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50 Years Of Interpack：1970~1979
Right at the start of the decade, there are symptoms of a global crisis. The Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates comes to an end in 1973. The oil prices shock of 1973 is followed by a further leap in the price of unrefined oil at the end of the decade. Rates of growth in the industrial nations sink, prices rise and the phenomenon of mass unemployment spreads.
Rising turnover figures no longer go without saying in the companies. Those with responsibility make intensive efforts to increase productivity. The development of microprocessors offers a particular opportunity. In 1971, Intel brings the 4-bit processor Intel 4004 onto the market. The first industrial robots come into use at car manufacturers.
The consumption curve receives a bend, but the desire for prosperity remains. At the same time, a critical standpoint is being expressed. In 1972, the Club of Rome publishes “The Limits to Growth”. The protection of the environment becomes a political subject. Ways of life are more open in the 70s. The culture of the young “twens” has an influence on the attitude towards life of the whole society.
The new freedom to live differently also changes consumer requirements. Single households want smaller portions and women who are employed need products that can be prepared quickly. With the greater scope for movement and the increase in options, there arises a lifestyle of non-binding trying-out and being on the move. The fast food culture includes snacks that can be consumed in leisure time, in the office and in the evening in front of the television.
The first electronic tills at the end of the seventies look entirely futuristic. The cashier reads a barcode printed on the packaging, using a scanner. The basis for these till systems is an agreement on the product labelling. In the USA in 1973, the UPC (Universal-Product-Code) is introduced. In Europe in 1977, an agreement is made on the EAN (European Article Number).
Some branded packaging, which has kept an unchanged image for decades, receives a fashionable new face-lift. This is not always to the benefit of the brand – if the connection to tradition is broken off, the product loses its uniqueness in the eyes of the consumers. Other brands fall victim to the internationalization of the companies, who want to make their product lines as efficient and trans-national as possible.
From 1973 the interpack was presented on at the newly developed NOWEA fairground, which was for a long time regarded as the most modern in Europe. The first interpack of the decade was postponed by a year due to the DRUPA 1972 and took place in 1973. In the time leading up to the trade fair, an accumulation of orders could be observed, which melted away as the fair was held. The next interpack then took place – according to the old rhythm – already in 1975. Overall, there was a different wind blowing in the packaging industry than in the previous decades. The motto was “optimization instead of maximization”.“ The red pen is in charge in the packaging industry”, confirmed the brand-new President of the interpack, Otto Hänsel, in an interview on the 1975 trade fair. At the end of the decade the interpack had however a positive balance sheet and was able to crown its end. For the 20th anniversary of the fair, 129,000 trade visitors from all over the world were in attendance – a new record number of visitors.
The main requirements of the packaging industry are: 1. the costs of the packaging must be lowered and 2. Its processing and handling must be better adapted than previously to all aspects of its use – from the company to the consumer. Packaging is only efficient if it is optimized in its characteristics for the packaging and designed in a material-saving way; if it can be processed and filled by machine, rationally, without problems and in an energyefficient manner, and is suitable for transportation and storage without being impaired in any way. It must allow itself to be shaped and printed, so that it is suitable as an expressive means of communication. It must be easy for the consumer to open, and it must prove itself to be of practical assistance in the household. It must, finally, also be easy to dispose of and preferably be fully recyclable.
In order to be able to offer technical innovations that fulfil these requirements, more development partnerships are formed along the value-creation chain. The pharmaceuticals company Dr. Karl Thomae GmbH / Unternehmensgruppe C. H. Boehringer Sohn (Germany) and the company Carl Edelmann GmbH (Germany), for example, present a concept, in the trade press in 1973, for a standardization of folded boxes, which they have worked out together with the machine manufacturers CAM (Germany) and Höfliger + Karg / IWKA (Germany). Their aim is to formulate a clear rule for the length of the flaps and the side plates, so that one size of folded box can be processed on boxing machines of different types.
Applications of the still relatively new petro-chemistry remain an area of technology giving rise to many innovations in packaging. Sheeting made of polypropylene increasingly replaces cellophane. The industry is working on making compound foils more suitable for heat sealing. The mechanical processing of these can lead to problems. This is one of the reasons why Wild Werke (Germany) develops a new generation of machines in-house for its beverage brand “Capri-Sonne”. Impetus for innovation is also provided by consumer requirements. The demand for yogurt ensures that the industry improves the characteristics of the plastic beaker and the functionality of the tear-off lid. Fruit and vegetables are presented on the shelf, packed in plastic film bags. This has advantages for trading logistics. Among other advantages, foods packed directly after harvesting remain fresh for a longer period of time. An important additional benefit is that fruit and vegetables can be made into a branded product thanks to the packaging.
The standardization in the size of carriers ensures the increase of efficiency in logistics. This affects e.g. pallets and the iso-container. The shrink-wrapping or winding of pallets becomes prevalent. In 1973, the trade press publishes an estimation according to which over 50 % of the companies in the GFR pack loaded pallets with plastic film. Padding film made of PE foam is introduced as transport protection for the package. And in 1972, Pelaspan-Pac comes onto the market, the S-shaped packaging chips made of expanded polystyrene.
The working speed of the machines increases. In keeping with the economic situation, however, the focus is less on increasing output quantities. It is much more on changing the existing technologies so that packaging machines can make a contribution to increasing productivity and lowering costs. Efficiency is increased and the consumption of energy and materials is lowered. User-friendliness and clarity of arrangement increase. The machines are easier to clean. New models need less space for the same function.
Two directions are followed in the conception of the machines: Maximum performance in a compact construction which is purchased for a specific product packaging, and flexible machines that are combined into a line and that are suitable for various products. The purchasing costs are higher for these, but they can be used over the long term. The idea of a building block system has spread.
There were already signs of the paradigm change that was to take place in the next decade. This was the introduction of computer technology. Microprocessors change weighing technology, for example. At first, the mechanical engineers could not acquire readymade components, so many things – for which there are now suppliers – initially had to be developed in house. Thus, the company Optima (Germany) set up a filling system for coffee in 1978, in which a “micro-computer” developed by Optima themselves made it possible to control the complicated electronics of the process.
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