ECMA Congress 2018 'Thinking Beyond The Board, Performance In a Changing Market'

At the 51^st edition of our congress over 200 industry leaders have visited the beautiful Latvian capital Riga for the annual ECMA Congress. This year’s congress theme was an excellent umbrella for the hot topics which are dominating the news like Brexit, Blockchain Technology, Cryptocurrencies, and the Plastic Soup. But we also touched important issues and developments like the Circular Economy, Digital Transformation, Leadership and how to manage Change and Multi-Generational Differences, which will definitely influence the folding carton industry.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY – OPPORTUNITIES FOR PAPER AND BOARD
A shift in the role of cartons, allowing them to take a bigger piece of the pie in the packaging chain, is more tangible than ever. One of the objectives of the congress was to have everyone informed and prepared for the opportunities that circular economy, renewability and overall sustainability can offer to their companies. We have every reason to be proud of our carton products and to believe that they deserve to be nominated as the preferred packaging choice.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION – THE TIME IS CHANGING
Times are changing fast and the world is transforming into a digital reality. The Congress shared the available knowledge on the ongoing digital transformation, both in the supply chain (in various forms) and in terms of the possibilities of adding high tech physical and digital features to carton packaging. This is an area where cartons can again perform as the preferred choice of packaging. We  looked into innovation drivers and determined how technology will most likely affect and change our industry.

LEADERSHIP AND HOW TO MANAGE CHANGE AND MULTI-GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES
The vast change we’ll witness on the technical side will be accompanied by a significant change in needs on the Human Resource side. Key for strong companies will be a highly attractive work environment for a future-proof human workforce, based on world-class team leadership, which stretches the involvement of various generations.

EUROPEAN CARTON EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2018
The prizes for the best cartons of the European Carton Excellence Award have now been awarded! Outstanding designs and functional solutions were honoured at the ECMA Congress Award Gala on 20 September – in the glamorous setting of the House of the Riga Latvian Society. More information about the winners and finalists is available at the ECMA and Pro Carton website.

NEW ECMA STRATEGY
ECMA has also presented a new association strategy for the years 2018 - 2021 to its members where engagement of all members and industry partners is required. ECMA is constantly adapting to provide value for now and for tomorrow towards its members.