What our exhibitors say

Here is a selection of quotes from exhibitors at the easyFairs PACKAGING UK 2008 shows.

easyFairs^® PACKTECH

Colchester-based Pago Ltd., part of the Pago Group, prints self-adhesive labels and designs and builds label applicators for all sectors. “We attended past easyFairs shows as visitors and came to the conclusion that easyFairs PACKTECH has become an important and credible event for the packaging industry,” said Mark Hale, Sales Development Manager, Pago. “It’s a great platform to promote labelling solutions,” he added.

“We saw some good footfall on the first day – I really feel that this event has taken off,” said James Dewey, Sales Coordinator South at Imaje, a supplier of non-contact small and large-character inkjet systems, lasers, print-and-apply systems and print software in more than 100 countries worldwide. “I’m very positive about the leads we have taken at easyFairs PACKTECH,” he added.

Robatech UK specialises in gluing technology, supplying hot melt and cold glue application systems to the Packaging, converting and Graphic industries. Sales Director Neil Woodrow commented, “We were pleased with the quality of the visitors. Also, co-location has turned this into a very effective networking event. For example, many of our customers are exhibiting at easyFairs CONTRACT PACK. I think easyFairs offers a better formula than the traditional packaging organisers so we’ll be back next year.”

Strapex is one of the world’s leading suppliers of strapping and stretch-wrapping machines and tools, as well as consumables and services. “We saw good results from the 2007 edition of easyFairs PACKTECH and have had a dozen good enquiries on the first day this year,” reported Scott Macpherson.

easyFairs^® PACKAGING INNOVATIONS

Rexam is one of the world's leading consumer packaging groups and was represented by its Personal Care, Dispensing Systems and High Barrier Food Plastics divisions at easyFairs PACKAGING INNOVATIONS. “We’re very pleased with the number of visitors and the quality of the enquiries. Well done easyFairs!” said Nick Brewin, Sales and Marketing Manager, Rexam Plastic Containers, Deeside.
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Ian Wright is Managing Director for both Harlands Labels and Ditone Labels who were promoting their high-quality adhesive labels for sectors such as cosmetics, toiletries, personal care, food and beverage and pharmaceuticals. “We've had lots of enquiries, many of them from new contacts. The quality of the enquiries has been excellent, and so we are delighted with the show," said Ian.

Depicton Limited manufactures high quality collapsible polythene tubes for the cosmetic, toiletry and DIY industries. Depicton’s Managing Director Charles Grey commented, “I have been doing trade fairs for 30 years and easyFairs has succeeded in getting us back to the original ideal that they are intended to help people do business. It’s friendly, it’s undemanding on our time and above all the footfall is very good.”

Measom Freer has been manufacturing plastic bottles and containers in the West Midlands since 1937 and used easyFairs PACKAGING INNOVATIONS as a platform to launch its new Platinum white PVC bottle. “One of the nice things about easyFairs PACKAGING INNOVATIONS is that it is a focused two day event so it is undemanding on staff time. It’s also affordable so the return on investment is clear. It’s a show for exhibitors whose main aim is to make sales contacts,” said Managing Director Mark Freer.

easyFairs^® ECOPACK

Paperboard Products manufactures dual ovenable board trays, paper plates, takeaway trays, sandwich wraps and other paper-based products for food applications from renewable sources. General Manager Ben Still said of easyFairs ECOPACK, “We have never exhibited at a trade show before so we really didn’t know what to expect. But the quality of the footfall exceeded our expectations. This was the right show for us.”

WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) exhibited at easyFairs ECOPACK and hosted a learnShops™ stream. Charlotte Henderson of WRAP’s Retail Innovation Team was at the event. “There was a lot of interest in the work being progressed by WRAP, and we made many new contacts,” said Charlotte. “Co-locating with easyFairs PACKAGING INNOVATIONS also made a lot of sense as it meant we were not simply preaching to the converted,” she added.

