"Nowhere else does the industry present itself like this".

PACKAGING TRADE FAIR Following the success of Pack & Move in November 2012, industry associations, exhibitor representatives and Swiss Exhibition have jointly decided to hold the Swiss trade fair for integrated logistics solutions and packaging technology as an independent event in future. MK asked Theresia Saner, who is responsible for the trade fair, about this.

Theresia Saner, Exhibition Director MCH Swiss Exhibition (Basel), is responsible for various trade shows, including Pack&Move.MK The new exhibition hall in which Pack&Move will be held features a modern infrastructure and thus promises the best conditions for a successful trade show. How will you make use of these advantages?THERESIA SANER With the new hall height and the large floor load, the new exhibition hall will enable exhibitors to have two-story stands and to present heavy and tall exhibits. This will have a positive effect on the attractiveness of the stands and will therefore also be interesting for visitors. The new exhibition hall and the surrounding area are designed to be very visitor-friendly, which has already been demonstrated by the trade fairs held so far, such as Swissbau or Baselworld (the world's largest watch and jewelry fair).MK How will this year's trade show differ from previous Pack&Move years? Can you already tell us what - apart from the new hall - will be the most striking innovation?SANER We are realizing a special exhibition with the theme "Experience Cargo Freight Transport". But we do not want to reveal more about this yet. Furthermore, Swisslifter will present a moving forklift show in their forklift arena. Further special shows are planned by SVI (Swiss Packaging Institute) and LogistikCluster.MK The Pack&Move was previously held in November each year. Now the planned date has been brought forward to September. Why?SANER The new hall at Messe Basel offers an attractive time slot in September, which fits ideally into the national as well as international exhibition calendar. In addition, exhibitors have increasingly requested that the trade fair date be brought forward so that post-fair business can be transacted in the same year. We have now complied with this request.MK This eliminates the clash of dates with the Emballage in Paris. On the other hand, the distance to the two leading world trade fairs, interpack and CeMAT, which will be held this year in May in Düsseldorf and Hanover, has become even smaller. What influence will these major foreign events have on the trade show events in Basel?SANER For exhibitors, the two-month advance postponement of Pack&Move is not relevant in this context. Rather, it is important that the trade fairs do not take place at the same time and that the internationally active companies can participate in all the trade fairs that are relevant for them. This is absolutely guaranteed with our September date, which is optimally located in the international trade fair calendar.MK Why should marketing and communications professionals attend the show?SANER Interested trade visitors with high decision-making authority and opinion leaders from the fields of logistics solutions and packaging technology attend Pack&Move as exhibitors or as visitors. Nowhere else does the industry present itself as comprehensively with exhibitors and forum topics as well as special shows as at Pack&Move.MK What kind of topics are planned in the forum and on which day of the fair should you visit Pack&Move?SANER The Pack&Move forum provides the ideal setting for presenting exciting content, current topics and complex interrelationships in concrete terms. It gets to the heart of the matter in high-quality specialist presentations and entertaining talks. The competence partner GS1 Switzerland is responsible for the organization and implementation. The main topic on the opening day is "Intralogistics", on Wednesday the focus is on "Packaging", on Thursday "Economy/Cargo" and as a conclusion of Pack&Move on Friday "Career".MK What are your expectations in terms of exhibitor numbers, exhibition space and visitors for the upcoming Pack&Move?SANER Four months before the start of the trade show, we are recording a booking level for the exhibition space that corresponds to the last time the show was held. The logistics sector is tending to show more registrations again. The ratio should be around 70 percent logistics and 30 percent packaging. However, with the new infrastructure and the "avenue exhibition concept", we still have sufficient potential for new exhibitors and could even increase the area by a third to 22,000 square meters of gross exhibition space. The last Pack&Move was attended by almost 15,600 professionals. However, Pack&Move was held in parallel with Swisstech and Prodex, so there were synergies and the total number of visitors was counted accordingly. We are now positioned as an independent trade fair, so we must also expect fewer visitors.Interview: Ruedi Ulmann-----------

Trade fair info

Visitors are expected to include 8,000-10,000 potential customers, in particular executives with high decision-making authority and opinion leaders from the food and beverage, manufacturing technology, transport and forwarding, shippers, wholesale and retail, pharmaceutical and chemical, printing materials technology, and printing and paper sectors.DepartmentIntralogistics, materials handling and warehousing technology, floor conveyors, packaging solutions and technology, labeling solutions and identification systems, transport, forwarding and logistics services, planners, consultants and IT service providers, quality, environment and safety, education and careers, associations, organizations, mediaTime and placePack & Move from Tuesday, September 9 to Friday, September 12, 2014, each between 9.00 - 17.00 in new building of the Messe BaselAdmission pricesDay ticket CHF 25 at the box office. Online ticket CHF 20 via http://messe-tickets.messe.ch/go/id/dna/