INKday in Siegburg: Siegwerk invites customers and printing experts to share their ideas on the future of packaging printing

Siegwerk, a leading global providers of printing inks for packaging applications and labels, invited nearly 100 guests and experts to discuss future trends in ink and packaging technology at yesterday's INKday. After holding previous events in Istanbul, Lodz, and Paris, this time Siegwerk brought its successful panel of experts to its hometown of Siegburg. The facilities of the Katholisch-Sozialen Institut (Catholic Social Institute) near company headquarters offered visitors an inspiring environment for discussions on current and future trends in the industry. Karsten Schröder, CEO of Innoform GmbH, hosted guests through the program. 

"Our INKdays bring experts together. They are outstanding platforms for connecting with people from the industry, sharing experiences and discussing new ideas," said Dr. Jan Breitkopf, President of Packaging EMEA at Siegwerk, who gave the official welcoming speech to the invited guests. "Our experts around the globe are very dedicated to advanced development of printing inks and varnishes capable of meeting future challenges." Digital printing in particular is one of the most important aspects of the future development of printing inks.

INKspeeches – Experts report

Philipp Depiereux, founder and CEO of Digitalberatung etventure GmbH, dedicated the first INKspeech of the day to the advancement of digitalization and demonstrated to guests the way in which companies can master digital transformation using startup methods. In the second INKspeech, Christian Rommel, CEO of ROX Asia, took guests on a trip through the future of packaging and explored the topic of "Smart Packaging" as well as the development of packaging in an increasingly digital world. Intelligent packaging, which creates a connection between the product and consumer, will require intelligent pigments and functional coatings – to create innovative printing ink solutions. 

Siegwerk is already focusing on digitalized processes and strategic partnerships with relevant startups to lay the groundwork for its successful future and to further reinforce its leading position in the packaging market. The company established a digital business unit, last year, that handles all areas in which the company's business is impacted by digitalization - from customer interfacing to IT infrastructures through to the collection and sharing of expertise. Furthermore, Siegwerk is deliberately looking to set up strategic collaborations with relevant startups, in order to quickly identify emerging trends in the printing ink and packaging industry and support the development of trailblazing packaging ideas.

High point of the INKtalks

In addition to the presentations by external experts, INKtalks gave visitors the opportunity to gain a deeper insight into various topics and discuss these in more detail in small groups. The interactive workshops presented by Siegwerk experts dealt with topics such as digital printing, the latest developments in UV LEDs, high-quality flexographic printing, polyurethane systems to reduce complexity, effects for folding boxes, and much more. Both the INKspeeches, and the INKtalks allowed participants to join in a communicative dialog to share ideas and knowledge and find new inspiration together.

The INKday concept

Siegwerk has been successfully holding these kinds of interactive customer events for more than ten years. INKdays stand for Innovation, New Ideas, and Know-How and they bring together presentations by experts with panel discussions and interactive workshops on current trends and product innovation. With a great diversity of topics and high level of interactivity, these days offer customers and experts alike a unique platform for discussions on current and future industry topics and have always been very popular.