Kim Mackman of green solutions (Europe) ltd said, “Our company specialises in 100% eco-friendly packaging, such as bagasse, rPET and tapioca bags. easyFairs ECOPACK exceeded our expectations in both the volume of, and calibre of relevant attendees, which generated some really positive enquiries in our products. We made some very promising contacts with interesting businesses, and are confident we'll see a growth in the trend towards eco-friendly packaging as a result of the exhibition and greater usage of sustainable, compostable packs.”

Eco3 provides practical and strategic support on eco-design, resource efficiency, life-cycle analysis and carbon foot printing. “We’ve never exhibited at a packaging show before but we have made some very interesting contacts with large and small companies,” said Mark Shayler, Managing Director of Eco3. “Environmental and sustainability issues have definitely moved centre-stage in the packaging sector.” His fellow director, Leigh Holloway added “We’re particularly pleased to have met some start-ups in sectors such as giftware, who are looking for advice on environmentally responsible packaging. The show exceeded our expectations”.

Dave Watkins, Managing Director at Amasec Airfil Limited (www.airfil.com) attended easyFairs ECOPACK to promote compostable air pillows manufactured using FKuR Kunststoff’s biopolymers. “These air pillows perform as well as conventional plastic but compost when disposed of. easyFairs ECOPACK was absolutely the right show for us to promote this product. Unlike other packaging shows, it is sales focused. We will be back next year.”

SIG Combibloc manufactures aseptic and retort carton packaging for long-life beverage and liquid food products. “We haven’t exhibited at a UK trade show for some time, but Carton packs are ecologically advantageous throughout their life cycle because they are produced from mainly renewable sources and can be recycled as well, so easyFairs ECOPACK appeared to be a good opportunity to promote them,” said Cindy Haast, Cluster Marketing Manager, Europe North. “It turned out to be the right decision to exhibit here. We’re expanding our product offering beyond drinks to more viscous and chunky food products and easyFairs ECOPACK provided a good platform to reach new prospects,” she added.

“The Green Planet Carton Converting Company makes packaging from compostable starch produced in Europe, using reconditioned equipment. We chose to exhibit at easyFairs ECOPACK because it is the right platform for a UK-based, environmentally focused packaging company like ours. I like the concept of exhibitors competing on a level playing field where the visitor can judge companies based on their products, not on the amount they spent on the stand. That’s how it should be so please don’t change the easyFairs formula!” said Ken Baldy, CEO of The Green Planet.

“We go to a lot of exhibitions so we approach them with realistic expectations. But whatever it is you do at easyFairs to get people through the doors, you’ve hit on the right formula. We have been very busy on both days and the people we have met were genuinely interested,” said John Siegert of Easypack.

“We supply a wide range of products and systems for void fill and product protection, and our solutions use 100% recycled materials, so easyFairs ECOPACK is the ideal place to exhibit,” he added.

easyFairs^® CONTRACT PACK

Widdowson Group, a logistics company from Leicester specialising in contract packing services, took part in the first edition of easyFairs CONTRACT PACK. “We came to promote a broad range of services including stretch wrapping, heat sealing, promotional gift packing and product manipulation, together with our computerised warehousing facilities. easyFairs CONTRACT PACK was definitely a hit as far as we were concerned. We made a lot of excellent contacts. Co-location with easyFairs PACKAGING INNOVATIONS made sense as many brand owners and retailers are looking at the outsource option,” said Terry Smith of Widdowson Group.

Sonopress (part of the Arvato Digital Services Group) is a global replicator and distributor with a specialist packing and fulfilment production facility in Wednesbury, West Midlands. Its services to the entertainment industry and blue-chip retail clients include FMCG, in-store merchandise, CD and DVD, manufacturing and point-of-sale production, plus fulfilment facilities to supply product directly to distribution, or to each store and even directly to the consumer. “We took a very late decision to exhibit at easyFairs CONTRACT PACK but we thought it would be a good opportunity to develop this part of the business,” said Anthony Daly, the company’s Sales Director, Business Development, Audio, Corporate & Digital. “It turns out we were absolutely right. Our experience in packing complex builds for games, music and film companies means we can pack anything, and visitors to our stand came from a wide range of retail and CPG sectors. Co-location with the other packaging shows makes this a great event for networking. We made a lot of interesting contacts so we immediately took the decision to rebook for next year.”