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Every visitor entering the shop floor of the spanking new flexible packaging plant of UFlex Ltd. in Jammu, North India has to wear a net cap and sign a health questionnaire querying whether or not the person is free of certain specified ailments, infections and allergies! Following this, the visitor passes through a double door chamber which gives a pressure air wash. This is symbolic of the company’s emphasis on hygiene and safety in a factory producing packaging material for many companies in the food and pharmaceutical industry.

We started our bimonthly magazine Packaging South Asia in the beginning of 2007. And although we generally get praise for the original content and presentation, the path has not been as upwardly smooth as we assumed or hoped it would be. Now with Interpack and drupa looming, it seems that we are moving on subscriptions and advertising. This could mean either that the industry is still largely marketing event driven, or that we are finally gaining traction.

What new interesting developments can one look forward to seeing at this year’s Interpack? While some exhibitors have released advance information on what will be on display, based on which we have written up a company-wise preview, most people are playing their cards very close to their chest. We predict that most new products or solutions on display will be related to the most acutely felt concerns and needs of brand-owners and consumers. Some of those worth looking out for are:

Unfortunately, a lot of incorrect notions still abound, helped in no small measure by many different reports and claims or counter-claims published by a wide variety of people or organisations, each with different axes to grind, all intent on saying, a la Jack Horner, “what a good boy I am”. Everybody but everybody is bursting his guts to announce how good and responsible a corporate citizen and “green” he is and how many barrels of oil he’s saved or how many cars he’s taken off the road. Many of these claims are misleading or exaggerated. A lot of confusion certainly exists on what really constitutes sustainability in packaging. This write-up is an attempt to explain the basics involved though it must be admitted that the whole mélange of issues is aggravatingly complex and beset with contradictions and conflicts of interest between different fundamental objectives.

It is widely acknowledged by now, that there is a discernible change in Indian consumer behaviour. Changing consumer habits are spurring demand for better packaging materials. More products are becoming affordable to a larger section of the population. More and more women are entering the corporate world and middle income families are rising up the income ladder. This overall economic growth has benefited the consumer goods market immensely. Many of the products that were considered luxury items a couple of years back are becoming items of daily consumption. This is vividly evident in the personal care and toiletries industry.

In my last article, I ended by saying that I was pretty much excited about Web Enabled Collaboration, which takes workflow management to a higher level. We will first look at the arguments for using it and also at the enabling technology.

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This is not surprising given that just China’s manufacturing exports are estimated to have exceeded US$ 1 trillion and this naturally means that the packaging required for these would largely have to come from China itself. According to one estimate

Glass is one of the earliest packaging materials used by man and has rendered yeoman service to the packaging industry. The making of glass started with the invention of the blowpipe more than 3

In our last issue, we had cited two statements most people believe to be true. These are: – Packaging made from natural and renewable agricultural materials like corn and wood is more environment-friendly.
– Packaging that is biodegradable is more environment-friendly.
We had gone on to say that these are both myths and, based on existing knowledge, incorrect when viewed scientifically. Let us see why this is so.