Global Packaging Alliance Annual Meeting in Hong Kong
ROCHESTER, N.Y.—The Global Packaging Alliance (GPA) recently held its annual meeting in Hong Kong, providing a forum for its members to review industry trends and the latest developments in packaging innovation and sustainability. The group also focused on ways to further support international brands in growth markets.
GPA members opened the meeting by discussing packaging trends in their respective markets and sharing the latest developments in their packaging operations, including equipment investments, technical advancements, process improvements, new materials, and operating data for benchmarking.
The agenda also included a review of market developments in the Middle East and India with the possibility of adding a company to the GPA’s current network in these regions. With this in mind, the next GPA annual conference is scheduled to take place in India in early 2012.
“Our customers—mostly international brand manufacturers—have already indicated a need for support, especially in the Middle East and India,” said Hans-Christian Bestehorn, GPA president and CEO of the rlc | packaging group, a charter member of the GPA. “As a result, the GPA is looking at ways to increase its presence in these regions.”
The group continues to focus on ways to further support international brands in emerging markets while significantly reducing time-to-market.
“Global presence is an increasingly important success factor,” Bestehorn adds. “Products need to reach the market more quickly and be made available on a global scale. A single, medium-sized packaging company is hardly in a position to meet the demands of global brand manufacturers. The GPA fills this gap by coordinating production processes and methods, implementing identical quality standards, and assuming global packaging management responsibility across the entire value chain. Production in each case can take place locally. This makes it possible to ensure a consistent brand presence and shorten the time to market.”
The exchange of experience related to topics at this year’s GPA conference has already proven effective. For example, the U.S.-based GPA member Diamond Packaging and the rlc | packaging group are working together on the development of their Green Chic™ sustainable finishing techniques. Also, the rlc | packaging group’s brandpack concept—an in-house center for packaging design integrating material, graphic, design, and finishing effects—is being adapted by others members, including South Africa-based Masterpack.
The rlc | packaging group also announced that it will join the Consumer Goods Forum as a GPA representative to bring global developments and trends in the consumer goods market into the network.
The Global Packaging Alliance is an international organization of independent packaging experts proficient at managing all aspects of the supply chain. With production facilities and logistics centers around the world, the GPA provides responsive, localized service, award-winning creative designs, identical product specifications, and consistent brand recognition.
