Major companies including ULMA, ITC, Hiperbaric, Plásticos Romero, and DuPont will be launching their innovations at MeetingPack2017 in Valencia, from 30th to 31st May.

The third edition of MeetingPack will make Valencia the world hub of the food plastic packaging sector, gathering the entire value chain together.

The international event has prepared a complete programme for the two days, where companies and experts will be able to show the latest innovations within the industry, as well as the opportunities and challenges raised.

This year’s edition of MeetingPack will be focusing on the trends in convenience packaging, under the title ‘Driving Barrier Packaging Innovation’.

The functionality of food packaging and its capability of adapting itself to the needs of new consumers or those with specials needs will also be discussed within the framework of the innovations presented at MeetingPack.  

DuPont will be talking about the advantages of its new pouch packaging with compartments, which is a flexible packaging that guarantees a long duration without the contents needing to be in a fridge.

This is an innovative solution that reduces the volume of waste generated.

Ampacet will be presenting a series of sensorial innovations, as it is including textures and fragrances within its polymers, which will provide a new tool to give an added value to barrier packages to companies.

Thanks to ULMA, Industry 4.0, and the interconnection between the manufacturing process and the consumer will have a place at MeetingPack.

In its presentation, ULMA will demonstrate the advantages related to the packaging manufacturing process, concerning both connectivity and safety.

ITC will be giving a talk on the evolution of barrier solutions in packages to reach the most recent developments, such as its IML aluminium sheet, and its development of PBT.

Hiperbaric’s talk will focus on a number of innovations on preservation, allowing it to offer customers fresh and natural food, with guaranteed duration and safety.

It has developed packaging that withstand the innovative technology of high hydrostatic plastics (HHP), enabling it to eradicate any microorganism through the high pressures emitted by water for some minutes.

It is a technology that demands flexible packages resistant to water and compression.

These plastics allow the incorporation of solutions for active and smart food packaging, and these innovations represent a step forward on the extension of shelf life by incorporating devices such as RFID labels, which help monitor temperature and moisture changes that may affect the integrity of the product.

Sustainability will also be a major topic at MeetingPack, as plastic packaging can be extremely sustainable.

A decade ago, plastic packaging had an average weight of 28 per cent more than the present day, which represents a major saving of raw materials.

Progress on the recyclability of these types of product has allowed the carbon footprint reduction of plastic packages to only 0.6 per cent of the average European consumer’s carbon footprint, and this is in conjunction with the annual recycling rate increasing at two per cent a year.

Another innovation with regards to sustainability will be showcased by Plásticos Romero, who will present a new generation of biodegradable multilayer films that are able to replace conventional materials in medium-barrier food packaging applications.