ICE Europe 2019 – focus on digitalisation, individualisation and sustainability of products
13 November 2018
In less than five months, the World’s Leading Exhibition for Paper, Film & Foil Converting will take place from 12-14 March 2019, at the Munich Trade Fair Centre in Germany. At the eleventh edition of ICE Europe, trade visitors from the international converting industry will be able to discover the latest technology trends as well as innovative production and converting processes. The most important trends at the show will be digitalisation, sustainability and individualisation as well as efficient machinery and solutions.
Due to the ongoing trend for recycling and an increasing demand for sustainable products, the converting industry is currently undergoing a change. The use of biomaterials is growing. At the same time, individualised and high-quality products and packaging solutions are becoming ever more important. This requires innovative coating and finishing processes. “It is a challenge to reconcile the diverse demands and ensure the efficient and sustainable use of materials and machinery. At ICE Europe 2019, visitors find concrete production solutions, a wide range of machinery as well as different materials that accommodate these challenges,” explains Liljana Goszdziewski, exhibition director of ICE Europe, on behalf of the organisers, Mack Brooks Exhibitions.
Digitalisation and associated smart products and packaging remain an important trend in converting. Special films (battery films, biopolymeric films, high barrier films, optical films, weatherable films and other speciality films) offer functions that allow for their application in diverse areas. For the first time, ICE Europe 2019 is presenting a dedicated “Special Film & Extrusion Area” for the growth market sector of special films, where trade visitors will be able to find special films as well as machinery and accessories for extrusion. The area covers extrusion lines for blown films, extrusion lines for flat films and sheets, welding machines and calenders.
Exhibition area grows by 4%
So far, some 430 exhibitors from 25 different countries have booked their stand space at ICE Europe 2019 and occupy 11,500 metres squared of net floor space. This means that the booked net floor space has grown by 4% compared to the total floor space at ICE Europe 2017. A great majority of the exhibitors at ICE Europe 2019 come from Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the United States with 55% being German companies. As a specialised trade fair, the exhibition profile of ICE Europe includes all main areas and manufacturing processes of converting of flexible, web-based materials, such as paper, film, foil and nonwovens. The exhibition covers materials, coating/laminating, drying/curing, (pre-) treatment, accessories, slitting/rewinding, flexographic/rotogravure printing, finishing, factory management/waste removal/recycling, retrofitting/machine upgrades, toll coating/converting/slitting, control, test & measurement, production process management, services, information & communication, and (semi-)finished products.
