Bobst has received positive feedback for its latest Packaging MasterClass, which was held at the company’s headquarters near Lausanne, Switzerland last November. More than 100 brand owners were in attendance for the event, which aimed to present a high-level and non-commercial overview of the technologies available for packaging production. The event also sought to identify how brand owners can achieve today’s essential requirements of agility, differentiation and sustainability.

According to Bobst, many of the attendees said the event exceeded their expectations with a valuable mix of theoretical and practical content. Based on this response, Bobst has decided to run the MasterClass again in 2020, this time on October 28.

“The role of packaging is changing faster than ever before, and the way brands design, pack and distribute products is constantly evolving,” explains Paul Stoudmann, program director for the MasterClass at Bobst. “Bobst has been a pioneer in packaging innovation for decades, and we pride ourselves in understanding the market and our customers’ challenges and needs, and finding solutions for these.

“Bobst is the packaging industry reference, and since it is able to offer the complete spectrum of packaging processes and technologies, we have the benefit of being neutral in this scenario – not pushing one technology over another perhaps superior one. And since we are neither supplier, customer or competitor to brand owners, our conversations tend to be open and constructive,” he adds. “That’s why we felt that brand owners could gain a lot from this type of event, understanding the technology so as to find the most appropriate solutions for their needs. Ultimately, it is their brands’ names on the packaging, and so it is important that they are in the driver’s seat, so to speak.”

Over 100 delegates traveled from a dozen countries, representing a mix of mid- to top-level managers working in a variety of different departments and roles and with varying levels of experience: procurement, marketing, brand management, R&D, new to the job or new employees dealing directly or indirectly with packaging.

They had the opportunity to interact with experts in the fields of printing and converting – both digital and conventional – for labels, flexible packaging, folding carton and corrugated boxes. The day was divided into three parts: short plenary sessions, deep-dive breakout sessions, and machine demonstrations.

Topics covered during the plenary sessions included:

• Packaging trends
• Printing technologies
• Embellishment
• Converting technologies
• Sustainability
• Digitalization of color
• The new role of packaging

The longer deep-dive breakout sessions were organized in smaller groups and focused on labels, flexible packaging, folding carton and corrugated boxes. In the afternoon, delegates visited the Bobst Competence Center to see machines – embellishment, diecutting and folding and gluing – producing real packaging at maximum speeds, explained and operated by experts.