By Emily Leoncyzk, MBA, CAE
Boxmakers worldwide were energized to see the technology and innovation on display at drupa, yet it is the human element that will continue to drive the future of packaging.
PPC’s President, Ben Markens, and I walked every inch of drupa’s halls to ensure we didn’t miss a thing in Düsseldorf. In clocking over 100,000 steps, we visited many friends and industry colleagues – boxmakers and suppliers alike, and encountered a few special surprises, too (more on that soon). To truly grasp the full Düsseldorf experience, we drank a lot of top-notch espresso, enjoyed a few brats, and took in the sights on a boat cruise down the Rhine.
More than ever, we’re thankful to our sponsors and members for delivering cutting-edge solutions that allow our industry to compete and grow. From factory tours to live demonstrations of real-time innovation, many of our PPC members came to drupa and delivered on their promise to unbox the future of packaging.
One of my favorite moments was running into Dorotea Bajic. You might remember Dorotea from our 2020 Student Design Challenge, a joint venture with the American Forest and Paper Association. She and another student at Ryerson took first place for their ingenious TICCIT package. As a direct outcome of participating in and winning the challenge, Dorotea was hired by a PPC Principal member as an entry-level structural designer. We have all had a lot of conversations about the workforce challenges facing our industry, but running into Dorotea was an energizing reminder of the bright, enthusiastic talent we have available and who have an affinity for folding cartons. More than ever, our community needs to be diligent in our efforts to promote the bright lights and excitement of our industry.
Connectivity, automation, sustainability, digitalization, and workforce optimization were the five key themes on display at drupa. These concepts were the threads intricately woven into nearly every conversation and solution on display. Here are some of the highlights from our sponsors:
- Koenig & Bauer launched their generative AI solution, Kyana Assist, highlighting the future of automation and systems integration and their impressive analog and digital presses in Printing and Cutting. They featured the world’s fastest press on display.
- Bobst delivered on their promise to prioritize sustainability throughout the value chain with end-to-end solutions and leading innovations to increase productivity, connectivity, digitalization, automation, and sustainability.
- EProductivity Software showed us their ERP system for packaging including their Automator solution to deliver a single source of truth.
- W.H. Leary gave us a behind the scenes demonstration of their IQ smart services for glue application, real-time data collection, production displays, and notifications.
- Marbach introduced marbaject, a high-performance rubber. They also showcased their die-making station with accessories and hand tools, highlighting a wide array of tooling solutions for cutting, blanking, and embossing,
- Heidelberg focused on four key industry challenges: competitiveness, labor force, sustainability, and digitization. We were thrilled to see their automation in action and learn more about the innovations they’ve been working on to improve efficiency, throughput, and knowledge transfer across the value chain.
- Baumer hhs highlighted their approach to optimizing carton recyclability by using only as much adhesive as the packaging function requires and also brought us to their local factory to give us a behind-the-scenes tour of their adhesive applications, and their production and quality assurance tools.
- Komori revealed their Lithrone GX40P advance, a high-speed, high-quality one-pass two-sided printing press highlighting the capability of connected automation and remarkably fast plate and color changes.
- Miraclon showcased their real-world Modern Flexo solutions and the efficiency and innovation to deliver bottom-line impact in production.
PPC was proud to visit and showcase all of our supplier members presenting on drupa’s global stage. We were pleased to bring daily updates on behalf of our sponsor, EUKALIN, and visit with our other suppliers of PPC at ACTEGA, Charta Global / APP, BW Papersystems, Emmeci, Esko-Graphics, Gietz, Vinfoil, Heiber + Schröeder, Henkel, manroland, RM Machinery Inc., Scodix, Valco Melton, and Zünd.
One thing is sure, our industry is experiencing a technological revolution. The emphasis on automation, connectivity, sustainability, digitalization, and workforce optimization points towards a future that is both efficient, eco-friendly and deeply integrated. Working together, we elevate the industry for the benefit of our members and a promising future.
Check out our journey from social media here: Reflections on drupa 2024