Advances in the packaging industry

... having something of the marvellous, the true, the plausible and the sublime. Never before have I taken part in a scientific congress so rich and varied in its contents, as well as in terms of focussed participants.

Stefano Lavorini

Truly exceptional the event held 19 to 20 November last, both because international engagements of this kind, dedicated to packaging, are extremely rare in Italy, not to mention the beauty and the charm of the setting: Castel dell’Ovo, Naples (the most ancient of the entire city), perfectly discordant with the issues on the agenda.

In other terms, the first edition of “Advances in the Packaging Industry” brainchild of Giflex - Italian Flexible Packaging Association under Assografici, and organized with the active cooperation of:

- Regional Technological Skill Center;
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Materials and Industrial Production, University of Naples Federico II;
- Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Salerno.
And last but not least, thanks to the contribution of Bobst, Laminazione Sottile, Super Film (main sponsor), as well as Basf, I&C - Gama, Iniziativa Finanza e Innovazione, Mp Strumenti, Rossini and Termoplast.

For the 177 participants it was like looking out of a window opened onto the most heterogeneous experiences in the academic and industrial field, featuring the principle of contamination, knowledge and knowhow transfer between contiguous sectors, as underlined by Domenico Acierno (CRC Tecnologie), one of the Presidents of the conference.

Hence the ambitious and farsighted objective of updating on the most significant R&D results of the sector with talks and reports of scientific standing, to create a bridge between universities and enterprises, thus favoring contacts, exchanges and joint projects.
A result that enabled Michele Guala (president of Giflex and the conference) to state at the opening proceedings, his hope “of having planted a seed that may grow into a plant”, thus anticipating the intention to repeat the engagement in the future.

In one breath. A highly committal two days, as one can see from the scientific program organized by the international scientific committee comprising public and private research institutes.
A program respected to the letter, due to the will of the congress managers, Mario Mensitieri and Italo Vailati, and thanks to the work of the session presidents Almerinda Di Benedetto and Loredana Incarnato: 7 sessions with 35 talks, rigorously lasting 15 minutes, the exception being the opening keynote speech by Giuseppe Marrucci, and the invited lectures held by Hans Passman, J.M. Lagaron and  Ulrich Moosheimer, as well as the speech by Luigi Nicolais.

The event was complemented by 28 poster sessions in a hall close to where the congress proceedings were held. The talks, that saw equal numbers of university researchers and industrial exports take their turn, gave a cross-sectoral focus on product and process innovations as well as state-of-the-art flexible packaging technologies.
The subjects broached included:
- the physical-chemical properties of packaging materials;
- barrier solutions for flexible packaging (active packaging and high barrier coatings);
- sustainable processes and packaging;
- food packaging safety;
- packaging industry risk assessment;
- surface treatments and functionalizing of substrates;
- solvent recovery and after burning;
- inks, adhesives, coatings and their solvents;
- mechanical properties of films;
- flexible packaging print technologies.
Complete program at dativoweb.net/programma-api-giflex-napoli-2015)

Off to a good start. During the two days, I was able to gather the opinions of some leading participants, both among the speakers and among the listeners.
On hearing them I recollected the words of the writer Alberto Manquel on the centrality of book, but that, considering the occasion, we might stretch to considering valid for encounters of this standing and kind, that play a fundamental role inasmuch as they can «show us our responsibilities towards each other, help us question our values and undermine our prejudices, provide us with the courage and ingenuity to continue to live together and offer enlightened words that allow us to imagine better times in the future».
In actual fact, all those I interviewed appreciated the courage and the work done by the organizers, the novelty of the event, the topicality of the themes broached and aboveall the project, evermore appreciated and appreciable, of bringing “the world of knowledge and that of savoir faire”.

There was also agreement in judging the number and good level of the presentations, except for a very few talks poor in content or too weighted in terms of promotion and attention-grabbing.

Looking beyond. Chatting together, suggestions and wishes emerged, sign of interest and active participation.
As far as the congress planning is concerned, there is disagreement between those who want to see the sessions organized under similar topics, and those fear this may risk jeopardising the overview of a subject in itself interdisciplinary.

The majority though expressed the wish for a better division of the time available: less time for the speakers and more space for debate, and why not, perhaps also a round table discussion every day on not necessarily technical topics of common interest (for example on funding research).
But the need to tackle the many topical contents comes up against the limited timespan of the event - just two days - in order to favour the presence of company technicians and manager - which means the talks have to be limited down to the duration of 15 minutes, making them not always easy to follow for those who do not have a complete background knowledge of all the subjects at hand.

One though has the fact that those who appreciated the ‘bursts’ of information, declared they wished to go further into the themes that struck them the most.
And yet again, I gleaned other requests, like that of reinforcing the Poster Session and to organize post conference publication of the talks in a scientific magazine, that could become a further point of attraction.
Everyone obviously agrees on the fact that “if you don’t discuss things, you will never get to understand them”, you will never get to innovate: industry and the universities need to pool research and technology, seeking common ground while decidedly intervening on projects and priorities.

Somebody intelligently underlined that basically the problem was that of getting oneself heard: here reinforcing exchanges and debate might contribute to bringing research back towards feasible and sustainable objectives, as well as the industry to open to prospects that go beyond the borderlines delimiting ones’ own products.
Indeed the academic world needs to also quicken its step, place less onus on formulas and get to the point, showing the results achieved and their implications.
Among the topics that need to be gone further into one should certainly cite that of the use of nano-materials in food contact packaging, specifically in relation to problems associated with migration. Many doubts still prevail…

Summing things up, the event was a showcase of analytical and technological suggestions and research that, while difficult to grasp as a whole, culturally enriched participants regarding their future potential, as well as featuring as a great chance to meet up for many professions, useful for creating new relations in both commerce and research.

Using the words of one of the “critical spirits” I talked to, Giflex has demonstrated it has the strength to construct an international congress and certainly a reflection will be opened on how to improve the formula, to attain a more fruitful conference for all and not merely a “manifestation of the distance” that to more than some extent still exists between the academic world and the world of work.
I wind up by declaring it was indeed a great, amazing encounter: to be repeated.

NOTE
The minutes of the Congress are available on the website www.giflex.it.