Day two of the TAROPAK 2026 trade fair is behind us!

The Poznań exhibition halls have once again become the center of industrial innovation. The second day of the TAROPAK 2026 International Trade Fair for Packaging and Labeling Technology brought high attendance, intensive business discussions, and live demonstrations of state-of-the-art technology lines.

Automation as a Response to the Challenges of E-commerce and the Labor Market

At the TAROPAK trade fair exhibition halls, dynamic equipment demonstrations played a key role. Visitors could see integrated packaging lines, palletizing robots and precision labeling machines at work.

Experts on site stressed that robotization of packaging processes is no longer the domain of global corporations alone – today it is becoming a necessity for companies in the SME sector. In an era of rising labor costs and time pressure from the e-commerce market, modern packaging technologies make it possible not only to optimize operating expenses, but also to significantly shorten order fulfillment times.

Deposit Return System in Poland: Massive Investments and the Dispute over Single-Use Glass

One of the most important items on the program was a debate on practical experiences with implementing the deposit return system in Poland, moderated by independent journalist Olimpia Wolf. The discussion featured representatives of key market players: Ryszard Machoj (Sales Board Member at Lidl Polska), Rafał Skawski (Circularity Manager at Żabka Group) and Dorota Szuremska (Head of Legal at the Polish Deposit System, PSK).

The panelists drew attention to the financial and logistical scale of the whole undertaking:

Billion-zloty outlays: Ryszard Machoj reported that Lidl Polska has already invested more than half a billion zlotys in the deposit system and intends to allocate the same amount again to further conveniences for customers.

Operational challenges: Rafał Skawski of Żabka Group pointed to the pace of rollout across a network of 13,000 stores, where the system was launched at a rate of around 700 locations per day, which required mass training of staff and franchisees.

Panel participants agreed that although the foundations of the system work properly and consumer awareness is growing, the mechanism generates enormous costs for the retail sector. Dorota Szuremska of PSK emphasized the need for operators to standardize their processes. The discussion on a possible extension of the system to single-use glass also resonated strongly – experts warned against such a step (citing, among other things, Romania's experience), pointing to the high risk of breakage and the need for very costly investments in new machines.

Synergy with POLAGRA Fair and International Networking

The concurrently held POLAGRA fair created a unique space for conversations at the intersection of the food and packaging sectors. Discussions covered, among other topics, barrier packaging that extends the shelf life of food products, as well as modern solutions dedicated to the private labels of large retail chains.