23 German exhibitors participate in Hispack 2024

With the participation of 23 direct exhibitors, Germany is increasing its presence at Hispack, one of Europe’s leading trade fairs for the packaging industry, which takes place from 7 to 10 May at Fira de Barcelona. Germany will be the fifth country with the most exhibitors at this year’s edition and is also expected to be among the top countries in terms of visitor numbers.

This year, the number of German exhibitors is up on last year’s 2022, when 18 firms took part. The sectors of packaging machinery and accessories; labelling, coding and marking, bottling equipment; and process technology, as well as automation and robotics are the most represented with names such as Krones, Mink Bürsten, Kartonveredelung Knapp, Illig Maschinenbau, Franke, Schur Star Systems, Meypack Verpackungssystemtechnik, BJT Pack, Carl Valentin, cab Produkttechnik, Ibea, ITW Diagraph, Icotek, Heinrich Kipp or Adapa Group. There is also a strong presence of manufacturers of industrial packaging and primary packaging, including Jonatura, Leef Blattwerk, Meyer Seals, Cabka Group, Penn ElCom, Sekisui Chemical, Sesotec and Söhner Kunststofftechnik. The complete list can be found here

Other German brands whose Spanish subsidiaries are exhibiting in Barcelona include Beckhoff, Bizerba, Heuft Systemtechnik, HSM, Weber Maschinenbau and Wipotec, among others.

At the same time, Germany is one of the top countries in terms of the number of international visitors to Hispack. After Portugal, Italy and France, German professionals are the most willing to travel to Barcelona to see the competitive offer of Spanish manufacturers and distributors of materials and machinery for processing and packaging, which stands out for its flexibility, quality and after-sales service.

In the last edition held in 2022, and still marked by the pandemic, nearly 200 German professionals attended the Spanish fair, a figure that is expected to increase this year as Germany usually represents around 10% of the international public that visits Hispack. In this sense, it is worth remembering the importance of the German market for Hispack, since, after France, it is the second European destination for Spanish packaging technology exports.

Hispack, the key to the Spanish market

For international packaging, process and logistics companies, participating in Hispack is the best way to discover the business opportunities offered by the Spanish market and make contact with new customers. It is the leading trade fair in the sector in Spain for more than 40 years and one of the first in the European packaging exhibition calendar. This year, more than 800 exhibitors from 28 countries and 1,250 brands will be represented at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via exhibition centre. More than 27,000 professionals are expected to attend, 10% of whom will be international.

60% of Hispack’s offer corresponds to equipment and machinery for processing, packaging, bottling, packaging manufacturing, coding, labelling and marking, automation, robotics and logistics. The remaining 40% of exhibitors, meanwhile, present raw materials and materials for packaging, containers and packaging, and POS elements for various industrial and consumer sectors, as well as for distribution, e-commerce and retail.

Likewise, 70% of Hispack’s offer is Spanish and the remaining 30% is international. Turkey is the foreign country with the most exhibitors (81), followed by Italy (39), China (31), Germany (23), France (16), the Netherlands (9), Portugal (9) and the United Kingdom (6). The list of exhibitors also includes companies from Poland, Belgium, USA, Egypt, Greece, Morocco, Algeria, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Slovenia, Finland, Malaysia, Mexico, Japan, Latvia, Taiwan, San Marino and Singapore.

Hispack director Xavier Pascual stresses: “The opportunities of the Spanish market and its continuous growth rates are the main attractions for international companies participating in Hispack in search of new customers, as well as the connection of the fair with Latin America and the Mediterranean countries due to language and geographic proximity respectively”.

Almost 90% of Hispack visitors come from Spain. In the international section, Portugal was the country that brought the most professionals in 2022, followed by Italy, France, Germany, Morocco, Turkey, Chile, Mexico, Colombia and the United Kingdom.

As a novelty, in order to promote business meetings with professionals from potential markets with specific investment projects, Hispack is focusing its programme of invited buyers on Mexico, Poland, Morocco and Tunisia, four countries of interest for Spanish exports. In parallel, Hispack will present Japan as a market opportunity for the European packaging industry. In this sense, it will host the visit of a Japanese delegation and will dedicate 9 May to showcasing success stories and promoting networking between European and Japanese companies with a view to activating channels for information exchange and international cooperation.

Activities for the international public

To enhance the visitor experience, Hispack will set up the International Business Centre (IBC) in Hall 3 of the exhibition centre as a reception point for the international public with specific services and its own agenda of activities.

At the IBC, international visitors will be able to receive personalised advice on the most suitable Spanish suppliers to develop their projects; attend conferences on potential markets and the presentation of success stories of Spanish manufacturers.

This space will also allow them to hold business interviews with exhibitors; access a Brokerage Event with quick meetings to find suppliers, collaborators or exchange experiences, and go on thematic guided tours of the fair, among other proposals.

Barcelona, March 2024

María Dolores Herranz
Tel. 93 233 25 41
mdherranz@firabarcelona.com