Page 4 - Packaging News Magazine Jan-Feb 2019

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COMMENT EDITOR
www.packagingnews.com.au January-February 2019
Smart start to the year
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SMART • CONNECTED • SUSTAINABLE – the theme of this year’s inaugural AUSPACK Business & Industry Con- ference – also coincides with the top three industry trends to watch this year, and which are extensively covered in the pages of this first issue of PKN for 2019.
Smart packaging as a sector is growing and advancing fast. It no longer occupies the domain of mere gimmick or novelty, as Andrew Manly, communications director of the Active Intelligent Packaging Association reports on page 50. Andrew, who is a keynote speaker at the conference, says it’s a packaging technology sector whose time has come, and which brands will look to increasingly for deepening their connection with consumers, provid- ing traceability, and protecting their intellectual property – and also doing so via a sustainable platform.
I agree with Andrew; it is one of the most exciting developments in packaging, particularly as it per- tains to igniting consumer engage- ment and new experiences via on-pack activations.
Smart also refers to the connected enterprise, or smart factory – the hows and whys of which will be explored in dedicated sessions at the conference, and by numerous exhib- i t o r s o n t h e A U S PA C K s h o w f l o o r The exhibition is just two short months away, and owner APPMA has declared it will be the biggest in the show’s history. For four days in March our industry will converge on Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre to get up to speed with the latest packaging and processing technology essential for optimising production efficiency. A key focus for many will be looking to meet the growing requirement for connectiv- ity that falls under the mega-trend of Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (see pages 20-27).
Speaking of connectivity, as a networking platform AUSPACK pro- vides industry professionals with an ideal meeting ground for exchanging ideas and cementing relationships – arguably as important to business success as top-end technology.
One of the networking highlights this year is the APPMA Awards of Excellence, which has returned to the show after a two-year hiatus. The awards will recognise best-in-class innovation in the machinery sector. Winners will be celebrated at a new gala dinner awards ceremony that looks set to be a spectacular show- piece of sustainable entertainment, featuring recyclable decor and ‘reharvested’ food.
This brings me to the third major trend, our good, green friend sustainable. This carries many layers of meaning in both a business and industry context, from finding end-of-waste solutions to meet circular economy requirements, as Pact Group proposes (see p14) or P&G has developed with TerraCycle (see p49), to bioplastics advances (see p44), reducing food waste (see p29) and saving energy in production (see p30)... But rather than hear it from me, I invite you to read on. It’s the smart thing to do.
...the AUSPACK conference theme – Smart • Connected • Sustainable – also coincides with the top three industry trends to watch this year.”
Lindy Hughson – Managing Editor