The inaugural ProPack Packaging Forum took place last week in Sydney, bringing together industry thought leaders and early adopters of technology.
Suppliers and converters of the industry attended the event, taking in the key messaging from the presenters, who spoke about a myriad of packaging topics such as AI in packaging, challenges and opportunities facing the sector, and future industry trends.
Headlining the conference was a presentation on the IVE Group’s expansion into the packaging industry and its recent acquisition of the JacPak business as it seeks to grow to $150 million in turnover within the next five years. Peter Fotiadis from Mattingly shared how IVE decided to choose JacPak and why this is an important part of the company’s packaging strategy into the future.
Also speaking at the Packaging Forum was Pakko founder and CEO Nina Nguyen, who shared the Pakko story and how she built the business from the ground up, in addition to addressing the issue surrounding the sustainability messaging of companies.
Mediapoint co-owner Jamie Xuereb discussed his journey and re-entry into the labels and packaging sector after 11 years. Known primarily as a trade printer for the wide format category, Mediapoint has recently invested in a Durst Tau label printer and is deploying the same customer service and fast turn-arounds into the growing packaging market.
Said Khoury from United Printing & Packaging shared his story after making the decision to leave his job in the labels category to buy a business in Sydney that is now a specialist in the premium end of the folding carton category.
Greg Daniel from PrintLounge (NZ) spoke about his recent investments in technology, including a Durst Tau 340 RSC E LED label press and ABG finishing equipment, and how the company’s embrace of new business opportunities from digital diversification resulted in a shift away from its two decades as an offset printing specialist.
NAPCO Research vice-president Nathan Safran took a deep dive into future industry trends, claiming that by entering the packaging space, companies can make use of the lucrative opportunities it presents. Safran also explored how these trends drive the adoption of emerging digital printing and production technologies, reinforce sustainability objectives, and lower entry barriers into new market segments and packaging applications.
Technology expert Seamus Byrne provided a deep dive into the benefits and challenges faced by the packaging industry from Artificial Intelligence. In his presentation, Byrne shared what will happen to the world in the years ahead because of Artificial Intelligence, and how this might affect the packaging industry.
Durst Group CEO and co-owner Christoph Gamper spoke about the possibilities around digital for the packaging industry, and how the company’s joint venture with Koenig & Bauer has resulted in unique innovations that are unseen elsewhere in the world.
Kissel & Wolf A/NZ sign and display – corrugated sales manager Bruce Caldwell spoke about some of the biggest issues facing suppliers, such as the cost of manufacturing, challenges around paper and pulp, growth of Artificial Intelligence, and lack of government aid. He also spoke about what’s needed to future-proof a business involved in the packaging space.
Cyber Australia NSW state manager George Rossi spoke about the Cyber story and how the Singaporean business expanded into Australia. With recent RMGT purchases from CCS and Spot Productions, Rossi also spoke about how these companies improved business processes following their investments.
Miraclon regional lead Steve Smith explained the importance of ‘Modern Flexo’ in more detail and referenced local and international case studies including those from within the Australian market as well as Asia.
Belgian-based software specialist Pascal Wybo, who has over 25 years of technical experience in labels and packaging, addressed the role of Artificial Intelligence in revolutionising the industry and domains in packaging production that will benefit from the technology. Wybo is one of the key product managers for the PACKZ and CloudFlow platforms at Hybrid Software.
We will be detailing the key takeaways from each session as news stories across the next few weeks. In addition, an in-depth review of the ProPack Packaging Forum will be published in the December 2024 issue of ProPack.pro.
The inaugural ProPack Packaging Forum would not be possible without the support from its sponsors:
Platinum Sponsor – Durst Oceania
Gold Sponsor – Cyber
Gold Sponsor – Miraclon
Bronze Sponsor – Hybrid Software
Bronze Sponsor – Kissel & Wolf
Bronze Sponsor – Koenig & Bauer
