Large queues formed by the show entrance before its opening, as visitors waited to gain access to the 450 exhibitors within.
“This will go down as one of the biggest and best-attended days in show history. The show floor is noticeably busier this year and some of the talks at the conference stages have been packed out,” James Montero-MacColl, senior marketing manager at Packaging Innovations organiser Easyfairs, told Printweek.
One significant reason for registrations – including many filled out at the last minute – was the hotly anticipated launch of PackUK, the administrator for the UK’s new extended packaging responsibility.
A panel of representatives from across the UK’s four governments took to the stage to reaffirm the government’s commitment to transition to a circular economy, and PackUK’s promise to work with the industry to get there.
The panel drew a huge crowd, with some attendees even choosing to sit on the floor between the aisles to catch news of the new body.
Sustainability was a key theme for exhibitors, with several announcing brand-new developments.
Italian inks, coatings and adhesive manufacturer Actega revealed it will be installing a brand-new Ecoleaf on-demand foil-less metallizer at label firm MCC Glasgow.
Using no metal dies, no foil rolls, and no production waste, the machine applies a cured binder coat where metallization is desired before rolling a water-based suspension of metal pigments, giving a precise effect comparable to hot and cold foiling.
Because pigment is only applied where needed, the process is massively less wasteful than traditional foiling, where entire rolls of metallized film can be wasted because a tiny proportion was used to pick out details on the printed product. The Ecoleaf can therefore foil labels with up to 80% less carbon emissions.
While Actega’s Ecoleaf technology launched in 2020, so far it had been restricted to running on coated narrow-web stocks. Through a years-long collaboration with Actega at the company’s Lucca research and development facility, MCC has now found a way to foil uncoated stocks with the machine – a key requirement for the premium whisky manufacturers MCC serves.
“We’ll have this in our Clydebank facility at the end of March,” explained Roger Bennett, key account manager at MCC for wines and spirits.
“We’ll mount it on a flexo press in the place of a print station, so the print process will still have all the other embellishments – it’s relatively straightforward to adopt.”
If the installation goes well – and Bennett has faith it will – MCC will soon be buying Ecoleaf machines for its massive global operation.
“You need to have a really visionary company like MCC that sees [this technology’s potential] four years ago, to bring it to the market today,” added Harald Jasper, managing director of Actega’s Metal Print division.
Ukrainian cardboard cup specialist Univest was also showing off its innovations – including a new range of disposable food packaging which uses a water-based interior coating, rather than PE liner.
“We’re constantly researching contemporary trends and new laws in Europe for sustainability. So last year we made the decision to buy new equipment that would make us more eco-friendly,” explained Yevhen Lavrenko, head of export sales at the Kyiv-region based company.
He told Printweek that the new machinery had allowed the firm to ramp up its EcoBarrier product capacity to 100 tonnes of products per year, with new investment planned for 2026 that would take Univest up to 200 tonnes of EcoBarrier annually – equivalent to more than 100 million cups.
Lavrenko, who has visited seven shows across Europe in the past three years, added that Packaging Innovations had been a fantastic opportunity to meet potential customers for the new product line.
“There’s a lot of people, and a lot of new potential customers. This is my first time in the UK, and I’m really inspired by this exhibition: people are really focussed on results. They know the market, they know their customers, and they’ve been very interested in cooperating with us.”
“The strong attendance means the Packaging Innovations magic is back and better than ever. It’s been a pleasure to walk through the stands to see attendees and exhibitors alike collaborating, networking, and getting inspired,” said Montero-MacColl, adding that the Easyfairs team was “delighted” with how the show was going.
“Many of the trends on display have evolved from previous years. Sustainability, for example, has been growing in prominence within the industry for several years, in part because many forward-thinking businesses have seen huge legislative changes on the horizon.
“In 2025, a lot of that legislation arrives, so the discussion has evolved from preparation to execution, and how businesses can thrive in this new landscape.”
