Highlights of interpack 2017

The SAVE FOOD initiative is a cooperation between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Environmental Programme of the United Nations (UNEP) and Messe Düsseldorf GmbH to fight global food losses and waste. For the entire duration of interpack visitors can find out about concrete solutions and approaches revolving around SAVE FOOD at the special show innovationparc. To the tune of 20 companies are exhibiting on some 2,500 square metres in a high-end marquee between Halls 2 and 3. The exhibitors’ ranges are complemented by a lecture forum on all days of the trade fair.

A quick stop-over at the coffee shop in the morning, take-away lunch and a picnic dinner in the evening: there is a trend towards a mobile lifestyle. Here the “Pouchbooster” care of Oldenburg-based company Pöppelmann comes in handy. The special gimmick here is the so-called “Göffel” (a contraction of the German words for fork and spoon) – practical cutlery that fits the standard round lid of 95 mm in diameter and can be extended to a convenient length of 130 mm.

A lolly with chilli powder coating? Sounds very exotic at first glance and is so even at the second. The idea for these hot sweets comes from Mexico, the implementation from Germany – from the Düsseldorf Gea Group, to be precise, a systems supplier for the food processing industry. The special challenge with chilli was its powder-type texture. Here, the company’s know-how from processing breadcrumbs proved useful. However, the technology also works very well for producing other flavours.

It’s on everyone’s lips in the industry and also plays a pivotal role at interpack: Industry 4.0 and/or the Internet of Things (IoT). The smart4i-Demonstrator at the VDMA stand shows how visionary Industry 4.0 concepts can already be realised today with the right combination of technical elements. Since such concepts are always best explained by means of practical examples, the VDMA has a customisable powerbank on display at its stand – manufactured with an Industry 4.0 workflow.

Smart packaging units know patients’ personal drug dosage, read the package insert aloud, dispense the according medication at the prescribed time or trigger an alarm if patients forget to take prescribed medications. This is made possible by printed electronics – that is conductive plastics or printing inks printed onto film, paper or glass. Swiss folding box manufacturer Rondo focuses entirely on Near Field Communication technology (NFC) radio chips. These make it possible for package inserts to be read aloud or medications to be re-ordered right from the pharmacy. All it takes to read the data is a suitable terminal device such as a smartphone, for example. These chips can also be used to remind patients of taking their medications.