W&H: Virtual Expo a Success

Attracting more than 2000 visitors from more 1200 countries, machine manufacturer Windmöller & Hölscher has called its first ever virtual expo a success.

Held June 24-26, W&H presented technologies and products at the on-line expo that were initially planned for industry mega shows—Interpack and Drupa—that were postponed until spring 2021.

“The past months have been a challenge everywhere, yet the flexible
packaging industry is as busy as ever,” notes Peter Steinbeck, managing partner at W&H. “That’s why it was so important for us to hold a virtual expo and show our customers new technologies and applications that are available now and can help them run their production more efficiently.”

To accommodate different time zones of visitors, the virtual expo was
held live three times a day. Filmed in the 120,000 ft² W&H Technology
Center in Lengerich, Germany, and the W&H Academy, two live machine
demonstrations and eight technical sessions were broadcast live. In
addition, the Expo offered the opportunity for one-on-one meetings and
both individual and group chats.

The live machine demonstrations included the Novoflex II
flexographic press highlighting the new Ruby IoT system for analyzing
production data to optimize processes and the newly redesigned
Heliostar II gravure printing press.

The live technical sessions were targeted to package printers, industrial
sack producers, paper bag manufacturers and film extruders. A session
showcasing an all-PE film structure as an alternative to PET for standup
pouch applications generated significant interest.

Other technical sessions covered flexible packaging topics, including
sleeve handling solutions for flexographic presses, printing solutions for
industrial sacks, heavy duty films for FFS sacks, remote service and
paper sack production on machinery from W&H subsidiary, Garant
Maschinen. Videos of the demonstrations and sessions are still available
for viewing through the W&H sales team.

The Virtual Expo was put together in just six weeks. Notes Steinbeck: “We have been able to accomplish a lot digitally over the past few months from sales calls to live machine trials to service support to the virtual expo. The experience and insights we’ve gained have been invaluable. At the same time,
personal meetings cannot be replaced. they are very important for building relationships and trust. Both digital and personal communications have their place.”