We visited the largest North American packaging industry exhibition PACKEXPO for the first time.

In 2017 in Las Vegas some 2000 companies and nearly 30 000 visitors took part in it.
Though American packaging industry has reached the annual turnover of $10 billion, there were not many companies from the USA and Canada. This is due to the competition with Asian (China, Taiwan and Japan) and South American (Mexico, Columbia) manufacturers.

European companies were represented by entities from Portugal, Italy and Turkey.
We saw numerous Asian and European colleagues and friends.

The pavilions were conveniently divided into the producers of bags, rolls and equipment. All the stands were standard in size, with a clear and well-thought geography.

We got more convinced that the industry is globalized. All American 2017 trends in packaging are similar to European and Asian ones. These are:

1. Kraft bags.
2. Foil stamping.
3. Shaped windows in bags.
4. Flat bottom bags.
5. Selective polish.
6. Application of tactile materials with gold and silver effects.
7. Specifically shaped Doy packs (jar and bottle shaped).
8. Increasing number of Doy packs for liquids.
9. Growing market of coffee bags.

The distinguishing feature of the American exhibition compared to Asian and European ones is the stands of professional educational establishments, training staff for the industry. Dedicated education in the USA is as practical as possible.

At this PACKEXPO the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (PMMI) provided a scholarship for dedicated training to 6 students of partner schools.

In addition, the veteran association participated in the exhibition providing an job opportunities for adults.