Eastman Chemical, the world's largest producer of polyester and copolyester plastics for packaging, has joined Rexam as headline sponsors of the Packaging Innovation Show, part of Total Processing & Packaging 2004.
"Packaging design and its influence on the development of packaging materials is becoming increasingly important and the need to raise awareness of the confluence of design and materials is driving Eastman's participation in this exciting initiative," said Gaylon White, manager, design industry programmes for Eastman.
The Packaging Innovation Show will reflect the growing influence of design and innovation on the marketing of new products and provide a showcase of the best creative thinking applied to packaging in the retail environment for the year 2020. It will feature a series of interactive displays illustrating the role packaging material and container design plays in brand development with a strong bias towards consumer-led initiatives.
The increasing influence of the brand design process on Eastman's portfolio of plastics, chemicals and fibres is behind the company's recent decision to set up its Design Industry Programs initiative. "We're interested in working with designers and their clients to find better packaging systems - from glass polymer containers to films to laminates to superior bonding methods," said White.
The show will also be home to the 2020 Vision Design Challenge, which has been created to inspire the packaging industry, marketers, retailers and all involved in the supply chain, by showing what major design groups and the creative industry believe could be on the market in 2020. Twenty seven entries have been received from leading design houses examining such subjects as food on the go, food in the home, and drink.
A daily seminar programme will examine all aspects of the design, marketing and branding process. These include Time for Change - Is packaging responding to new consumer lifestyles?, Packaging the New Marketing; Meeting the challenges through packaging innovation and Understanding the innovation process. The Packaging Innovation Show is also supported by the Faraday Packaging Partnership, CAD/CAM specialists Delcam, the British Brands Group, the Design Business Association and design agencies Kinneir Dufort, Siebert Head and Fitch:London.
Total Processing & Packaging will take place from 29 March to 1 April 2004 at the Birmingham NEC, UK. The show was formed by a joint venture agreement between Reed Exhibitions and the Processing and Packaging Machinery Association (PPMA).
The event will comprise the REC exhibitions Pakex, Interphex and Eurochem, and the PPMA's Machinery Only Show. The show layout has been planned with a small panel of visitors and exhibitors to ensure ease of access and to create a natural flow, while also making it easier for groups operating across both packaging and processing to present their product ranges on one stand.
Eastman pioneered polyester for soft-drink and beer bottles and is a world leader in environmentally responsible polyester and copolyester plastics for packaging.