Packaging MEA Forum – a new annual forum for packaging professionals in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) – held its first edition in Dubai on 9-10 December, attracting 140 participants from leading brands, manufacturers, suppliers, packaging firms and certification bodies.
The event’s organiser, Benjamin Daniel, editor of Packaging MEA magazine, said the forum’s enthusiastic reception reflected the regional industry’s desire to examine its challenges together.
“Leading brand owners such as Unilever, Mars, Mondelez and P&G joined hands with leading packaging converters, printers, equipment manufacturers, suppliers and industry experts to strengthen bonds within the industry,” he said.
Participants commented on the forum’s success in convening a broad spectrum of the industry, including brand owners, software specialists and machine manufacturers as well as printers and converters.
Kannan Iyengar, a packaging specialist at Mars GCC, described the event as “a unique first initiative”. “It will definitely influence the packaging community,” he said.
Toni Issa, Global Strategic Account Director for the Middle East and South Europe for coding specialist Videojet, said: “It is very rare to have such an amazing link of the quarto in one event: packaging manufacturers, packaging solution software providers, coding solution providers and brand owners.”
Chinna Durai Natarajan, director of ENPI Group, also commented on the forum’s breadth of coverage and attendance: “It was a great opportunity to meet the other players, customers, suppliers and technical experts. Usually this kind of event is mostly attended by converters and machine suppliers. I believe this is the first event which grouped all kind of entities.”
Manufacturers and suppliers represented at Packaging MEA Forum included Bobst, Color-Logic, Falcon Pack, Fujifilm, GMG, Integrated Plastics Packaging, Kodak, OMET, Percept Print Solutions, Presstek Europe, Printchem Trading, UPM Raflatac, Videojet Technologies and X-rite Pantone.
Tetra Pak was among the global firms in attendance, along with international and regional players such as ARC International, Emirates Printing Press, ENPI Group, Horizons Adhesive Label, Lamarq International, NDigitec-X60, Obeikan Investment Group and Reproflex 3.
Packaging certifying bodies ESMA and Al Hoty-Stanger Laboratories also took part.
Hosted at Dubai’s Oberoi hotel, the two-day event featured seminars and panel discussions across consumer preferences, prepress and printing technologies, and developments in safety and sustainability.
Dr George Simonian, a lecturer in print media at Egypt’s Helwan University, described the event as “very beneficial to all the participants and to the region’s packaging industry”.
“The Packaging MEA Forum was a really unique event, focusing on one of the most promising and fast-growing industries worldwide, gathering under one roof a distinguished group of theleading manufacturers, suppliers, users and experts in the field,” he said.
Debabrata Deb, director of Future Formats and a leading packaging expect who helped organise the forum, said the event was conceived to provide “a holistic approach to package printing”.
“Such an approach should help the brand owner delight the evolving consumer and create profitopportunities for designers, prepress service providers, equipment suppliers, package converters and FMCG companies,” he said.
Industry media and editorial consultant, Nick Coombes, who moderated the second day of the Forum and gave presentations on how the rotogravure and sheet fed offset processes are facing up to the challenges of 21st century consumer buying habits commented: “It was a privilege to speak to such a diverse audience, and indicative of the thirst for knowledge in this developing region. If MEA converters are to match and exceed the expectations of the international package printing market they need to engage in an ongoing programme of investment – but this needs to be actioned by well informed people. This inaugural Forum offered a balanced and well presented checklist for companies to follow.”
Drawing conclusions after the event, Benjamin Daniel said: “The Packaging MEA team was motivated to organise the Forum as a service to the packaging industry of the region, and judging from the very positive feedback from those who attended, Packaging MEA will shortly announce the date of the second edition.