Top consumer brands and retailers to attend Packaging Summit Europe

Packaging Summit Europe 2007, an event dedicated to bringing together brand owners, packaging services and materials companies, is taking place from 26-27 June in Amsterdam. The two-day conference and exhibition will welcome global consumer brands to speak as well as senior representatives from leading pan-European packaging and retail associations. The summit will focus on sustainability in packaging along with the ongoing challenges faced by brand owners to reduce costs, maintain product quality and create shelf impact.

Senior packaging experts from Carrefour, Unilever, Cadbury-Schweppes, Asda-Walmart, Marks & Spencer, Hewlett Packard, Londis and Sara Lee will take center stage and reveal their insights into the fast-moving developments in packaging design, creativity, supply chains and legislation. Leading packaging associations such as The World Packaging Organization, EPIC, NVC, EUROPEN, IOP: The Packaging Society, EHI Retail Institute and SYBA are also actively supporting the event. Carl Olsmats, general secretary (Sweden) of The World Packaging Association, will deliver a keynote speech on the first day, providing an update on the impact of globalization on the packaging industry.

Xavier Hua, director of B2B strategy in the supply chain division of the Carrefour Group will also speak on the first day, highlighting the scope for future expansion of retail ready packaging. In the afternoon session, Mr Hua will take part in an interactive international panel discussion on 'What do retailers really want?'

The latest research reports on the European packaging industry will also be shared with international delegates. Euromonitor's Head of Packaging Research, Peta Conn, will reveal the latest performance indicators for the biggest consumer sectors. She will also reveal detailed predictions for the growth of these markets over the next five years.

Packaging and the environment will feature strongly throughout the conference covering the current and future regulatory trends in recycling as well as other factors such as the growth of the ethical consumer, increasing biodegradability, the importance of corporate and social responsibility and much more. Other hot topics include: the rise of outsourcing, new design concepts and materials, packaging coding and more efficient production modeling.

International exhibitors showcasing their latest environmental packaging developments include: Innovia Films, Moonen Packaging, BIOP, Biostarch, Dupont, Clarifoil and Portabrands. Some will be showing delegates the latest advances in biodegradable materials. Other exhibitors and sponsors include HP, Seaquist, Eckart, SIG, Tricorbraun and Budelpack.

Charleen Baird, marketing manager for Packaging Summit Europe 2007, commented: ‘Packaging Summit Europe 2007 will build on the outstanding success of the 2006 event, which welcomed large delegations from across many European countries. The 2007 two-day conference and accompanying exhibition is expected to be significantly larger and attract over 300 senior-level delegates to Amsterdam.’