AdPack² Internationalisation missions to Canada and China

Submitted by Katherina Ulrich on 19 July 2019

The team of AdPack², formed by representatives of 6 European Clusters as well as SME’s interested to internationalize their business to these target markets, have recently come back from their internationalisation missions to Canada and China.

These missions were following the fact-finding mission from last year, during which contacts were established and specific market data was collected. The objectives were to getting to know the different chosen countries, their economy, how do their companies operate, understanding and learning how they innovate and find possible collaborations between the visitor companies and the companies of the visited countries.

The first of the missions was held in Canada and revolved around the Advanced Manufacturing Fair in Toronto. Furthermore, the team had the opportunity to visit two innovation centers: the Food Innovation Research Studio and the Food and Wine Institute Innovation Center, which not only innovate in food and wine but also are part of the university where they are dedicated to research and help the food sector in topics such as innovation and testing of products. The Packaging Consortium Toronto (PAC) organized a gala dinner event, where the best packaging made during the last 2 years was awarded and the AdPack² mission partners joint this event. On the next day, the European Commission along with Canadian SuperClusters shared different interests and discussed opportunities to collaborate. That same day 5 MoUs could be signed between AdPack² and different partners: Canada Cosmetic Cluster, Printability and Graphic Communications Institute, SCALE. AI Supercluster, Digital technology Supercluster. Finally, the AdPack² team were able to meet with IntelliPACK that showed interest in collaborating with the project and with the companies in order to continue innovating and adding value to the concept Smart Packaging.

Signing MoU with Canadian partner

MoU Signature

For the second mission the AdPack² team travelled for four days to China to have the opportunity to meet different companies and associations in the packaging sector. The company SPI prepared a collective and individualized agenda for each of the companies attending the mission. Three companies from the E21 cluster, the Fuente Packaging Group and Industrial Segarra, including another nine companies, participated in this mission. During the first day, a welcome session was held to better understand the Chinese Market and the functioning of the country. This was followed by a visit to the Shanghai Packaging Technology Association in the afternoon. The next day’s focus lay entirely on visiting companies of the packaging sector. Namely: Jielong Industrial Group, company specialized in manufacturing all types of packaging, GEOTO dedicated to the manufacture of personalized and gift boxes, Yuanxu Packing Machinery Specialists in manufacturing sealing and packaging machinery, Shanghai Zidan Packaging Technology industrial machinery company. Next on the agenda was a visit to the PROPACK China fair, where the AdPack² team had the opportunity to meet the PKG Family, a private entity with more than 1400 related members in the packaging environment. Finally, the companies had the chance to arrange individual meetings, to establish contacts and possible future collaborations with the Chinese Market.

Both missions where are great success for all joining companies. The next mission will be to USA with the focus on the areas Washington D.C. and Philadelphia from the 29.09. – 04.10.2019.

Meeting with Chinese partner
Share this Article