Global involvement

The show promises to be an all-encompassing event for the entire production chain – from raw materials to the sales outlet – with a highly diversified display of products: machinery, equipment and components for primary and secondary packaging.

Of the 1,000 plus exhibitors, 30% are from international markets. The show is dominated by the packaging machinery sector, representing about 30% of the product range on display, followed by processing machinery and materials, each taking about 18% of the floor space.

The show organiser says it places great emphasis on international buyers and has, therefore, come up with a special project for this year’s event. Called the Buyer’s Program, it will enable around 100 “highly selected” buyers from 20 different countries to take advantage of a wide range of facilities to make the most of their visit.

The programme, funded by Ipack-Ima together with Anima and Assofoodtec, includes a matching service with exhibitors whose products fall within a set of relevant categories indicated by each buyer, as well as other free services ranging from hotel accommodation, access to the fairgrounds and the VIP buyer’s lounge specially set up for them, and a free public transport pass.

Many international associations are supporting the exhibition, including: PMMI, which groups over 500 companies located in the USA and Canada; GAFME and the Istituto Del Envase from Latin America; Chinese associations CFPMA and CLIMA; and from India, IFCA and IPPMI.

Side events

The calendar of meetings is available on the Ipack-Ima website, but top of the agenda, on Tuesday 28 February, is the international convention ‘Enhancing food safety and food security in Africa – processing and packaging technologies from farm’s gate to the consumer’s table’, staged with the co-operation of UNIDO, WFP, FAO and IFAD.

The role of technology in the fight against world hunger, particularly food packaging, preservation and processing technology will be the central theme of the initiative developed with the co-operation of the United Nations.

After the great success of 2009, Ipack-Ima will again have an area called ‘Plan the future. Packaging is quality of life’, designed in co-operation with CONAI, the National Packaging Consortium, with the aim of planning an eco-sustainable future. Discussion topics include eco-friendliness not just in terms of post-consumption recycling practices, but also in terms of prevention and responsible production.

New products on show

Among the exhibitors will be Microscan, a global technology leader in barcode, machine vision and lighting solutions, who will demonstrate its suite of products for track, trace and control (stand A84 in hall 11) including the new C-Mount lens configuration for its QX Hawk imager and the Vision Hawk smart camera. With industrial IP65/67 housing (with lens cover), compact size, flexible configurations and built-in Ethernet connectivity, they can easily be incorporated into any production environment. The system features the firm’s intuitive AutoVision software interface, including powerful decode tools for reading barcodes and text (OCR), and inspection tools for cap alignment, label positioning, fill level verification, and more.

HB Fuller (hall 9, B78) will showcase its range of adhesives for applications including carton sealing, labelling and flexible packaging. Products on display will include Advantra Encore, Advantra hotmelt, Liquiloc labelling adhesives and the Adalis Open-Sesame retail packaging opening system that allows shipping containers to be used as attractive displays that can be easily opened at point of display, enabling consistent brand messaging and shortening shelf re-stocking time. A clean-tearing feature enables retailers to create a displayready tray with a reinforced edge in a matter of seconds, without using box knives. It is also said to be a sustainable option, using less board yet maintaining compression strength.

At a glance

Ipack-Ima

Processing, packaging and material handling

28 February – 3 March

FieraMilano, Italy