For Madelene Breiling, Head of Operational Development at Löfbergs, her first visit to Scanpack more than 20 years ago would become a milestone. Today, Madelene is a member of Scanpack’s new advisory board and wants to ensure that visitors and exhibitors are given the opportunity to experience the most meaningful and engaged event participation possible.

Madelene Breiling, Head of Operational Development at Löfbergs in Karlstad since 2018 and a member of Scanpack’s new advisory board, has a long and faithful relationship to the exhibition. With 20 years of experience in the packaging and grocery industry, she first visited Scanpack back in 2003. At the time, Madelene was still a student and was about to embark on her professional career.

“I was studying packaging development and we went to Scanpack, which was my first trade fair. I have to say that my first visit to the exhibition in 2003 would become one of the milestones for me in terms of my entry into working life and the business community. I came as a curious student and got an insight into what the job was like in real life. The inspiration I received from visiting Scanpack made me broaden my horizons beyond student life”, Madelene explains.

After two decades spent working in various business development roles at Orkla, The Packaging Arena, BillerudKorsnäs and as a consultant for several brand owners, Madelene undoubtedly has the knowledge, drive and motivation required in today’s complex industry. Being one of eleven members of Scanpack’s new advisory board provides her with an opportunity to be involved and impart influence, with the aim of ensuring that visitors to the exhibition are able to participate in the journey ahead.

Madelene describes how, together, the members of the advisory board work to ensure that Scanpack’s content is kept fully up to date, and how they strive to reflect the issues and developments that are of greatest interest, for example through well-considered lectures and networking meetings. A key aim is also to ensure that there is something for everyone!

Attending a trade fair is not a group trip

Scanpack’s advisory board works to optimise the visitor’s opportunity to have the best possible experience at the exhibition, and to ensure that the event provides a platform where the visitor is given the opportunity to explore and discuss the most relevant developments in the packaging industry. But in order to get the most out of a visit to Scanpack, Madelene feels it is crucial to be an active visitor.

“Scanpack has always been one of my most important arenas. It is the exhibition at which I network and hold business meetings, and it is where I maintain my important relationships with customers and colleagues. I often plan and schedule my meetings regarding major projects in connection with Scanpack. As a visitor, you need to be an active participant”, says Madelene, who then goes on to explain what it was like for her in the beginning, when she was not an experienced visitor to trade fairs. She describes how she turned up and walked around without any planning, filling her head with a lot of new knowledge, but without really knowing what she was looking for.

“My advice to visitors is to take a moment and ask yourself the following questions: What do I expect from the exhibition? What am I looking for? Nowadays, I make a plan of the stands I am going to visit and the lectures I am going to attend based on the specific projects that I am working on. And I ask myself the following question: What is the purpose of my visit, what are my expectations and how will I achieve them?”

“Attending a trade fair is not a group trip – the destination is not the same for everyone. I would say that having this basic attitude is beneficial for the majority of visitors. My best advice is to book your meetings well in advance so that you have a good meeting plan, and to take a look at the ever-developing programme from time to time so that you can already start to identify the activities that are of greatest interest to you. For exhibitors, I would like to stress the importance of providing information via your various channels about what you have to offer”, says Madelene.

Collaboration is now needed

Not entirely unexpectedly, the topic of the major transition facing the packaging industry based on new EU regulations is high on this year’s agenda. Key issues include how to design products, approve materials and recycle.

“The increased sustainability requirements, transparency of information and labelling rules will have a completely different role in the future, as packaging will need to provide much more information. Companies will lean towards artificial intelligence, and connected smart packaging solutions, for example with QR codes, will become more mainstream”, says Madelene, who then proceeds to share her thoughts on the future of packaging – a future in which we will look back on a shift towards origin labelling and cleaner materials, with completely different challenges around reducing material consumption without sacrificing performance.

When Madelene looks to the future of the industry, she does so with cautious optimism. The knowledge of the past already exists, the awareness in the present is crystal clear, and the doors to the future are already ajar. This makes it more important than ever for all members of the industry to meet at Scanpack.

“Now, if ever, we need to collaborate, including across industry borders. There are fantastic material innovations that ensure that the packaging solution can have the same strength and withstand the same stresses, even if we reduce the amount of material. There is enormous know-how around this globally, and within the paper industry, in particular, Sweden holds an incredibly strong position when it comes to the development of future materials that are sustainably produced, recyclable, bio-based and increasingly intelligent. As long as we can continue to collaborate with the various relevant parties, we will also be able to follow our products all the way and thus continue to develop the packaging industry. This journey forward is as necessary as it is important.”

More of us need to challenge the issues

When asked about the biggest challenge facing the industry, Madelene’s answer is straight and clear: the ability to change in keeping with the times!

“It is important for all of us who work in this area to ensure that we obtain the knowledge required. We need to stay up to date and be curious. Are there things out there that we haven’t yet tried? Or, if we have previously tried something, is it perhaps time for a second take? Something that didn’t work then, might work now! It’s important that we don’t close any doors and that we don’t focus on limitations. Personally, and in my industry, it is clear to me that we must dare to challenge our accepted truths by obtaining relevant knowledge, exchanging “best practices”, sharing our experiences and seeking input from individuals and teams with different skill sets to our own. We must also look to achieve new cross-sectional forms of collaboration that can provide us with new ideas and perspectives”, says Madelene, who feels that this is what makes each of Scanpack’s visitors so Scanpack is a forum where everyone’s ideas count, irrespective of whether you are there in a decision-making role or as a curious student, just like Madelene the first time she visited the exhibition.

“Quite simply, more of us need to challenge the issues and ask relevant questions, test new ideas and think in different ways. Only then will we be able to manage and achieve the goals that have been set by 2030”, Madelene Breiling concludes.