Trend stalking in Frankfurt

Paper I At the Paperworld trade fair
The event mainly brings together suppliers and resellers from the
Office environment. What is on offer here is what is set to become a trend tomorrow. While the providers of
Desk accessories and manufacturers of stationery on the
This year's Paperworld was lively, the halls booked by the traditional paper producers and traders were 
significantly lower attendance. This may be due to the fact that some
of the leading paper manufacturers do not or no longer participate in the
took part in this year's trade fair. This underlines the fact that at least
The second day of the trade fair in Frankfurt was poorly attended,
in which many large paper producers currently find themselves.

Paper producers under pressure
It is likely that the flattening of sales growth in the
Paper industry on the interest of exhibitors in trade fairs
transfer. To this end, many paper manufacturers are currently drawing attention to themselves primarily through price increases.
attention: As a current example, one day after the gate closed, Sappi
Paperworld has already announced a five percent price increase for woodfree
coated papers was announced for February 2006. Other manufacturers have already worked on the
price spiral, which is primarily attributable to higher raw material costs.
is the reason for this. According to discussions held at the trade fair
Stora Enso and UPM, the world's two largest paper suppliers,
increase their prices. Paper price increases therefore appear to be a
to be a clear trend.

Office paper repackaged
In addition to the subdued growth prospects, the
There were also encouraging developments for paper producers. Well
because there is nothing or not much more to the Office papers.
can be improved, here once again
Convenience/consumer-friendliness in the foreground. Whereas in the
Last year, the company was also able to acquire the paper producer M-real
presented, padded carrying straps, this year's focus was on the
among other things, the wrapping paper. The Mondi Group
Business Paper has introduced packaging called "CleverOpen",
that can be opened in record time. The transparent and
Fully biodegradable plastic packaging wrapped in 500
A4 sheet. "We will initially use CleverOpen for the products Color Copy,
IQ selection smooth, IQ Triotec premium, Maestro supreme and Maestro
Triotec extra," explains Kerry Crandon, Communications Manager
at Mondi Business Paper.

Paper producer UPM continues to focus on direct packaging
paper, but is breaking new ground in terms of outer packaging. Instead of cardboard
developed a fully recyclable and foldable paper that can be
several advantages: On the one hand, the Paperworld
Launched outer packaging that is easy to open with a tear strip
"SmartWrap" is particularly tear-resistant, and secondly, it can be
special felling process with one hand and without additional
straps are worn, and thirdly, there is significantly less
Waste. When asked about the reasons for developing SmartWrap,
explains Martina Schürmann, Marketing Manager Graphic & Office
Papers at UPM: "Convenience in outer packaging is the trend. The
Transporting or refilling paper must be as easy as possible.
run off." Another trend she mentions is the increasing demand for
multifunctional and specialty papers for the home user: "The
Consumers are increasingly demanding their photo papers etc. in smaller
pack sizes (50 copies) and in increasingly different formats."
Consumers here are particularly interested in add-ons such as key rings
and the like or packaging with 550 instead of 500 sheets very
receptive.

Noble letters
What caught the eye at Paperworld were above all the elegant
Paper stationery and letters, also bound in velvet
Agendas, diaries and the like. Exclusive products appear
to be timeless. Some of the furnishings were presented in
shop windows, which have the look and feel of fine jewelry stores.
were modeled after. The range spanned from classic, discreet
motifs/subjects through to modern and comic elements.
products. At a small special exhibition within this
trends were presented in the writing paper sector - alongside many in
black and red office supplies were also available there.
Utensils in very colorful color compositions.

Paper and the Internet
The fact that a provider of papers is particularly active in the
Internet and even wants to establish a platform here, may be
may seem surprising at first glance. However, the fine paper supplier
Römerturm is not about convincing people to use a printing substrate. Rather
the company aims to achieve this with its website launched last October.
Paperlounge.de to offer an opportunity for interested parties to find out about
paper, finishing techniques and the like, and
can exchange ideas. Silvia Wiener, Category Manager at Römerturm: "From
We know from a customer survey that there are no more new papers available.
needs. What is needed is knowledge and information on how to
with the existing papers and what you can do with them.
can realize." For the exchange of knowledge via the internet portal
Paperlounge.de is then a membership or fee-based
Full membership is necessary, but the costs are
paper orders can be deducted. Members receive
then, for example, a set of arguments to justify a higher paper price.
or find addresses of providers/companies that specialize in
finishing techniques, multi-color printing, etc., or
for example, find out news about events from the design scene. Also the
future Swiss counterpart Paperlounge.ch already exists, contains
but currently still has the same content as the German platform. "When
and whether the Swiss Paperlounge will be officially launched is not yet known.
currently still open," explains Silvia Wiener.

Paper manufacturer Gmund has long relied on the Internet - there
but more on a web store with the usual options. In the center of the
Bavarian paper producer, the focus at Paperworld was therefore on the
comprehensive paper advice in a down-to-earth, Bavarian way. Here makes
The paper specialist Gmund is hardly anyone's fool. Gmund used
Paperworld, among other things to promote the paper collection
Savanna, which stands out with warm earth tones and wood colors. "For the first time
a paper producer has succeeded," says press officer Maxi
Gohlke to Savanna, "to realize a wood embossing that is real
has a wooden character." Will it become a trend?

Jürgen Franck

Paperworld 2006
The Paperworld business-to-business trade fair will be held together with the
Beauty and Christmasworld is held annually in January. It takes
within these three segments at the Frankfurt exhibition center.
by far the largest exhibition area. The arc of the
exhibitors always beautifully and partly exclusively presented
products range from writing and drawing instruments to school supplies,
office accessories through to office papers.

More than 106,000 visitors from 75 countries attended this year's
Paperworld, which will be held again next year between January 24 and 28.
will take place in Frankfurt again. (jf)