On 8-11 May in Barcelona, Hispack will bring together 750 exhibitors in an area of almost 39,000m2, representing a growth of 20 per cent in the number of stands and 12 per cent in used surface area in comparison to 2015.
Occupying three pavilions of the Fira de Barcelona Gran Via venue, Hispack 2018 will highlight innovation by offering solutions in packaging, bespoke processes and logistics for manufacturers and distributors of food, beverages, chemicals, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, the perfume and drug industry, capital goods, and other industrial and consumption sectors.
Hispack will strategically address packaging by taking into account the entire life cycle and the interconnections with other production processes and the supply chain. In this sense, the fair will present packaging as an economic driver and key element in the digital transformation of the industry.
As a new element, Hispack will create various areas with educational activities and talks that will address four large and immediate challenges that packaging must tackle: sustainability, automation and digitalisation, logistics, and improving the user experience.
Once again, Hispack will coincide with FoodTech Barcelona, which will showcase all aspects of the manufacturing of foodstuffs. Therefore, at this double trade fair occasion, food industry professionals will be able to find solutions that range from ingredients to production processes, packaging, and delivery to the point of sale.
Growing international representation
Hispack’s commitment to increasing the presence of the process and logistics machinery sectors within its commercial offering translated into a notable growth of exhibitors with these specialities in comparison to 2015 and resulted in the creation of a sector dedicated to automation and digitalisation.
This year, the sectors connected to machinery and accessories for the manufacturing of containers and packaging, process equipment, bottling, and coding and marking will represent more than half the exhibitors at the fair. Raw materials firms represent 30 per cent of the confirmed stands. There is also a clear growth in companies in the Premiumpack area, dedicated to providers of materials, finishes and packaging for mid to high-end products, particularly segments such as gourmet foods, beverages, cosmetics, perfumes and pharmaceutical products. Companies in POS display, engineering, consulting and services, associations and entities, as well as recovery and recycling firms round out the trade fair’s commercial offer.
At the same time, Hispack expects to grow internationally, with almost a third of its direct exhibitors coming from abroad. So far, companies from 22 countries are participating in the fair. In its global visitor forecast, Hispack and FoodTech Barcelona expect to surpass 38,000 attendees, 4000 of which are international.
Talks and networking and awards
In the centre of the exhibition area, visitors will find the Hispack Challenges area, where educational and networking activities will be held according to the four large challenges defined for this year. Each of these areas will offer a specific programme of conferences and round tables with top level speakers. Other areas will be available for networking, complemented by spaces for the exhibition of innovative products and packaging projects, workshops and demonstrations.In the section dedicated to the user experience, Hispack will incorporate the Graphispag Area where visitors will be able to see and discover the latest contributions to the world of the graphics industry in packaging.
This area will be attended by supplier companies with examples of printed applications and specific finishes for containers, packaging and POS, as well as graphic services companies. The show will also feature a Conference Corner specialising in packaging and retail by the Graphispack Asociación where trends, success stories and solutions will be discussed. In addition, within the Hispack framework, the awards ceremony for the 2017 Líderpack Awards will be held.
