As the day for interpack opening its doors in Düsseldorf rapidly approaches, editor Neill Barston speaks exclusively to Markus Rustler, CEO and president of Theegarten-Pactec packaging systems on the build-up to the global event

With an immense array of advanced robotics and machinery designs, through to AI-enhanced monitoring systems, this year’s interpack is destined to be a feast of industry technology.

Preparing for the grandest of showcases in global packaging and processing markets (taking placed in Düsseldorf between 7-13 May) requires considerable dedication and willingness to embrace fast-evolving equipment concepts.

As CEO and president of Dresden-based Theegarten-Pactec, Markus Rustler remains firmly focused on delivering the company’s latest systems at the fast- approaching international gathering encompassing sectors as broad as confectionery, snacks and bakery through to pharma, cosmetics and wider food and beverage markets. (See the video version of our exclusive interview below)

“With just 30 days to go, we’re extra excited, and we hope this well be another terrific interpack. Being involved in the event, I can say, as usual, the show is completely booked again,” enthuses the charismatic industry leader on prospects for this year’s event, which falls at a momentous moment amid a world facing significant changes, challenges and disruptions from global conflicts, yet heralding significant promise with the dawn of next generation AI tech.
“I think we have more than 300 potential customers on the waiting list, there’s just no space left at all, every inch is taken. So much so, that we’ve actually built two extra halls in the open space outside the main fairground to accommodate as many people as possible,” he adds of the phenomenal response to this year’s industry extravaganza, which holds a particularly elevated position for being just once every three years at Messe Düsseldorf.
This time around, it will be being staged between May 7-13, with hopes remaining high that this diverse trade fair will see a host of genuine innovations being delivered.

Theegarten-Pactec’s latest FPC6 packaging system is set for an interpack launch. Pic: Theegarten

As Markus notes, he has been pleased to play his part through taking on some of the responsibilities of the ‘interpack grand tour’ in his capacity as president of the board of interpack, visiting prospective businesses in global locations ahead of the expo, in a bid to garner support for participating in the event.
From Confectionery Production’s perspective, there seems no shortage of interest in its 2026 iteration, with organisers hopeful it will at least match attendance figures of its previous outing in 2023, in which some 143,000 people attended during the week-long sector celebration.

“There were rumours back in the days when we were still struggling with Covid-19, that the time of exhibitions is over. I don’t think this will be the case, as interpack will once again be a very good opportunity to showcase the latest market developments, where you can see things in steel rather than just on virtually screen, making it possible for the visitors to really touch and see and evaluate the quality of machinery,” he says of the build-up to the show. He is anticipating it will once again see a dynamic global audience take its place in the halls of the Messe.

As our title continues to find in the weeks leading up to the main event, there’s plenty of anticipation surrounding its staging once more in Germany, with companies pouring significant sums into the creation of eye-catching new equipment lines.

There will be plenty of technical innovations unveiled from smaller and major manufacturers alike, with companies seeking to blend a mixture of forging genuine innovation in the functionality of lines, as well as looking to respond in developing machinery that is capable of processing and handling material that meets new EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which will be implemented from this August.

Theegarten-Pactec’s stand at the last Interpack in Dusseldorf. Pic: Neill Barston

Exploring exactly how companies can be as proactive as possible, will therefore on the agenda as part of its education and insights programme during the must-attend show.

Markus continues: “There are several hot topics for us and the show in general, with the first of these being Smart Manufacturing, and there will be a lot of exhibitors showing more intelligent pieces of equipment.
“Then there’s the subject of innovative materials, especially when it comes to the new European legislation.

“In terms of recyclability of materials, this has become even more important. But besides just having better recyclable materials, innovative materials can also cause also, of course, incorporate materials which have additional functions, such as, for example, by changing colour, showing the freshness of the content, just to name one thing.

“The third area is that of future skills. Interpack is not only there for showcasing innovation to our potential customers, but also attracting young talents to further drive the industry,” explains Markus, noting that it continues to be a vital factor that Theegarten-Pactec, as much as the wider industry, remains proactive in recruiting new generations into the business to ensure its long-term future.

