The two exhibitions due to be held from 29 May to 1 June are nearly sold out and are expecting to see greater numbers of international visitors.
New services and a focus on topical issues are attracting the attention of industry players.
The forthcoming exhibitions IPACK-IMA and MEAT-TECH 2018, the two events organised by Ipack-Ima Srl (the exhibition management company set up as a joint venture by the Italian packaging machinery manufacturers’ association UCIMA and Fiera Milano), were presented to exhibitors on Monday 5 February at the Club House in the Fiera Milano exhibition centre.
Riccardo Cavanna and Domenico Lunghi, respectively Chairman and Managing Director of Ipack-Ima Srl, outlined the new features of the programme to the more than 100 people present.
The 2018 edition will mark a turning point for the two shows, which are set to be larger, more international in scope and packed with more innovative content than ever before.
The showcased sectors
Four months before the shows are due to begin, more than 90% of the exhibition space has been assigned to leading Italian and international companies. The two events are growing in terms of both occupied space and number of exhibitors.
IPACK-IMA in particular will extend over eight halls divided up according to exhibitor business communities or the specific types of products.
Halls 1 and 3 will be devoted to technologies, materials and accessories for the pasta, bakery, milling and confectionary industries. The presence of leading Italian and international companies confirms IPACK-IMA’s position as the most important exhibition in the world for this sector.
In the adjacent halls 5-7, visitors will have a chance to discover the latest new products for food processing and packaging, with a special focus on fresh & convenience.
The offerings for non-food sectors, particularly cosmetics and industrial goods, will be located in hall 4 along with the liquid filling segment, which will also be well represented in the halls devoted to food industry technologies.
Offerings will also include machinery, equipment and devices relevant to different product sectors. Technologies for labelling, coding & tracking will be located in hall 14 while companies operating in the end-of-line stage will occupy halls 6 and 10, complemented by the products showcased at Intralogistica Italia, the event devoted to internal logistics organised by Deutsche Messe and Ipack-Ima.
Last but not least, a new satellite show focused on innovative materials and premium packaging called IPACK-MAT will be making its debut at IPACK-IMA 2018 in hall 14, where other thematic and display spaces will be available.
All halls will showcase specific materials for the various business communities. The leading companies in the field of technologies for automation and robotics will also be present at IPACK-IMA.
Technologies, auxiliary equipment and ingredients for meat processing will be on display in hall 2 at the East entrance of the exhibition centre. Now in its second edition, the exhibition is the most important European event for the meat industry and will see the participation of the leading companies in the sector.
Major themes
The circular economy and sustainability will take centre stage in the space organised by Conai, while the products competing for the Packaging Oscar will be displayed in the area set up by the Italian Institute of Packaging.
Digitisation and themes relating to e-commerce will be discussed at a conference organised in collaboration with the Italian e-commerce consortium Netcomm. The appointment follows on from the successful event organised in late January. The exhibition companies will showcase solutions specially designed for sale through digital channels.
Other transversal themes that will be explored through dedicated events and product offerings will include anti-counterfeiting and serialisation in the food, fashion and personal care sectors. Production specifications for “free from” food and sanitary design, own brands and private labels will also be amongst the offerings targeted at food and beverage industry companies.
Exhibition 2.0
B2B meetings will be organised as part of an innovative online matching platform called My Matching, which will allow for a high level of user profiling and will make suggestions for meetings.
Another tool that is already facilitating meetings between exhibitors and visitors is the smart catalogue. This innovative online catalogue combines the classic information provided in trade fair catalogues with the information published by companies on their web channels.
It also integrates seamlessly with promotional activities conducted through the two exhibitions’ official social channels on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
The Innovation Alliance
IPACK-IMA and MEAT-TECH will also benefit from being held concurrently with the other exhibitions in The Innovation Alliance, namely Plast, Print4All and Intralogistica Italia, which together will occupy a net exhibition space of more than 140,000 square metres extending over almost the entire Rho-Fiera Milano exhibition centre. A single entrance ticket granting admission to all five shows will simplify attendance for visitors.
International scope
The Innovation Alliance is also expecting around 1,000 selected buyers who have been invited to the five trade fairs with the support of the Italian Ministry for Economic Development and the Italian Trade Agency ITA. In particular, IPACK-IMA and MEAT-TECH will host buyers from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South America and the United States. The recently initiated pre-registration process is also seeing excellent results with an increase in the number of professionals applying for entrance tickets.
These results owe much to the intense international promotional campaign carried out in recent years, including participation in around 50 exhibitions worldwide, 5 press conferences organised in major markets, partnerships with 230 Italian and international publishers, activities on social networks and partnerships with associations and international organisations, all of which have generated more than 1 million contacts. The quality of these activities and the importance of the exhibition as an international showcase for companies has been endorsed by the US Commercial Department Certification, the prestigious Trade Fair Certification (TFC) granted exclusively to international exhibitions capable of offering US companies access to expanding markets with excellent business opportunities and export growth potential.
During the event Bernd Jablonowski, Global Portfolio Director Processing and Packaging di Messe Düsseldorf presented in Italy the agreement among IPACK-IMA, Ucima e Messe Düsseldorf, first announced at Interpack 2017. Under the terms of the agreements, Interpack and IPACK-IMA will reciprocally support their packaging trade fairs held in Düsseldorf and Milan whilst UCIMA will provide support to the international events of Messe Düsseldorf organized as part of Interpack Alliance.
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