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Cama’s newest machine showcased its development of Industry 4.0, helping it to gain several awards and draw a record breaking attendance at the trade fair interpack in Düsseldorf/Germany this year. The IF318 machine, Cama’s new innovative “pitch-less” monoblock platform for the robotic forming, loading and closing of cartons from corrugated or paperboard materials, won the Rockwell Automation “Best Future Machine Award 2017”.

The awards – created to recognize and reward the high levels of innovation in the packaging industry – were split into five categories: modular machines, smart machines, ease of use, sustainability and traceability & product safety. They recognize and reward innovative deployment of contemporary technology in the packaging industry. The finalists were chosen by a prestigious judging panel, comprising representatives from four leading manufacturers (Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Kimberly Clark and Nestlé) and two major European trade associations (UCIMA and GEPPIA).

Cama was nominated in every category, winning the “ease of use” category and rated highly in others. According to the jury members, the Cama machine ticked a lot of boxes and showed how an integrated, modular design concept can be incredibly flexible and suit multiple applications. Cama’s development of a Digital Twin for the machine, together with a Pack ML compliant user interface incorporating both condition based maintenance and predictive maintenance capability, showed Cama’s vision of the Industry 4.0 concept. The IF318 has attracted considerable interest from a number of world leading packer fillers and big brand owners.

As part of the DQS Sustainability Conference recently held in Düsseldorf/Germany, the fragrance and flavoring manufacturer Symrise was recognized with the “German Award for Excellence” for international social commitment. With this award, DQS annually recognizes companies that assume a leading role in the area of sustainability. It is conferred in 15 different categories for corporate social and environmental responsibility. The goal is to encourage a greater commitment to sustainability among businesses.

Symrise impressed the panel with its social commitment in developing and emerging countries like Madagascar and Ecuador, where important raw materials for the flavor and fragrance market such as vanilla, vetiver and other tropical plants are grown. In cooperation with international and regional aid organizations as well as other companies and government agencies, Symrise promotes stable living conditions, education and health for the people and preservation of the local biological diversity.

In addition, the audience awarded a prize for the most impressive sustainability short film. The globally operating group headquartered in Holzminden/Germany received 51 % of the votes for its vanilla video about its commitment in Madagascar.

Bosch Packaging Technology has opened its new customer solutions center at Weert, the Netherlands, during trade fair interpack 2017. Thus, the company intends to help food and non-food producers to maximize the value of their operations when selecting a complete vertical system solution for their packaging operation.

At the center, Bosch displays a selection of systems for the confectionery, chocolate, nuts, snacks and powder industries, while the company’s experts are also available for on-site consultation. The new interactive microsite www.solutions4value.com allows users to explore Bosch’s systems capabilities and book a visit to the customer solutions center at their convenience.

“The opening of the center at our Weert site marks a new era in customer relations and service for Bosch”, says Leon van de Wiel, general manager at Bosch Packaging Technology. “Well known for our bespoke vertical packaging equipment that is used in the most challenging applications, we are now applying decades of experience and expertise to developing standardized, almost ‘off-the-shelf’ system solutions for value. We are linking Bosch’s proven standard modules into complete solutions for specific industries such as confectionery, bakery, snacks and powders, and various requirements from high-hygiene to entry-level automation. The ultimate benefit of a single point of contact for the entire system makes this approach ideal for producers of all sizes”.

Treofan now offers its customers phthalate-free packaging films on request. To make these films, only phthalate-free base polymers are used in the extrusion process. The company’s standard films already have a very low phthalate content of just 0.001 percent (< 10 mg/kg). By way of comparison, PVCs have concentrations of up to 30 percent.

The use of phthalates in plastics is currently under discussion. Therefore, demand is growing – particularly in the food industry – for materials completely free from these chemicals. Treofan can now provide this without compromising on material quality.

Six years after Save Food was launched, the initiative has grown into a broad-based alliance of over 850 international members from industry, associations, NGOs and research institutes. One of the milestones of the Initiative is the Save Food Congress at interpack; its third edition was highly praised by delegates for its broad thematic coverage.

