Packbridge development supported by Västra Götaland

Västra Götaland is a region with a lot of expertise in both food and packaging. These are two major areas for the region and the link between food and packaging is obvious. Approximately 70% of all packaging is used to protect and extend the shelf life of food. Västra Götaland region has given the go-ahead to a project which aims to increase innovation in packaging and promote greater cooperation with members who are already linked to Packbridge.

“We see it as being very positive that Packbridge can provide more powerful development assistance to packaging companies in our region. The cluster has established working methods and a well-developed network of companies and universities which can make an important contribution to business development in Västra Götaland”, said Birgitta Losman, chair of the Västra Götaland regional development council.

Since its inception in 2010, Packbridge has grown to include about 200 member companies, both nationally and internationally, and it is now taking a further step in its development.

“From the outset, part of our funding came from Region Skåne, but now we will also get some funding from the Västra Götaland region. They have followed us over the last year and liked what they have seen. I think it is quite rare that a cluster, or network, gets support from two different regions, and we are naturally both pleased and proud of this”, said Packbridge CEO, Johan Mårtensson.

“There is a great deal of expertise in both food and packaging in Västra Götaland, and we have a large number of members from the region. Now we have the opportunity to increase our presence and work with skills development, knowledge transfer, network building and the development of the packaging industry and both directly and indirectly of the food industry.”

In 2017, Packbridge will be carrying out a number of activities in Västra Götaland. These will address the following areas:

• Digitisation and packaging
• Sustainability and the circular economy
• Flexibility and local production
• New materials

But Packbridge doesn’t develop these themes all by itself. They will evolve from dialogue with businesses, academia and the public sector in order to provide the content required. At the same time, Packbridge will work with RISE and local innovation systems, which possess a lot of knowledge.

For more information, contact Johan Mårtensson, CEO, 0766 456 535, johan@packbridge.se