Well-filled exhibition halls in the BITEC Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre. Satisfied organisers, exhibitors and visitors. This is the conclusion of the four-day Pack Print International from 18 to 21 September 2019 in Thailand's capital Bangkok. The organisers of the industry show are Messe Düsseldorf Asia and the associations The Thai Packaging Association and The Thai Printing Association.
"Exhibitor feedback has been positive and the Exhibition Management has reported a new record attendance with over 19,000 visitors from 58 countries and 300 exhibitors", explains Dr. Sven Breitung, VDMA Project Manager of the "German Pavilion". As part of the federal government's foreign trade fair programme, a team headed by Breitung organised a German joint stand at the trade fair. Ten medium-sized suppliers of printing, plastics and packaging technology took the opportunity to present modern technical solutions under the "Made in Germany" label.
Joint trade fair appearance interesting for smaller suppliers
"Due to the professional stand design and the good location directly at the transition between the Print Pack and the parallel trade fair T-Plas, we had a lot of visitors on all four days of the trade fair," reports Breitung. Roland Ritter, Director Asia Pacific of KRAIBURG TPE China, which offers plastics, rollers, roll covers and a wide range of other solutions for print and packaging, draws a positive conclusion: "The trade fair not only convinced us with its variety, vitality and the Thai hospitality practised, but also thanks to the very good support on the joint stand. Yan Wei Phin, Regional Manager of CGS - Publishing Technologies International GmbH, one of the world's leading specialists for proof printing, color management and high-quality packaging samples, was also completely satisfied. "Pack Print International has established itself as a professional trade fair in the ASEAN region and once again attracted many visitors from Southeast Asia. We would like to thank the VDMA and Messe Düsseldorf Asia for their great support," he says.
Sabine Heimann, Managing Director of Graphische Technik und Handel Heimann GmbH, who took part in the trade fair, emphasised another aspect in her trade fair summary: "This joint stand is a success and makes it easier for us as a small medium-sized company to take part in the trade fair in Bangkok," she says. Her Westphalian family business, which offers a comprehensive range of consumables, chemicals and measuring instruments for gravure, flexo and offset printing, was able to intensify existing customer relationships and establish contacts with potential new customers at Pack Print International. Also thanks to the comprehensive support provided by the VDMA and Messe Düsseldorf, she was able to focus her attention during the fair on the discussions with the visitors. "Should there again be opportunities to participate in joint stands, we can well imagine being there again," she explained.
In fact, there are regular joint trade fair appearances in all parts of the world. The support provided by the Federal Government's foreign trade fair programme is helping to get new markets off the ground. But the German pavilions are also a permanent fixture at established trade fairs. "Even after the funding period has expired, the joint stands make it easier for small and medium-sized companies in particular to show a worldwide presence and to cultivate and expand their customer contacts at regional trade fairs," explains Breitung.
Sustained upward trend in Asia's packaging sector
The Southeast Asian ASEAN region with its approximately 650 million inhabitants is a market with growth potential for German suppliers of printing and packaging technology as well as plastics and rubber machinery. With rising incomes and growing consumption of high-quality food, drugstore and cosmetics products, the demand for modern packaging solutions is rising. This is also driving sales in the regional printing markets, which are rising at an annual rate of six percent.
Growing exports and rising domestic demand are driving demand for high-quality, efficient machines. Users in the ASEAN region are regarded as technology and brand conscious. In addition, Thailand is becoming the preferred production location for global brand manufacturers. They manufacture high-quality packaging for products sold worldwide, which must therefore also meet global standards and norms.
The demand for packaging solutions in various ASEAN countries is in the one- to two-digit billion range. In 2016, Thailand's packaging industry had a turnover of over 11 billion US dollars, and in Malaysia the market volume in 2017 was 7 billion US dollars. In addition, there is a lot of catching up to do in countries such as Indonesia, where analysts are observing high double-digit growth rates and the market volume in 2017 was around 8 billion US dollars.
September 2019
Dr. Sven Breitung
VDMA Fachverband Druck- und Papiertechnik
Tel.: +49 69 66 03-1151
E-Mail: sven.breitung@vdma.org
Contact Liliane Klein
Phone +49 69 66 03-1123
E-Mail Liliane.Klein@vdma.org
