By Mariana Costa, Marketing Specialist at PackIOT

Looking back at 2020, it was a year of new discoveries, challenges a lot of new trials and testing. In the midst of a global pandemic aligned with the uncertainty that comes with it, it feels daunting to try something never done before. Nevertheless, it felt right to take this time and try to connect different people from the industry for a higher purpose! It was time to elevate the bar, to try new ways of producing content, join different experts from around the globe and bring this directly to you.

November and December of 2020 were busy months where we finally decided to go ahead and organize a series of webinars part of PackIOT Talks. This cycle was merely dedicated to debate the transformation and digitalization of the Packaging Industry. Joining different stakeholders from different countries and organizations, we wanted to try something new while bringing value to you and to everyone involved. And so it was!

On the 24th of November 2020, we had our first ever webinar under the theme “Technology for Operational Efficiency in Packaging”. The Packaging Industry has been at a crossroads with significant pressure from the market to become more efficient, sustainable and to reduce costs through digital transformation. Since we were not indifferent to this, PackIOT wanted to dig deeper learn more about how technology can help with transformation and optimize operational efficiency in packaging.

For this discussion, four experts on digital transformation in the packaging industry joined to share with all of us key insights on technology and production innovation: Cristiano Wuerzius, CEO at PackIOT; Thomas Othax, CEO at Packitoo; Sergei C., CEO at Open Packaging Network and our host E. Adam Peek, Co-Host and founder of People of Packaging Podcast.

After the success of the first webinar, PackIOT started preparing the second webinar, part of the same cycle of webinars, this time to discuss the Trends in Packaging for 2021. We joined different stakeholders from around the globe, in Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, USA and Australia to share with us a lot of good insights on the topic: Cristiano Wuerzius, CEO at PackIOT; Brandon Frank, President of Pacific Packaging Components, Inc.; Pierre Pienaar, President of WPO World Packaging Organization (a special guest with a recorded presentation); Eef de Ferrante, Managing Director of AIPIA and Serena Rebollo, Corporate Communication manager at Packaging Cluster.