Organized in post-war Germany as a small-scale niche event, interpack has grown into a huge international show with over 2,000 exhibitors -- a long way from its beginnings in 1958, when a group of German packaging manufacturers first gathered together. Today, internationality is the hallmark of this exhibition. This April, interpack welcomed exhibitors and visitors from almost every country around the world. Some 176,000 visitors from 106 countries trade visitors, including 31,680 from Asia, attended this seven-day event in Dseldorf. For first-time visitors the breadth of the show often comes as a shock because of its breadth and size.
Meanwhile, closer to home, ProPak Asia once again is expected to be the largest gathering in Southeast Asia of companies and technologies for the processing and packaging industries. The show, now ongoing at Bangkok BITEC Exhibition Centre, hosts a record number of international companies exhibiting directly, reflecting the exhibition's track record in drawing strong attendance from neighboring countries.
Among the technologies that will draw the most interest will be PET packaging. The growth in the usage of PET, which now includes dairy and beer, has been phenomenal -- even from three years ago, when the last interpack was held. Advances in barrier technologies, speeds in blow molding and even the weight of the bottle itself have leaped forward even in that short span of time.
We hope many of you had the opportunity of visiting interpack 2005 or are in Bangkok right now, but if not, our online packaging supplement features some of the companies who exhibited, their expertise and their newly launched technologies at the interpack, and those who are showcasing similarly interesting innovations at ProPak Asia 2005 in Bangkok.