Debut of the Jowat Forum

Detmold, September 27, 2023—Over 70 experts from science and industry followed the call of the adhesive manufacturer to the first Jowat Forum: Bonding & Packaging.

Attracted by a well-balanced combination of presentations, specialized workshops and an exchange platform, experts from the field of packaging convened at Jowat’s House of Technology in Detmold—and were impressed by the format of the event. “I find the high scientific caliber of the event and the varied range of presentations very compelling. This type of forum is an enrichment to the industry,” said Urban Buschmann, founder and managing director of Climate3 Sustainability Consulting.

The central theme of the Jowat Forum was sustainability: Thomas Hirnschall of Horváth und Partner provided a glimpse into the findings of a Horváth study on the European packaging industry in 2025: “Sustainability is the trend that will define the packaging industry for years to come. Packaging companies are shifting to a circular economy and two of their primary focuses are the impact on ecosystems and the reduction of CO2.”

The agenda of the forum included presentations on the recyclability of paper products (INGEDE), the holistic sustainability of packaging (Climate3), resource-efficient packaging in e-commerce (packagingLAB, Sparck Technologies), the difference between greenwashing, greenwishing and greenclaiming (C. E. Schweig, flustix), and the further development of recyclable PLA trays with improved barrier properties (Fraunhofer IVV). The host contributed with results from its in-house adhesive research and shared its know-how about how to minimize stringing in packaging processes—a crucial aspect of clean and resource-conserving bonding. Workshops provided tips for the participants on how to reduce stringing, how to optimize packaging machine settings and how to troubleshoot case closing applications. The event was organized in cooperation with the packaging network BDVI and Effizienz-Agentur NRW.

“All the items on the agenda were linked to the value chain of the packaging industry, from start to end. However, the opportunity to conduct in-depth and—due to the wide variety of guests—interdisciplinary discussions was also extremely valuable,” said Dr. Arne Krolle of INGEDE.

More forums based on the same concept are set to follow. “The response to our forum has exceeded our expectations. We are very pleased to see how well the combination of first-class contributions in a relaxed, familiar atmosphere were received by our guests. We therefore want to establish the Jowat Forum as a regular event format and also focus on other bonding-related topics,” explains Ingo Horsthemke, vice president for Global Marketing at Jowat SE.

The feedback from this year’s guests and their expectations could not be clearer: “We are already looking forward to the next Jowat Forum.”