Trends, Contacts, and Insights into the Future of the Packaging Industry
maconda News September 2025
FACHPACK 2025 in Nuremberg was a central meeting point for the European packaging industry this year. For three days, everything revolved around innovations, sustainability, digitalisation, and new materials. Right in the middle: the maconda team, which used the trade fair to engage with industry representatives, follow current developments, and further deepen its expertise in the packaging sector.
The trade fair was well-attended, and the halls were full of energy. Not without reason is FACHPACK considered a forum for irreplaceable personal contact and the direct experience of current technologies. “Visiting the trade fair allows us to identify trends early on and integrate them specifically into our projects and market analysis,” says Matthias Mennel Klingspor, Associate Partner at maconda.
Sustainability & Digitalisation: the two major themes
Many presentations and lectures focused on regulatory topics or the use of new technologies – and some on both. For example, the EU PPWR Directive (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation) leads to intensive collaboration between manufacturers of films and packaging machines to develop solutions such as ultrasonic sealing for monofolms. This allows for the production of fully recyclable material, as required by the EU, without having to reduce production speed.
There is also growing interest in “cobots” that facilitate manual labour. While such systems were considered expensive gadgets just a few years ago, they are now increasingly used in small-batch production, electrical preparation, and many other areas. Auxiliary machines in manual intralogistics are also becoming more diverse – sensible in a time when companies need to make tasks easier and safer to retain good employees. Especially with the numerous offerings for the automation of palletising/depalletising, it became clear: occupying a good niche is essential for manufacturers of machines and machine components. The solutions for palletising robots hardly differ – but almost everywhere, suction grippers from J. Schmalz are installed, which have built up a considerable market position in this segment. The same applies to sensors from Pilz and Sick, which are almost indispensable in machine safety.
In-depth Packaging Expertise – maconda as an Industry Expert
The insights gained from the trade fair visit are directly incorporated into ongoing analyses and consulting engagements. The maconda team has already supported a variety of Commercial Due Diligence projects, market and competitor analyses, and strategy developments across all areas of the packaging industry: from flexible packaging to cardboard and label printing, as well as packaging machinery and recycling solutions. “The discussions at the trade fair once again showed how important it is to consider economic, technological, and regulatory developments together,” concludes Matthias Mennel Klingspor, the Associate Partner at maconda responsible for technical topics and Business Services. “We bring precisely this interplay into our consulting work and support investors and companies in specifically leveraging the opportunities arising from the industry’s transformation.”
About maconda
For more than 20 years, maconda has been supporting companies with acquisitions, performance optimisation, and restructuring. With over 800 consulting and implementation projects and more than 450 transaction-related engagements, maconda has extensive experience to pragmatically support even demanding projects. Clients include mid-sized companies, business units of large corporations, as well as international Private Equity investors and family offices.
maconda Focus Industries: Consumer Goods | Food | Retail & eCommerce | Packaging | B2C Services | B2B Services (incl. Business Process Outsourcing) | Manufacturing Companies
maconda Core Topics: transaction advisory | business model development | performance management
Contact
Matthias Mennel Klingspor – m.mennel-klingspor@maconda.de