Packaging Europe

FEFCO Summit: The Corrugated Packaging Industry BOXES THE FUTURE

From 15th to 17th September, the first FEFCO Summit in Barcelona brought together over 300 participants from the Corrugated Industry, including related industry organisations as well as industry suppliers.
The number of participants, coming from more than 30 different countries, has more than doubled compared to the last comparable Congress two years ago. “This is very encouraging and a turning point in the recent history of FEFCO’s events” declared Bob McLellan, President of FEFCO.

Alexander Enzenberg, Chairman of FEFCO Communication Committee, underlined 3 reasons for this success: "High profile industry leaders shared their views and reflections about the Future of the Corrugated Industry. Tony Smurfit - Smurfit Kappa Group, Klaus Thimm - Thimm Verpackung, and Tony Thorne – recently retired from DS Smith presented different angles of their expectations and reflections on the Corrugated Packaging Industry. Leopoldo Santorromán - President of AFCO (The Spanish Corrugated Association) and Enrique Isidro - EUROPAC, also introduced the Spanish Corrugated Market."

The programme included eminent academics (Risto Kuivanen - VTT Finland, Pedro Videla - IESE Business School, Peter Frans Anthonissen – A&A), with discussions on relevant industry and supply chain issues. Roberto Villaquiran, Chairman of FEFCO Market & Environment Committee, lead a session dedicated to competitive materials.

 

The new format of the event which is a merger of FEFCO’s traditional Congress with the Marketing Congress.
Angelika Christ, FEFCO Secretary General commented on this event stating that “Boxing the Future” gives an optimistic expectation that Corrugated Packaging will be the material of choice for the next generation. “We covered many aspects of our business and challenges coming from our customers and retail. The programme provided the audience with the latest information on market trends, best practices and sustainability in the supply chain. In addition, this event has laid stable foundations for the future.

We are confident that positive, clear and coordinated communications from the Industry will result from this meeting. We are ready to continue promoting the fantastic qualities of our exceptional packaging material: its flexibility, its branding ability, its recyclability and its extraordinary sustainability!”

FEFCO (European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers) was established in 1952 and is the umbrella organisation of the European Corrugated Board Industry. Headquartered in Brussels, FEFCO has 24 active Members, all European national corrugated packaging associations.