This year's packaging festival FESTA.CROPAK, organized by the Institute of Packaging and Graphic Arts Tectus and trade journal Ambalaža/REGprint from Zagreb, was held on 13th and 14th June at the Kralj hotel in Donji Kraljevec.

FEST.A CROPAK 2013 was held under the general patronage of World Packaging Organization (WPO) together with other patrons – European Packaging Institutes Consortium, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Nature, Ministry of Regional Development and EU funds and Croatian Chamber of Economy.
The festival was hosted by a partner, a Croatian company Tehnix Ltd., the leader in this part of Europe for design, production and servicing of machines and equipment used for the environmental protection
A two-day event focused on international conference entitled "On the threshold of the EU: packaging, legislation, sustainability..." which provided a series of expert lectures presenting novelties and legislative requirements awaiting Croatian packaging industry upon accession to the EU.
On the second day of the conference, the emphasis was put on the environmental protection and in that context, on the responsible and sustainable packaging and packaging waste management. Participants, among whom there were not only representatives of Croatian and regional companies' manufacturers and users of packaging, but also representatives of utility companies, were introduced to the draft of the new Waste Act. The draft was presented by Assistant Minister for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development in Croatia, Mr Mario Obrdalj who also presented the results and novelties in the field of packaging waste management.

This year's CROPAK 2013 award ceremony marked a 10-year anniversary of continuously rewarding achievements in developing packaging on the Croatian market. The awards for the best packaging were given in nine categories, while Packaging of Frankovka Rose Selected 2012 by Iločki podrumi from Ilok has been proclaimed best of the best, winner of the CROPAK 2013 award.  You may find more information about this year's winners here

Fourth year in a row, REGPAK awards for the best packaging in Croatia and the region were also given.  25 products from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia were presented in 10 nominations for the REGPAK 2013 award.
Pivovarne Laško d.d. from Slovenia were awarded for their returnable crate as the best packaging of all participating countries. The manufacturer of the packaging is Kaplast d.d, a company from Croatia.
Within the CROPAK and REGPAK award ceremony, participants and the winner of this year's Student Creative Workshop CROPAK, which celebrated its fifth anniversary, were also presented. This year's creative task was to re/design the label and glass bottle of Vitinka mineral water product line, a producer from neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina. 80 students from Croatia (Universities of Zagreb and Rijeka) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (University of Banja Luka) took part. Creative solution by Adi Franković from the Academy of Applied Arts, University of Rijeka, mentored by Aljoša Brajdić was the best work of the Student Creative Workshop CROPAK 2013. 
FESTA.CROPAK 2013 ended with the tour inside the Tehnix factory. The organizers and participants promised to meet again next year.


www.festacropak.hr