innovation, practicality and investment opportunity.

Visitors to the exhibition were also invited to view the latest ground-breaking products in the all-new Product Innovation Wall, making it simple for visitors to pinpoint the solutions that would benefit them the most. In total, 10 products were displayed across two product walls, including the Bag in Box packaging line by Kliklok International Ltd; the world's fastest labeller – the ALS FastPAQ from Advanced Labelling Systems Ltd and Matrox Iris GT smart camera from Clearview Imaging Ltd.

Speaking about the exhibition, Ray Bruen, Commercial Director for Yamato Scale Dataweigh added: "We've had some excellent traffic this year with many good quality visitors making the show worth attending. The Total Processing & Packaging show has enabled us to meet key engineers and managing directors from well established companies - decision makers who are looking for ways to improve their packaging lines."

Graham Earl, Exhibition Director at the Total Processing & Packaging Exhibition, added: "This year's Total Processing and Packaging Exhibition has certainly reflected the scale and ambition of the UK's packaging and processing industries. We've had a number of first-time exhibitors at this year's show and it's been great to hear such positive feedback about the value of exhibiting. We've heard lots of success stories from this year's event and we're delighted with the feedback that the show has been able to provide visitors with an opportunity to learn from the experts, gain insight into the industry's hot topics and build on new and existing relationships."

Further comments from exhibitors

"This was the first trade event we have ever been too and our expectations have been exceeded. The first day was quiet but despite this we still had a number of high quality visitors to our stand. By the end of the third day we had received over 100 excellent leads for new business, which we look forward to chasing up. We're delighted with these results, which proves that high quality British manufacturing is still in demand." Paul Sharp, Managing Director, Sharp Systems

"The Total Processing & Packaging Exhibition is a different type of show to the rest. A business lead here is worth its weight in gold as it provides the opportunity to build long-term relationships." James Miller, General Manager UK, Dustcontrol UK

"The show itself provided a steady flow of visitors each day, and is undoubtedly the best trade event to meet new prospects and catch-up with existing customers working in the food process and packing industry." Dennis Allison, Managing Director, Pacepacker

"The TOTAL show provided an excellent platform for SICK to engage with high-quality prospects who have a serious interest in improving their automation and process performance."  Glynn Edwards, Commercial Goods Segment Manager, SICK UK

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