Successful Staging: SWOP 2023 Paves Way for Annual Event

As a member of the interpack alliance, the world's leading processing and packaging exhibition, swop (Shanghai World of Packaging) 2023 was successfully held at Shanghai New International Expo Center November 22-24. swop attracted nearly 900 domestic and foreign exhibitors about 30,000 professional visitors from 99 countries and regions.

swop is co-organized by Messe Düsseldorf (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd. The exhibition attracted industry leaders, professionals, and visitors from all over the world to discuss the latest technologies and developments in the processing and packaging industry. The trade fair was supported by over 100 domestic and international industry associations in the food, chemical, plastics, printing and packaging sector and welcomed around 300 visitor groups from China, Southeast Asian countries, the Middle East, South America and Europe.

Thomas Dohse, Director of interpack at Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, said: “I am pleased to see that swop, as a member of the interpack alliance, has reached a new record with exhibition space and exhibitor and visitor numbers. We were excited to meet face-to-face with exhibitors and visitors who were finally back to swop after a four-year absence.”

Leading Chinese and international companies at wop 2023 included Multivac, Demag, KUKA, YOUNGSUN, TEDERIC, Eiahe, and ZHONGYA. The German Pavilion again included renowned companies such as HOERAUF, HERMA, Novexx, WOLF and Herrmann.

With a focus on sustainable packaging and the reduction of CO2 emissions, a new themed area was introduced at swop 2023 : the "Green Power Zone". More than 150 exhibitors presented a variety of eco-friendly packaging materials, production equipment and solutions to help packaging companies and brands achieve their sustainability goals.

Celine To, General Manager of Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd, gave an overview of the trend topics at this year's swop: the highlights included sustainable packaging, AI applications in packaging design and the future trends of intelligent and digitalized packaging solutions to increase efficiency.

With over 2,000 members in the fast-moving consumer goods industry (FMCG), the Packaging Family, as a pioneering platform in the industry, partnered with swop for the fourth time. The "FMCG Infinity Zone" featured over 400 packaging materials and product suppliers exhibiting popular eco-friendly packaging products.

Another premiere at swop 2023 was the “Smart Packaging Zone”, in which numerous intelligent plastic and paper packaging, packaging machinery and finishing systems were exhibited. These not only meet all the requirements for intelligent packaging, but also enable efficiency increases and cost reductions.

During swop 2023, more than 10 industry forums, new technology exchange sessions and over 60 thematic discussions were all fully packed with 1,820 participants. Among the highlights was the SAVE FOOD Forum. “SAVE FOOD” is a global initiative jointly launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Messe Düsseldorf and interpack. The aim is to promote innovation and support interdisciplinary dialog in order to reduce global food waste and losses and thus contribute to the fight against the global food crisis.

swop will be held annually from now on and the next edition is scheduled at SNIEC (Shanghai New International Expo Centre) from November 18-20, 2024.For further information on visiting or exhibiting at swop 2024, visit www.swop-online.com.