From the Tradeshow Circuit

By: noreply@blogger.com
November 19, 2008
Now that most of the trade shows and industry events for this fall are behind us, we have a chance to look back and analyze what we saw. Here's what caught my eye this time around:

* Sustainability continues to be one of the top two market drivers and issues in virtually every segment of the converting industry. Nearly every exhibitor booth I visited at Pack Expo, CPP, Graph Expo and Label Expo had some sort of product or service they promoted as 'green' or sustainable. And for the most part, there was very little in the way green-washing. It amazes me that this issue not only maintains a foothold at the top of peoples' minds, but seems to be growing and taking over nearly every discussion about packaging and converting.

* That said, I was surprised, if not shocked, to hear in separate conference sessions, at separate events, that the sustainable packaging movement really has not touched or affected the pharmaceutical industry. It seems that this industry segment, for obvious reasons, hasn't embraced the sustainability issue and instead continues to focus on performance, safety and security. This is a situation I'll be interested to follow in the coming months.

* Wal-Mart might not be the big-bully it was made out to be, with regard to the notion that "If Wal-Mart wants it, it will happen." The most-visible converting/packaging issues it has pushed in recent years -- RFID and its Sustainability Scorecard -- have largely failed, or at least, seem to have stalled. Could it be that Wal-Mart is not the invincible goliath we all though it to be? Sure, it's the world's largest retailer and has enormous influence in a variety of areas, but maybe the converting and packaging industries are more resistant/resilient to the whims of retail giant. Hmmm...

* Finally, most of the innovations I'm seeing within the industry are not so much in new packages, new substrates, or even "new" equipment, but rather, the innovating seems to be occurring in the area of improvements. Improvements to existing machinery, down-gauging and light-weighting of substrates, increases in barrier properties and coatings, expansion of applications and uses, and just an overall "betterment" of packaging as a whole. It seems this could be a result of the rising cost of petroleum products over the past 3-4 years, as more efficient products and equipment are a quick, effective way to improve a converters'/suppliers' bottom line. This trend should continue for the forseeable future, but what form might it take? We'll see.