Issue 02/2019

Show Automotive Preview
CHINAPLAS 2019 Preview
Shaping a brilliant future for the packaging
industry
CHINAPLAS, now on a par with K Show in Düsseldorf/
Germany, as organizer Adsale Exhibitions stated, will
return to the China Import and Export Fair Complex,
Pazhou, Guangzhou, China. The show (May 21 to May 24) will
focus on “Smart Manufacturing”, “Innovative Materials”,
“Green & Circular Solutions” to effectively address the
exact need of high-end downstream buyers, presenting a
high-quality and high-standard extravaganza of the plastics
and rubber industries with an exhibition space of more than
250,000 m². The show will bring together more than 3,500
leading exhibitors from all over the world, more than 1,800
of which are active in the packaging industry. It is expected
that CHINAPLAS 2019 will attract more than 180,000
professional visitors from 150 countries and regions.
Driven by the dynamic economic development, accelerating
urbanization and improvement in people’s quality of life, the
consumer market has a surging demand for safe, convenient,
unique and environmentally friendly packaging. Meanwhile,
the packaging industry is in a difficult position due to more
stringent VOC regulations, fluctuating raw material prices,
regional industrial transfer, uncontrollable costs, and
recruitment difficulty. Considering the increasingly diverse
user requirements and fierce market competition with
more homogeneous products, the packaging industry has a
pressing need for transformation and upgrading.
With the growing complexity of the business environment,
how can one read the market trend, adapt to changes with
technological innovations, and thus find a way out? Chinaplas
2019, a technology-oriented and innovation-driven trade
fair, provides an international platform for showcasing and
exchanging advanced technology. The show has a large display
of innovative solutions featuring cutting-edge materials,
machines, and technology, spotlighting customized, green,
functional and intelligent manufacturing with reduced cost
and improved efficiency, which helps packaging enterprises
stand out.
Customized packaging in great demand
The packaging industry is playing an increasingly critical
role across various sectors. Brands are looking for crowdpulling
customized packaging. Whether packaging can serve
as the driving force behind a brand and how it becomes an
important means for enterprises to implement their business
strategies are currently hot topics in the industry.
Compared to Europe, the USA, Japan, and other countries,
China is a late starter in the packaging industry, which,
however, has grown to a fairly large-scale industry over the
past few decades. And thanks to China’s 40 years of reform
and opening-up, the income and living standard of people
in the country have improved significantly. As a result, the
market has a rising demand for technology that helps deal
with small and customized orders in a precise, quick and
flexible manner, and brands are going through substantial
upgrades with unprecedented frequency. The importance of
packaging to products is growing exponentially.
Towards a green and sustainable development
path
Under the rapid emergence of the e-commerce industry
and continuous changes in the business environment,
consumer’s demographics and marketing channels, a
“packaging revolution” triggered by the “consumption
transformation” is taking place quietly. According to
figures of the National Bureau of Statistics, the quantity of
courier packages in China has topped the world ranking
for consecutive years and increased more than twentyfold
over the past decade. Behind the rapid growth, however, is
a shocking waste of packaging materials, which are usually
non-degradable. At the same time, the total recycling rate of
packaging waste materials in China is less than 20%, which
is disappointing. How to protect the nature while developing
the economy and reduce the burden of logistics packaging on
the environment has been a public concern in recent years.
26 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/19] Vol. 14