Notably, as he observes, the focus on supporting younger people into the sector is being supported by Germany’s VDMA manufacturing organisation, which remains at the heart of developments across engineering fields.

Latest flow-wrapping series
Critically, for this year’s event a major focus on flexibility and ease of use has been cited as a core focus for Theegarten- Pactec’s latest flow-wrapping line to be unveiled shortly at interpack.

The company’s new FPC6 is reportedly targeting a broad range of markets with its fresh innovation, including the chocolate, cereal, protein bar, and wider confectionery and snacks markets.

As Markus states, with the FPC6, which is an entirely new generation of machine, it has moved away from the principle of ‘faster, higher, further’, but rather on stable, reliable and sustainable efficiency throughout the entire life cycle.

“Our FPC6 is a development that is completely from scratch, and it comprises all the expertise we have gained in the flow wrapping field over the last 50 years.

“We’ve managed to design and build what is a state of the art, flow wrapping line that we will demonstrate at very high speed with wide capability using different packaging materials. Plus, we will show it at the event in a direct combination linked to a cartoner, wrapping the 1000 bars, showing it with real chocolate products,” adds the CEO, noting the importance of offering authentic demonstrations of the line’s true capability as a prime reason for the business to return to play its part at the major trade fair.

With the new machine, the company is also implementing an automated system from a single source, which transfers the flow packs directly to the BLM high- performance cartoner developed in-house.

In addition, as the business asserts, the FPC6 reliably packs chocolate, confectionery, cereal and protein bars, functional foods and snacks into flow packs. It processes a wide variety of product formats without major retooling and masters several sealing types – cold sealing, heat sealing and cut-seam welding for water-soluble films.

Integrated design
An integrated preheating section also enables the reliable processing of sensitive materials such as paper or recyclable mono films, even in high-performance operation. The line reportedly offers maximum flexibility combined with consistently high packaging quality – a decisive advantage for manufacturers who are increasingly working with changing packaging materials and sustainable material solutions.
Furthermore, as the company explains, the FPC6 was consistently designed to make machine operation largely independent of the operators’ qualifications and experience level.

As the firm’s CEO says, ‘skilled labour is increasingly hard to find, hence the need for automation,’ resulting in design features that deliver high levels of efficiency with minimal operator input.

Moreover, Theegarten’s goal is to enable customers to operate their systems independently, reliably and with a high degree of efficiency in times of skilled labour shortages.

A key factor is the improved identification of error causes and their effects. Enhanced visualisations on the touch panel and graphic replacement images provide operators with targeted support in systematic troubleshooting, even if the cause and the fault are physically separated.

For example, the machine recognises when faults at the machine outlet are caused by upstream process steps such as the synchronisation of unpackaged products. In such cases, the control panel specifically
indicates possible sources. This reduces downtime and avoids unnecessary interventions.

“We will be showing some fantastically engineered pieces of equipment, including for the first time, the first twin lane continuous motion machine.
“Again, we’ll run that with real products at the show, as well as displaying further developments on our CHS, on our high speed, continuous motion, modular chocolate system, we will show new packaging styles, so there will be plenty to see again that booth.”

Significantly, this year the company will also be focusing on maximum user convenience and reproducibility when changing formats: all relevant settings are recorded electronically and stored in the recipe management system. Electronic counting scales ensure repeat accuracy during format changes; manual adjustments via trial and error are no longer necessary.

Significantly, critical components can be removed and cleaned without tools. All replaceable components are designed in line with the ‘poka-yoke’ principle (a Japanese method for avoiding errors in production and work processes), which prevents incorrect installation.

pic: Neill Barston

The company also consistently simplifies product feeding. Instead of replacing the entire product lug chain – a time-consuming and error-prone process – operators can quickly and safely replace individual lugs of the chain when changing formats. This allows a format-specific arrangement to be created without removing the entire chain, ideally matching the packaging process to the product and packaging material. At the same time, mechanical stress is reduced – a decisive advantage with increasingly sensitive products.

