Connect
K 2010 Website Enjoys Over 1 Million Hits
The number of hits to the official website of the K 2010 trade fair has surpassed the 1 million mark. In March 2010 the website registered more than 1 million views and almost 214,000 visits in 12 months, clearly indicating that traffic to the site has increased markedly compared with the last show in 2007. A key attraction of the website is a set of innovative online tools in a variety of languages to help exhibitors and participants plan their time. Exhibiting companies can, for example, book their stand, as well as organise security and logistics quickly and easily via the Exhibitor Service section of the website. Also, they have the opportunity to compile an online virtual showroom, which allows website viewers to read information about the company and its products and locate the exhibtitor’s stand. For all participants in the show, the website features an online organiser, an interactive floor plan and information about the show in five languages. Visitors can also purchase tickets via the website for discounted prices.
New Application for Mobile Phones for K 2010
A new application for mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) has been launched for K 2010. The application provides participants with key information about the show such as a site plan, exhibition facts and figures, travel information (taxis, flights, rail, bus and tram) an interactive organiser, an exhibitor and product database, a guide about things to do and see in Düsseldorf as well as other useful things. According to the organisers of the show, Messe Düsseldorf, the application allows visitors to have all the information they need with them at all times and can plan their trade fair visit faster and in accordance with their own needs. An animated demo version of the application can be viewed at the K 2010 website www.k-online.de.
SPECIAL FOCUS
Lightweight and Thin Films With Less Environmental Impact
According to a study by the USA-based research organisation Freedonia Group, global demand for flexible packages will rise by an average of about 3.5% a year from 16 million tonnes in 2008 to almost 19.5 million tonnes in 2013. Producers of flexible films are enjoying particularly strong growth, especially in the food and beverages industry and in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics sector. The most popular flexible films are those which meet the most stringent of customer demands. They need films which are lightweight, of a high quality, and produced at low cost and with mimimal effect on the environment. Lightweight films have been developed by combining two or three different types of polymer into a three-layer composite film. This has allowed manufacturers to save on materials while enhancing functionality—which has led to advantages in terms of raw material costs. Furthermore, modern film blowing machinery has ensured that the films are of a high quality. Also, film manufacturers have kept their costs low in the face of expensive raw materials, thanks to the fact that suppliers of extrusion lines have produced machinery which enables film producers to make different types of products on a single line without retooling. As far as the effect on the environment is concerned, recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) made from processed post-consumer PET waste and ground plastic bottles is now being used in food packaging. Manufacturers have developed multi-layer films in which rPET is employed as the middle layer. Biomaterials have also been developing apace. Film products made from plant-based “carbon-neutral” renewable resources have been attracting most attention. The main reasons for the expanding interest can be found, above all, in petroleum-based resource conservation, compostability and overall sustainability of supply. That said, the net environmental gain as a result of using these materials is questionable because, it has been argued, the intense farming methods required to produce them are more costly in terms of natural resources than the production of conventional plastic. Suppliers of these packaging materials and the polymers and machinery used to produce them will be exhibiting at K 2010. See www.k-online.de for more details.
K 2010
24 EPPM www.eppm.com
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