Italy’s Ipack-Ima set to draw a wide range of packaging and processing companies

Traditionally held every three years, significant momentum is building surrounding the final preparations for the 2025 edition of Ipack-Ima event covering the packaging and processing event being held in Italy next week, writes Neill Barston.

Held between 27-30 May at the  Fiera Milano Rho exhibition centre, the event has previously featured a broad range of equipment, systems and ingredients businesses for multiple sectors including within confectionery, bakery and snacks, among wider food markets.

Contributing to the numerous business and networking opportunities with a packed programme of over 40 events and more than 120 speakers, visitors can expect insights from industry experts, journalists from national newspapers, technologists, academics, international players, and end users of the main consumer brands.

Discussions will centre on topics ranging from digitalisation – with a focus on artificial intelligence and cyber security – to sustainability, including the new PPWR regulation, food safety, packaging circularity, and the impacts of the geopolitical landscape on companies with a high propensity for export.

The spotlight will be trained firmly on packaging design, with an award ceremony celebrating the most revolutionary solutions in Italy and worldwide and the IPACK-IMA keynote event, “Visioni d’Avanguardia”. Happenings with a vertical-market approach include the Pastaria Festival (28-29 May, Innovation Space – Hall 5), which will be providing a meeting space for pasta manufacturers.

A multidisciplinary approach that embraces creativity, innovation, economics, and science, with activities spread over three event spaces. Let’s take a look at some highlights from the extensive programme.

Tuesday 27 May, 10:30 am, Service centre entrance hall – Events will be kicking off with the Innovation Alliance opening ceremony, including a ribbon-cutting attended by representatives from businesses, associations, politics, and the four exhibitions: IPACK-IMA, Greenplast, Print4All, and Intralogistica Italia. 12:00, Innovation Space Area, Hall 5 – ‘Global Packaging perspectives’ press conference, arranged by the World Packaging Organization. Speakers: Luciana Pellegrino (WPO), Valerio Soli (IPACK-IMA), Simone Castelli (IPACK-IMA), Alessandra Fazio (Istituto Italiano Imballaggio – Italian Packaging Institution), Soha Atallah (WPO), Riccardo Cavanna (UCIMA – Italian association of packaging machinery manufacturers).

Tuesday 27 May, 2:00 pm, Innovation Space Area, