After the successful return of the AUSPACK packaging expo the APPMA announced the rebranding and restructuring of the AUSPACK exhibition.
AUSPACK saw a host of packaging and processing companies descend on the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre’s showroom floor to finally showcase everything the industry has to offer.
One of the key points to take away from the expo early in the story is it’s restricting and rebranding to APPEX, Australasian Processing + Packaging Expo.
The APPMA made the exciting announcement during the APPMA Awards for Excellence gala dinner which also saw packaging companies recognised for their contributions to the many areas which encompass the packaging industry.
The key message behind the rebrand is to encompass every area of the Australian packaging and processing industry more fully, APPMA CEO Mike Moran said during the announcement.
“We’re proud of how AUSPACK has grown, and the value that it gives exhibitors and visitors,” said Moran.
AUSPACK is more than just a packaging-only exhibition, it is a show aimed at encompassing the total processing and packaging sector, from machinery, ancillary equipment, materials, packaging, and food processing, right through to industry service.
“Now is the right time to truly bring everyone together across the spectrum of processing and packaging into one show. APPEX will be one exhibition for the industry, run by the industry.”
APPEX is now scheduled to take place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 12 to 15 of March 2024, before running every three years instead of every two years like AUSPACK before it.
“Three yearly is an optimal cycle for a large show with more exhibitors and visitors, it is a neater flow with other international shows and facilitates better alignment with developments in new technology.” Said Dingley.
The expo will also be anchored in Melbourne going forward, which aims to create a stronger foundation to the future of the event, organisers said.
“APPMA chose Melbourne for its position as Australia’s premier venue for holding larger shows, with facilities allowing APPEX and Processing & Packaging Week to grow while still retaining AUSPACK’s renowned experience,” said Dingley.
One of the key drivers behind restructuring the expo was in support of the APPMA’s aims to promote, integrate, and foster collaboration and participation at every key step of the processing and packaging machinery industry.
“APPEX being run by the industry means that exhibitors, APPMA members, and key players will all have a strong voice in the shows development,” said Dingley.
“The APPMA will continue to reinvest the exhibition’s profits to further support and develop the processing and packaging industry, Australia wide, and with more on offer for visitors, the Australian marketplace overall benefits.
“The Board is excited to reveal this next step for Australia’s manufacturing industry. It is one that our research has shown will even better showcase the innovation of Australian manufacturing businesses, which are at the forefront of the Australian economy.”
The full spectrum coverage Dingley spoke of was already on display at the 2022 AUSPACK expo with exhibitors from multiple branches of the industry, from IT and digital solution providers to machinery manufacturers, all giving a first-hand display of what is on offer now and into the future for the food and beverage industry.
Optimism was also in the air at the expo, with many exhibitors telling Food & Beverage Industry News how eager both themselves and visitors were to finally be back in the real world after the COVID-19 pandemic caused so many delays.
Representatives from packaging and processing machinery and technology solution providers such as Heat & Control, Select Equip, Insignia, SMC, Robotic Automation, all spoke highly of the show and the leads it was generating for their companies.
All agreed that while digital meetings had played a crucial role during the COVID-19 pandemic, and still provide a key benefit in the aftermath, that nothing compares to being able to showcase the processing and packaging offerings at an event like AUSPACK.
For example, label manufacturers Insignia, brought its laser printing technology to the show and gave Food & Beverage Industry News a first-hand display of some of its capabilities.
“With confectionary for instance, there is a light foil so to avoid the laser penetrating the packaging you will instead of it going onto the packet it goes onto the pin seal which means if they do have a puncture, it won’t get to the actual product,” said a spokesperson.
“There are different methods for different applications.”
Meanwhile, industrial equipment specialists Heat & Control, were displaying its optical sorting machine which uses advanced camera and laser technology to provide greater sorting capability. By doing so, the machine can save more of the good food product that can sometimes be lost in the sorting process.
A benefit to being on the showroom floor is that you can be watching a laser printing display before turning around and seeing the latest in pallet wrapping automation, before stepping over and speaking to a sustainable packaging consultancy group for information on the cutting-edge green packaging.
O F Packaging, for example, used its stand to showcase how a better and more refined circular systems and economy around plastic packaging can be achieved. The stand also highlighted new alternative packaging materials and methods which provide a more sustainable packaging approach.
But AUSPACK is also much more than just the showroom floor. The event also hosted an extensive, and comprehensive, series of seminars about every aspect of the packaging and processing industry.
The speaker seminars provided valuable insight into everything from current and emerging trends in manufacturing and processing, to the bigger picture and long-term issues like food safety and sustainability.
Coupled with the steady stream of seminar series talks, the Leaders’ Forum, provided valuable insight from a long list of some key stakeholders and decision makers in the food and beverage industry including Brooke Donnelly, CEO of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, and Professor Edward Kosior, founder, and CEO of Nextek.
A key showpiece for the 2022 AUSPACK expo was the APPMA Awards of Excellence, which saw the finalists highlighted and the winners of the awards celebrated.
Among the winners were GS1 Australia which won the Packaging Design Innovation Award for its work on 2D barcodes, while LACO Automation & Service won the Sustainability Award for its Circular Plastic Australia jvc – Recycling Plant.
Appex will return from to Melbourne in 2024 from the 12 – 15 March.