– Messe Düsseldorf Asia and its co-organisers present an international showcase for the entire value chain.
Thailand’s printing and packaging industries registered over 300 billion Baht in 2018 of which 40 percent came from the printing industry and 60 percent from packaging. This year is looking to post positive and optimistic outlooks led by 3 supporting growth industries – Food and Beverage, Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics, and e-Commerce. A tripartite collaboration between Messe Düsseldorf Asia, The Thai Packaging Association and The Thai Printing Association, PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL is a must-visit exhibition for the packaging and printing industries. The 7th edition will showcase 300 leading companies from 25 countries and will take place from September 18-21, 2019 at BITEC, Bangkok.
Printing and packaging megatrends
Beattrice J. Ho, Project Director of PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL 2019, Messe Düsseldorf Asia, stated that these megatrends have created a considerable amount of industrial value, as printing and packaging capabilities are integral to a diverse mix of application industries. In tandem with global shifts and movements, these macro-level factors supporting printing and packaging businesses are:
1. Digital packaging: A printing industry growth area – According to Smithers Pira’s The Future of Digital Print for Packaging to 2022 report, the rapidly expanding digital (inkjet and toner) packaging market will grow by almost 13% annually to exceed US$22.0 billion by 2022. Very strong growth will be seen in corrugated, carton, flexibles and direct-to-shape, with developments in metal printing. This is especially since digital print platforms are opening up a whole world of possibilities for boosting emotional engagement with a consumer and creating new revenue streams.
2. Print technology investment – Taking cue from the 6th drupa global trends report released in April 2019 – which surveyed 620 printers from around the world, the leading print technology in-vestment plans by market in 2019 are: Commercial (digital toner cutsheet colour: 29%, digital inkjet wide format – cutsheet and rolled: 19%), Packaging (sheetfed offset: 27%, Flexo: 25%), Functional (digital toner cutsheet colour: 27%, digital inkjet wide format – cutsheet and rolled: 23%) and Publishing (digital toner cutsheet colour: 30%, sheetfed offset: 29%). In gist, print can be optimistic about the future, where printers and suppliers can look to new ways to exploit emerging technologies so as to place print as a central tool for consumers.
3. Technologies and innovations that create industrial value – One such instance is the shift to meet increasing demands for personalisation and customisation, manufacturers and printers of all types are creating solutions that make this growing market possible, namely faster, higher quality, more affordable digital printing technology. Last year was a tipping point for the packaging industry. Narrow-web digital presses exceeded the standard flexo presses for the first time. 2018 was the first year digital presses emerged the packaging industry’s leading choice. A marketing re-search study by LPC, Inc. into the label-making segment found digital presses grew by 11.9 percent in 2017 – proof of a major trend change in the packaging industry.
Looking towards forward-looking trends impacting the colossal packaging industry in Asia, is the advent of e-commerce and packaging digitalisation, alongside the move towards sustainability, practicality and usability, as well as relationship marketing – where purchases move from being a transaction to one telling a story of the product.
All these point to a bright spot in the print packaging market which is on a steady growth to reach US$286 billion in 2020. In Asia-Pacific, the market is currently the largest regional print packaging market, accounting for over 42% of revenues, and is expected to become the second fastest-growing region through to 2020. Asia in particular is to make up over 40% of global packaging demand come 2022.
Conversely, this trend is seen in Thailand’s printing industry. According to the Kasikorn Bank, the industry is worth over 200 billion baht (US$9.6 billion), with more than 60% of this in packaging printing, which has been on continuous, steady growth in the recent few years. A pillar industry, printing serves as the backbone to many other industries – especially with packaging.
Mr Wiwat Utsahajit, Secretary General, The Thai Packaging Association elaborated that he is certain, innovation is key to advancing Thailand’s packaging and printing future. He shared that it is with technology and innovative technologies, that the industry as a whole is now able to play to each of packaging and printing strengths, and in turn allow manufacturers to offer a wider range of new and unique products while making the production processes more environmentally-friendly and efficient.
Based on a recent report by Thailand Board of Investment (BOI), the demand for packaging in Thailand is also expected to increase as both domestic and export markets for products of all types, particularly processed food, will expand. The Sinsakorn Printing City and Industrial Estate will facilitate the development of scale and production efficiency, taking advantage of the lower production and management costs that accompany the rise of industry clusters.
Adding to this, Mr Wiwat also cited that, “Thailand has many skilled workers who are highly creative, thus producing new pieces of award-worthy products to the world. As such, it is important for Thai businesses to step up and become more connected to networks and trade partners, which would pave the way to new trade opportunities.”
“With this changing landscape, the packaging and printing industry in Thailand will need to constantly stay abreast of what is trending and happening in the industry and amongst consumers. Only with that can we then have an edge over competitors and leverage on competition”, he added.
An exhibition for the industry, by the industry
With its 2019 theme, Shaping the future of packaging and printing in Asia, the exhibition driven by sectors’ leading trade fairs drupa and interpack by the Messe Düsseldorf Group in Germany, will see global packaging and printing innovations put up by over 300 leading companies from 25 countries, including national groups from Germany, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, China and Singapore and a leading line-up of brands made up: HP, Heidelberg, Konica Minolta, Riso, Fujifilm, Ricoh, Bobst, KURZ, Zund, Duplo, Sansin, Selic Corp, PMC Label Materials, Koenig & Bauer, Fuji Xerox and more.
Aligned towards industry trends and movements, the 7th edition of the International Packaging and Printing Exhibition for Asia, will put the spotlight on 4 thematic zones, i.e. One-Stop Pack & Print Pavilion, Labelling Zone, Logistics & Automation Zone and a dedicated Prototype Showcase, in parallel with a series of industry-focused conferences and forums. These include the Asian Packaging Federation (APF) Regional Seminar and AsiaStar Award Ceremony, Food & Beverage Packaging Conference: Beyond Packaging, ASEAN Printing Forum, Photo Business Association Conference, and more.
As Southeast Asia’s largest Packaging and Printing exhibition, the exhibition’s international and diverse exhibitor and visitor base reinforces its position as the main focal point for suppliers and buyers to gain greater business prospects, and the inroads for businesses to network, gain insights and conduct successful business transactions in the international marketplace.
For more information, visit www.pack-print.de or Facebook page ‘PackPrintInternational’.