The congress pursued a multi-dimensional approach in order to address the issue of food losses and waste comprehensively. Participants included high-ranking political representatives as speakers such as Vytenis Andriukaitis, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, and Gargi Kaul, Joint Secretary & Financial Adviser at the Indian Ministry for Food Processing Industries, as well as committed NGOs activists and representatives from business.

Over the course of the Congress, the perspective changed, focusing either on global views or national details and conditions – with India as a focal theme this time. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) presented results of a study in India funded by the Initiative; it had been carried out with the aim of identifying the mechanisms involved in losses of important base foodstuffs and of finding approaches for solutions. As part of the congress, the Save Food partners Messe Düsseldorf and FAO also signed a memorandum of understanding in order to fix the cooperation for the coming four years.

Innovationparc, the special show organized as part of interpack 2017, also addressed the theme of Save Food and presented very practical solutions for minimising food losses and waste. These also included the finalists and winners of the WorldStar Awards of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO). Awards went, for instance, to plastic bags for fruit that can enormously prolong shelf life thanks to built-in ripening-gas absorbers.

After seven successful days, interpack has recorded the biggest exhibitor demand with 2,865 companies from the packaging sector and related process industries, and a record- evel attendance: 74% of the 170,500 visitors travelled to Düsseldorf from abroad. Three quarters of them were decision-makers.

The high percentage of German and international top-notch experts from a total of 168 countries made for highly satisfied faces among exhibitors, who delighted at promising business contacts and even concrete deals concluded in the seven-digit range. Visitors in turn benefitted from an internationally unrivalled multitude of innovations on display and a unique market overview. This was also reflected in the corresponding high scores they gave the trade fair: just under 98% stated in the official survey that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their visit to interpack 2017. They took an interest in all ranges and segments of interpack but packaging media received significantly more attention than at the previous event.

“interpack is an absolute must-go event for companies in this industry and provides unique momentum. Every three years it is not only a one-of-a-kind performance showcase but also the place where suppliers and customers from all over the world get together to network and do business,” underlines Friedbert Klefenz, President of interpack 2017.

Commenting on this Hans Werner Reinhard, Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf, explained: “interpack has again impressively confirmed its claim of being the world’s most important event and innovation platform for the industry every three years. Due to the concept of the newly created global ‘interpack alliance’, interpack as its flagship has also obtained more exposure in the growth markets abroad thereby attracting even more high-calibre experts to Düsseldorf.”

Proving a top trend at many stands was the further digitalisation of production processes on the way to Industry 4.0 applications. Production linked along these lines makes it possible to manufacture personalised packaging efficiently or to guarantee traceability. The interpack special show "Industry 4.0" organised in cooperation with the German Engineering Federation VDMA also showcased the latest ideas and approaches and was received extremely well by visitors.

Furthermore, "innovationparc", the special show organised as part of interpack, also addressed the theme of "Save Food" and presented very practical solutions for minimising food losses and waste. The concept of “components – special trade fair by interpack”, which had been revised for interpack 2017, was received very well by visitors. According to the feedback received from the extremely satisfied exhibitors the quality of visitors was also high.

The coming interpack will be held in May 2020 in three years' time at Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre – then with a completely new South entrance and a new Hall 1. The exact dates will be published at a later date.

Wild Flavors & Specialty Ingredients (WFSI), a business unit of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM), is extending its portfolio of natural coloring foods with the addition of products based on extracts from pumpkin and a special carrot variety containing lycopene. The company is launching two new products as it celebrates the company’s 30 year history in coloring foodstuff innovation from fruit and vegetables sources as a response to the continuously growing consumer demand for natural products.

The new products add vivid yellow, orange and green hues to various food applications. The pumpkin-based product rounds off a bright portfolio of yellow color shades which also include safflower, curcuma and yellow carrot. Combined with spirulina, it is used to create varying shades of green, according to market demands. The other development includes a carrot extract with lycopene as natural coloring component for deep yellow-orange shades. Complying with current EU guidelines, both products are ideal for developing strong colors and different shades of yellow, orange and green in food applications.

Both new additions complement WFSI’s current color portfolio, which includes the Rainbow Range, a wide selection of coloring foodstuffs for beverages and foods. With vivid shades and excellent stability, these products can be used in several different applications, e.g. as water-soluble options for gelatin articles and hard caramels or as oil-soluble options for chocolate waffles.