First InnoPack event sees strong turnout and a focus on innovation

The first InnoPack event for innovative pharmaceutical packaging concepts, which made its debut alongside CPhI Worldwide, ICSE and P-MEC Europe in October 2011 in Frankfurt, Germany featured more than 100 new exhibitors and had attendees from more than 140 countries.

Organiser UBM says that by the close of the event, more than 89% of exhibitors at InnoPack had already confirmed a place for InnoPack 2012 in Madrid, Spain, including Heinlein Plastik, Klockner Pentaplast and Rexam.

InnoPack was introduced as a result of positive customer feedback to the 2010 ICSE Packaging Zone and post-show surveys that indicated a large number of attendees with interest in an event dedicated to innovative packaging, supplies and resources. The event offered a unique platform that brought together buyers and sellers from the packaging and pharmaceutical industries and created business opportunities in a global forum.

The exhibitor profile at InnoPack 2011 represented a wide range of pharmaceutical packaging sectors from companies spanning Europe, China and the US offering resources for materials, closures, labelling, anticounterfeiting solutions and track-and-trace solutions.

‘InnoPack offers targeted resources to companies that are looking for innovative and cost effective packaging designs, as well as ways to deal with the recent counterfeiting issues. As quality and purity concerns have come to the forefront of the market, pharmaceutical packaging has become more important than ever,’ said Haf Cennydd, global brand manager of InnoPack.

‘The pharmaceutical packaging industry is expected to continue growth at a rate of at least 5.9% per annum and is an area where a lot of innovation is taking place. With worldwide movements towards efficiency and sustainability showing no sign of abatement, this is an area where we have seen a lot happening in a short time.’

In addition to the show floor, InnoPack incorporated many educational elements. The opening day featured ‘Innovation Briefs’, which offered no-cost presentations from high-level executives in the packaging industry on current trends and innovations in the sector and were organised with NVC: Netherlands Packaging Centre and UBM Canon's Pharmaceutical and Medical Packaging News. These presentations were complemented by InnoPack ‘Speaker's Corner’, which offered extended learning and networking benefits.

InnoPack also served as the starting point for the ‘Packaging Trail’, which highlighted tailored resources for pharmaceutical packaging needs throughout the events. Along the ‘Packaging Trail’ the contract and outsourced services event, ICSE, featured resources such as contract packers and drug delivery systems, while the machinery, equipment and technology event, P-MEC Europe, featured manufacturers of innovative packaging-related technologies such as track and trace solutions, tabulating resources and capsule fillers. InnoPack also featured the Labelling Zone, with resources for anticounterfeiting and track and trace needs.

Exhibitors at the event had positive feedback about the new exhibition. Fabian Su, marketing manager at Gerresheimer commented that, ‘InnoPack is a very good platform for us to meet existing clients and look for potential new ones. InnoPack is also a great way for us to catch up on new trends and see what competitors are offering.’

CPhI Worldwide, ICSE, P-MEC Europe and InnoPack will all return from 9 – 11 October 2012 at the Feria de Madrid in Madrid, Spain.