The Poznań International Packaging Technology and Logistics Exhibition TAROPAK has maintained its strong position on the map of European trade fairs in this industry for many years. This year, it is being held from September 20-23, 2005, for the 24th time. TAROPAK is the largest and most important meeting of the packaging and logistics industry in Central and Eastern Europe. These trade fairs are an excellent venue for business meetings and a forum for exchanging experiences regarding the industry, new offerings, and development trends. The prestige of this event is evidenced by the fact that for years, the honorary patronage of TAROPAK has been held by the Minister of Economy and Labor.
Over the last few decades, the role of packaging in a market economy has changed. In the past, packaging primarily served a protective function. Later, it served an informational, or marketing, function. Today, it must meet the difficult requirements associated with the logistics of goods.
In terms of logistics investments, Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, is considered, alongside Asia, to be the most promising area. According to PAIiIZ data, the transport, warehousing, and communications sector was the fourth largest in terms of invested capital in 2004. The capital invested in logistics companies is increasingly effective – every zloty invested yields an annual profit of 18-19 groszy. It is worth noting the high growth rate of logistics services sales, amounting to 14 percent per year.
The industries presented at TAROPAK – both packaging and logistics – represent a forward-looking, developing, and investment-secure segment of the national economy. Therefore, as organizers of this exhibition, we are convinced that thanks to such good forecasts, this year’s edition of TAROPAK will meet with great interest from professionals.
In this year’s edition of TAROPAK, nearly 700 exhibitors from 29 countries have announced their participation. In addition to Polish entrepreneurs, exhibitors from Austria, Belgium, Belarus, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Spain, the Netherlands, India, Israel, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, the USA, Hungary, the United Kingdom, and Italy will take part in the fair. The exhibition will occupy 17,000 square meters of exhibition space.
Among the exhibitors, companies producing packaging machines and equipment are the most numerous – over 300 exhibitors. There are also about 250 packaging manufacturers.
From the logistics industry, topics related to warehousing and internal transport are strongly represented – about 60 companies.
TAROPAK, in addition to presenting packaging, technologies, and services, offers – in cooperation with partners – a rich seminar program, special exhibitions, presentations, conferences, workshops, and competitions, making it an excellent space for dialogue between sellers and buyers, exhibitors and visitors.
The most important event of this year’s TAROPAK is the Third Packaging Conference of Central and Eastern European Countries, organized by the Central Research and Development Centre for Packaging, the National Packaging Chamber, and MTP.
New materials and innovative technologies are a challenge for the industry producing and using packaging. Thanks to them, constant progress is being made in packaging production, packaging and distribution systems, and logistics. At the same time, high requirements are placed on packaging, both in terms of protecting goods and regarding environmental protection. And these very topics are the subject of the conference held under the slogan Packaging – Market – Environment.
Important events have been prepared in cooperation with the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing. Among them, noteworthy are: the seminar “Modern systems of automatic identification of goods and packaging, radio tags and barcodes – for whom and why” and the conferences “Tracking products in the food supply chain, or how to meet European Union requirements” and “Radio barcode RFID/EPC”.
Among the events dedicated to the logistics industry, the conference “The warehouse in the company and in the supply chain” organized by the Eurologistics publishing house is worth noting. This conference is intended for managers and specialists involved in logistics.
An attraction of the fair is the sixth edition of the “Sztaplar Show” competition, prepared in cooperation with the editorial offices of the magazines “Nowoczesny Magazyn” and “Logistyka a Jakość”. During the competition, in an improvised warehouse setting, it will be possible to watch the operation of forklifts from almost all brands sold in the country.