HEIDELBERG and Metsä Board unite with new strategic collaboration
As part of a new collaboration, HEIDELBERG and Metsä Board will join forces to develop a range of new packaging innovations
Having been postponed last year due to Covid-19, the biennial Labelexpo Europe will return from September 11th – 14th in Brussels
Set to take place from April 26th to 29th, Labelexpo Europe was postponed to this September due to Covid-19, supply chain issues, and the war in Ukraine.
However, the popular event is looking set to return with a bang with hundreds of exhibitors confirmed and a range of additional features planned.
The event, which was founded in 1980, takes place across four days and is an established event in the label and packaging sector. Over 600 exhibitors are confirmed for 2023 including names such as Avery Dennison, Bobst, Canon, Domino, Durst, Epson, Fujifilm, HP, and Konica Minolta.
A brand new feature for 2023 will be a ‘Flex Pack Trail’ which will enable visitors to explore digital and conventional press technologies, flex pack material constructions, coating, laminating, ink, and curing requirements as well as in-line and near-line decoration options, QC, and migration testing.
Focusing on package printing, the Flex Pack Trail will demonstrate the opportunities for label converters looking to diversify their product offering in the flexible packaging market. Keynote exhibitors for this feature include SCREEN, Nilpeter, Fujifilm, Xeikon, and BOBST.
The Label Academy will also host a flexible packaging masterclass in the form of a half-day session on Tuesday September 12th from 9.45am. This session will cover topics such as substrates, the creation of artwork and pre-press, printing processes, and inks, coatings, curing, and laminating.
As well as this, an update on the Finat UVFoodSafe project will be presented, and a leading converter will showcase their experience of moving into flexible packaging.
Matteo Cardinotti, chief executive officer of BOBST Firenze and head of Narrow Mid-Web Printing & Converting Product Line at BOBST, comments: “BOBST chose to take part in the Flex Pack Trail at Labelexpo Europe 2023 because the boundaries between flexible packaging and labels are disappearing.
“Both from a brand owner standpoint, who are asking exactly the same things they are asking for labels – added-value solutions – and from a converter standpoint, who would like to diversify their business and target to be the one-stop shop for their customers.”
Other in-show features include the Automation Arena, Flexo’s Future ECG, and the Dieline Forum.
Organisers have also unveiled the 2023 educational show programme which will enable visitors to deepen their technical knowledge of flexible packaging, sustainable labels and packaging, and wine labelling technology at three expert-led masterclasses.
The Flexible Packaging Masterclass aims to equip label converters looking to enter or expand their production into this competitive area of the market with the technical knowledge needed.
Speakers include Nanette Thomas, CEO and owner of Synthogra; Jan de Roeck, director of industry relations and strategy at Esko; and Steve Baker, managing director of Baker Labels.
The Sustainable Labels and Packaging Masterclass will see speakers from Finat, Flint Group, CELAB, and All4Labels offer guidance for converters seeking to bolster their environmental credentials and meet EU regulations.
And finally, the Wine Labeling Technology Masterclass will show converters what they need to know in order to move into this highly lucrative sector with talks from Susana Fajardo, product manager for wine, spirit and craft beer at Fedrigoni Self-Adhesives; Andy Thomas-Emans, strategic director of Labelexpo Global Series; and more.
Jade Grace, portfolio director of Labelexpo Global Series, comments: “We are delighted to offer an in-depth technical learning program at the long-awaited Labelexpo Europe 2023. The appetite for updating technical knowledge – and then seeing it in action on the show floor – has never been stronger, and with such a fantastic high-profile speaker line-up, we can’t wait to welcome the industry back to Brussels in September.”