The FPC6’s web edge control also allows the course of the film web to be adjusted directly on the HMI (human-machine interface) – for example, depending on the batch or when changing flavours. Old and new values are automatically stored in the recipe management system. Manual settings that were previously necessary are no longer required, and the original target value is retained.

In addition, the FPC6 combines high output with a compact design. Despite its performance range, it requires a significantly shorter product feed and takes up less installation space overall than previous machine generations.
Configuration excellence

At an early stage, the machine configuration is precisely tailored to the products to be processed later. This is based on comprehensive tests with original products, which provide a reliable picture of the subsequent process behaviour. This ensures maximum process reliability right from the start. Product speeds of up to 100 m/min can be reliably achieved on this basis.
Significantly, in addition to offering live demonstrations of its own packaging series, which have a dedicated specialism for the confectionery and sweets wrapping sector, the company is also offering a showcase to its recently acquired Makrev equipment firm from Turkiye.

As the company’s CEO remarks, interpack will be the first time that its sister business will be featuring directly on its main stand, and notes that sales across both companies are proving relatively resilient, despite comparatively tough market conditions on a global level.

“The Makrev business is doing fine, considering the overall world economic and political situation. As with Theegarten, it is mainly active in the chocolate packaging world, and with increased chocolate prices over the last year, business has become a bit more challenging.

“Nevertheless, with the company being on our stand for the first time, its incorporation into our company is continuing. We still believe that having lower cost production site outside of Europe is the right choice for the moment.”
As Markus shares, there remain challenges in the market, particularly in terms of capital expenditure funds for customers is somewhat restrained given global uncertainties. So, the group’s ability to provide more economical solutions with its Makrev lines is proving a strong strategic balance for the group.

Global business
As our title has previously seen during site visits to its headquarters, the company continues to enjoy success through a policy of advancing its manufacturing capabilities.

Its smart, modern production facilities in Dresden were the result of a €30 million investment back in 2015, and a decade on, they are continuing to prove an integral part of its success.

Markus Rustler, of Theegarten-Pactec has been a strong advocate of SweetConnect. PIc: Neill Barston

Its large, strongly-designed production halls have ample room for its on-site engineering, with packaging machinery line being turned around in impressively fine flow from Germany, to be despatched to a host of locations around the world.

As Markus enthuses, while there’s always plenty of business to be taken care of at its HQ , he relishes the chance to be out engaging with customers, and in providing direct support, engagement and assistance around the world, which is one of the company’s core strengths.

“Being out in the field is key, being able to exchange with customers and to really analyse and talk about what the local requirements are is important. That’s what I love, and what I continue to do.

“This is what drives me, meeting those different cultures, plus, of course, supporting the industry with the best possible equipment, which we’ve managed quite well so far. If I go into a supermarket, say, in Nigeria and see some products wrapped on Theegarten equipment, that’s quite satisfying to see,” smiles the CEO.

He reflects that being on the road means that it’s sometimes a test to balance that with equally important time with his family, yet he feels that life overall is going well, and there’s more than enough to occupy his hours both inside and outside of work commitments.

As for the state of conditions around the world, he notes that travel is presently proving a test given the situation in Iran, wider Middle East, and conflict in Ukraine, yet there’s a determination to navigate such issues as much as possible.

“It’s becoming more difficult to travel to be honest, especially as things change so quickly nowadays. Let’s face it, eight weeks ago, nobody thought that Dubai could be a place of risk in terms of rockets and drones. So this is a point for interpack – travelling through the UAE has become more difficult at the moment, so different routes may not be taken to reach Germany for interpack,” he notes of the complexities of international travel in 2026, amid major ongoing conflict in Iran.
In spite of such tests, he remains personally upbeat about prospects for the remainder 2026 ahead, with all cylinders firing for the ‘big show’ around the corner.
For the uninitiated, he says the upcoming global gathering in Düsseldorf will not disappoint anyone contemplating going for the first time – what should they expect?
“First of all, I have to tell those who have not been, you don’t know what you’ve been missing. Interpack has proved to be the place to be if you are active in this industry, if you if you are interested in modern technology, as it’s a must see event,” he enthuses of the premier packaging showcase that is eagerly preparing to open its doors to the world in just a few short weeks.