Ipack-Ima opened its doors on 3 May 2022 with all the process and packaging solutions for the manufacturing industry at Fiera Milano. Innovation and sustainability at industrial and production level in a unique European business ecosystem.
The importance of the event was confirmed by the numbers expressed by the exhibition. Valerio Soli, President of Ipack Ima said, “Latest-generation packaging and advanced processing and packaging systems for consumer goods, industrial goods and durable goods. This is the proposal of Ipack-Ima with more than 1,160 exhibitors, 24% from 27 countries, and more than 25 specialised food and non-food events. Ipack-Ima offers the Italian and international manufacturing industry an attractive and complete technological panorama, with previews of future production trends. A much-awaited and much-needed return to the industry, the right place and time for our exhibitors and visitors who will be at the show looking for just one thing: Innovation.”
The resilient sector represented by Ipack-Ima contributed to representing Italian excellence at the international level in terms of expertise, innovation and exports.
Matteo Gentili, President of Ucima said, “The total turnover of the Italian packaging machinery sector in 2021 was € 8.2 billion, a progress of 5 points compared to the previous year. This progress is even more significant if we compare it with that of 2019. On the other hand, order intake in 2021 grew by 9% compared to the previous year, so these are numbers that show how healthy our sector is.”
“There are great expectations for Ipack-Ima, which will take place in attendance after four years from the previous edition, a long period in which companies have developed a lot of innovation. The Italian manufacturers’ sector has carefully prepared itself and will show an image of absolute excellence of Made in Italy in the world. Italy is one of the most virtuous countries in the EU with an overall 68% of separate waste collection, of which 21.6% use of recycled materials,” added Gentili.
Rossano Bozzi, CEO of Ipack Ima said, “Sustainable packaging, solutions for the selection and processing of raw materials, innovative materials, applications for e-commerce and the smart factory. Ipack-Ima 2022 and, most of all, the exhibitors at the show are offering a great deal of content. We asked each exhibiting company to bring at least one innovative solution and the industry surpassed itself: we will have more than 2,000 product and process innovations at the show! Ipack-Ima is thus consolidating its position as the meeting and comparison point for the consumer goods, durable goods and industrial products of the next three years.”
“At Ipack-Ima, the new way of manufacturing will take shape, with machines, plants and products becoming increasingly efficient, interconnected and sustainable. For this edition of Ipack-Ima we are proposing many innovations, also at the exhibition level, which further consolidate the strengths of the event with the lifescience world, which will find specialised applications for the sector through our cooperation with Pharmintech, and the liquid food & beverage segment to which we have dedicated an entire pavilion for the first time,” added Bozzi.
Sustainability of the packaging supply chain
Ipack-Ima hosted the third edition of the international conference Packaging Speaks Green, organised by Pack-Media in cooperation with UCIMA and AMAPLAST, where world experts such as Alec Ross, Hillary Clinton’s digital consultant, major consumer brands such as Ferrarelle and Procter & Gamble, institutional stakeholders from CONAI to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs outlined strategies for the ecological transition of industrial supply chains in the coming years.
The international forum was divided into several sessions on the strategic role of packaging, during which the specific production sectors in which packaging were discussed.
Two initiatives, WorldStar Packaging Awards (promoted by WPO) and the Best Packaging Awards (organised in cooperation with the Italian Packaging Institute) celebrated excellence among international packaging manufacturers and users at Ipack-Ima.
Ipack-Mat, a project by Ipack-Ima enhanced the value of all packaging materials. The project offered a journey among the most innovative materials with over 180 exhibitors and a special area dedicated to smart packaging which was inspired by eco-design.
Industry 4.0, IOT, digitisation and start-ups: A walk through the factory of the future
Factory innovation was on stage at Ipack-Ima Digital, a project developed in cooperation with MindSphere World and designed to accelerate the digital transition in the factory. The thematic itinerary offered guided demos on exhibitors’ stands to discover the potential of industrial IoT to monitor all relevant metrics at process and packaging level.
In addition to the digital innovation walk through the stands, there was a series of workshops that saw Coca-Cola, Baxter Biopharma and De Cecco which explored the themes of smart manufacturing. The exhibition route then lead to the Smart Factory by Ipack-Ima, where a number of production lines, welcomed visitors with live demonstrations.
The Italian Start-Up project which, with the support of ICE-Italian Trade Agency, promoted the meeting between innovative Italian companies and big industry. Italian Start Up is an open space where emerging ‘Made in Italy’ technology companies presented their potential to established market players, creating a synergy between different innovation contexts.
Participants in the initiative: AUTOMA SISTEMI SRL, BASCA SRL, BLUETENSOR SRL, INFINITY ID SRL, MARK ONE SRL, NAZENA SRL, NSA SRL, SAFER SMART LABELS SRLS, PIKKART SRL, STOORM5 SRL, TRADOO SRL, XNEXT SPA.
The partnership between ICE-Italian Trade Agency and Ipack-Ima was consolidated also in terms of export support for companies which were involved in the exhibition. Over 350 buyers were carefully profiled and hosted at the event to meet the business needs of companies operating in the various business communities through which Ipack-Ima exhibition itinerary was divided: Pasta, Bakery & Milling (Pavilions 1-3); Sweets, Confectionary & Snacks (Pavilions 1-3); Food, Fresh & Convenience (Pavilions 5-7); Liquid Food & Beverage (Pavilion 4); Pharma & Nutritional (Pavilion 2); Chemicals & Home Care (Pavilion 2) and Beauty & Personal Care (Pavilion 2), solutions for durable and industrial goods (all Pavilions) and tertiary and end-of-line packaging applications for all industrial sectors (Pavilions 6-10).
Ipack-Ima reconfirmed its membership in The Innovation Alliance, an event dedicated to instrumental mechanics. The event to take place this year in conjunction with Print4All, GreenPlast e Intralogistica Italia and aims at providing an important opportunity to discover the best technologies for the manufacturing industry, with products ranging from green solutions developed by the world of rubber and plastics to food processing technologies, from packaging for the food and non-food sectors to graphic customisation, through to storage and handling of the finished product.