The final visitor count is in with 7361 attending the four-day AUSPACK show, an increase of 8 per cent on the last AUSPACK held in Melbourne in 2011.
Exhibitors totalled 385 (284 plus 101 co-exhibiting companies), of which 127 were international. 87 exhibitors were new, and a total of 1284 brands were on show.
This makes it the biggest event in the show's 30 year history, with the next edition to be held in Sydney in March, 2017.
According to exhibitors, the quality of visitors was of a high standard.
Kuka Robotics' MD Greg Sale said there was healthy mix of technical professionals and senior management asking the right level of questions and demonstrating a keen interest in new technologies
For many companies, the show was more about having the opportunity to stage a cost-effective 'open house' for their customers to view new products and innovative ideas and discuss ongoing and potential new projects.
Mark Emmett, MD of HMPS, said his company saw upward of 150 customers at the show. This year the company had another reason to celebrate having won the Best New Product category in the APPMA Industry Excellence Awards.
Robert Marguccio of Heat and Control said that the value in the exhibition lay in keeping the brand top of mind with customers, and in having the opportunity to talk to senior management.
Making its AUSPACK debut was industry newcomer, Cama Australia, and MD Cameron Traum said he couldn't have been happier with the response he'd had to the working model of new IF316 carton forming, closing and loading system demonstrated at the show.
“The fully operating machine drew a fair crowd every day, which was impressed by the aesthetics and functionality of such a compact unit,” Traum said, adding that he has several significant project leads following the show.
We'll take a closer look at the top technology on show, in a full AUSPACK Wrap in our May-June issue of Food & Drink Business.
This short video from our sister publication PKN includes some of the AUSPACK 2015 highlights.
