Kenray Global Show Exhibitions Logos Europe
Posted on by Claire Taylor

KENRAY Exhibiting At Packaging Expos Across Europe

Over the next few months KENRAY will be exhibiting at a number of packaging conferences and exhibitions across Europe. With roots in the UK, KENRAY is a leading global company that manufactures bespoke forming sets for vertical packaging machines to address the specific needs of food producers, snack packers and OEMs.

This autumn industry professionals from around the world can learn more about our complete forming solutions at three of the world’s largest packaging expos. From 30 September to 2 October we will be exhibiting at the PPMA Show, ‘the complete production line event’. The PPMA Show is the UK’s largest processing and packaging machinery exhibition with over 300 exhibitors showcasing the latest technology in the industry. Visit us on stand F64 at the NEC Birmingham.

That same week KENRAY will also be exhibiting at TaroPak in Poland at the Poznan International Fair Grounds. With over 600 exhibitors from 30 countries, TaroPak is considered the most important packaging event in Central and Eastern Europe. From 29 September to 2 October visit our stand 50 in Hall 3 to learn more about our bespoke forming sets.

Then, from 17 – 20 November, we will be at the Emballage Expo located in Paris Nord Villepinte. As ‘the capital place for innovation’, the event is a meeting place for over 100 000 packaging industry professionals. Our Stand C 098 will be located in Hall 5A. Manning our stands will be multilingual representatives from our Polish and French offices. So delegates at TaroPak and Emballage will be able to speak in their native languages about our industry-leading technology.

As a global brand, KENRAY maintains an international presence in the packaging industry. It is important for us to network with food manufacturers and OEMs from around the world to listen to their packaging needs and offer custom forming solutions that will improve production and reduce downtime.

Kenray Forming, Forming Sets, VFFS, Packaging
Posted on by Claire Taylor

Packaging: 20 Years of Change

Packaging began simply as a way to protect food, keeping it fresh and clean until it was eaten. But it was not long before it acquired a range of other purposes such as branding, sales, and usability.

With all these areas invested in packaging, it is no surprise that companies are constantly growing and developing the ways they package their food. As a result, there have been huge changes in the industry over the past 20 years.

 

Going Green

Related to wastage, environmental concerns have also had a huge impact on the packaging industry. As well as being a factor driving the reduction of material wastage, environmental issues have affected the type of material used. Far greater quantities of food now use packaging which is recyclable or has already been recycled. These factors have also left their mark in the field of design and labelling. Most food packaging now includes advice on how the materials can be disposed of in the most environmentally-friendly way and whether the packaging is recycled. Brands that wish to show their environmental responsibility to their customers may also mention the fact their packaging is recycled clearly and visibly on the label.

 

Calorie Counting

Perhaps one of the most significant and noticeable changes in packaging over the last 20 years has been the inclusion of nutritional information. Concerns over public health and new legislation have led the inclusion of this data to be near-universally applied to food packaging. It has also become part of the selling process. Healthier foods, or brands that wish to convey a helpful and health-conscious image, put essential facts about a product’s nutrition in prominent places on the front of the pack.

 

Standing Out From The Crowd

Companies are keen to make their packaging stand out on the shelf, as well as ensuring it looks modern and impresses the customer. As a result, the field of packaging design has seen huge advancements.

New technologies have allowed labels to become more colourful and complex. A range of new shapes have also been developed, either for practical reasons or to look modern and unique. A range of forming shoulders are now widely available to help produce shapes that were unheard of 20 or even 10 years ago.

 

Reducing Material Wastage

Through the later part of the twentieth century, a number of studies in different countries were coming up with disturbing wastage figures. Not only were packaging materials being wasted in the manufacturing process, but inadequate packaging was leading to the wastage of large percentages of products. In Russia, for example, more than half of fresh fruit and up to 70% of potatoes were wasted for this reason. More reliable manufacturing processes, through the use of modern formers and more advanced equipment, have slashed these figures.

Kenray Forming, Forming Sets, VFFS, Packaging
Posted on by Claire Taylor

Two Decades of Change in the Packaging Industry

Since its humble beginnings as a simple means to protect food and keep it fresh, packaging has developed and changed to play a much more important role in many ways. For example, it now offers a whole host of other purposes including branding and usability instructions, and exciting designs to increase sales.

Companies tirelessly review and renew their packaging, investing large amounts of capital into the process and developing the way that products are packaged. This has seen large scale change in the packaging industry over the last couple of decades.

 

Packaging Design

Perhaps one of the most important considerations of modern day packaging is the design. It is imperative for companies to be able to provide a product that is packaged in a well designed way that is impressive to the customer. This necessity has facilitated the advancement of packaging technologies.

In addition to allowing more colourful and complex designs to become more easily viable, packaging technological advances have also allowed for unique and modern shapes to be easily made. Forming shoulders are able to assist with creating intriguingly shaped packaging that was simply unavailable from 10 to 20 years ago.

 

Wastage

Towards the end of the 20th century, studies and surveys across the globe found troubling and concerning wastage figures that saw packaging materials being wasted during the manufacturing stage, and also that poor quality packaging was leading to product wastage. This was of particular concern in Russia, where 70% of potatoes and over half of all fresh fruit was being wasted because of this reason. Modern manufacturing processes including the use of advanced equipment such as formers and forming tubes has resulted in even less wastage.

 

Environmental Considerations

Closely linked to wastage, the packaging industry has also been affected by environmental concerns. Not only does this fuel the desire to keep wastage at a minimum, it also has led to further considerations such as materials used. As a result, many foods now come in recyclable packaging, or packaging which is made from already recycled materials. This in turn has had an effect on packaging design, as most products now come with clear instructions on how the materials can be disposed of or recycled in the most ethical and environmentally friendly manner.

For some brands, their dedication to the environment is a key part of their sales pitch, and so the fact that they use recycled and recyclable materials in their packaging may become an integral part of its design.

 

Health and Nutrition Information

Another key change to packaging over the past 20 years has been the nutritional information that is present on food products. Public health concerns and new legal requirements have led to the inclusion of such information on packaging. As a result, not only does this conform to legislation, it again also becomes part of a brand’s market placement; many companies focus their strategy on promoting their message of selling healthy products, and so may include this information in a prominent place on the packaging. Health conscious buyers and customers are also attracted to this, so many companies highlight their health and nutrition information to attract more sales.