Fair with final toast

Between tastings, technology and much business, drinktec 2013 (the beverage and liquid food industry show organized by Messe München) not only exceeded expectations, but can also be registered as the turning point in the relaunch of the entire bottling and beverage segment. Technological notes of what was seen at the fair, with preview snippets.

The presence of more than 66,000 visitors from 182 countries (with an increase in flows from Russia, Asia and America), the quality of the technology and innovation proposed by 1,445 exhibitors from around the world, have confirmed the show’s value as a fundamental sector event.
According to Volker Kronseder, number one at Krones AG and Chairman of the Exhibitors’ Committee, drinktec 2013 without a doubt lived up to «the promising trends in demand which bolstered the operators’ expectations, subsequently avowed at the fair».
Numerous the key themes of the edition that has just drawn to a close: energy saving, machine flexibility and safety, but also process optimisation with a view to environmental sustainability and cost reduction. In this sense, emblematic the experience of the Italian company Sipa, which proposes increasingly lighter preforms, produced by injection-compression.
Focus of course on packaging systems, that featured a persistent reduction in packaging material. As an example, we refer to the progress made by Aetna with the Genesis rotating ring wrapping machine and, on a completely different front, by Sacmi in collaboration with UPM, regarding self-adhesive labeling. Also worthy of mention the digital printing on bottles, another current hot topic, as highlighted by the developments brought to the fair by Krones, these in the wake of the progress made by KHS (process that is currently regaining ground on many markets, thanks to PET dedicated innovations).
Interesting too the prototype for the sterilization of preforms also proposed by Krones, and the new Procomac 48,000-bottle aseptic blowing machine produced by Gea (company which is also in the process of developing some new systems for the dairy industry).
And the Chinese? Sizeably present at the fair and largely concentrated behind the most important companies in the sector, they exhibited a broad and varied offer: from filling machines to inspection and control systems, from blowers to bundling machines.
A reminder that, for the first time in the history of the show, the topics of marketing the beverage were given a special space in the Innovation Flow Lounge: a much attended meeting place where experts examined some of the emerging phenomena, from Packaging Intelligence to the success of craft beers, up to the value of effective promotional activity.
The next edition of drinktec is scheduled from 11th to 15th September 2017.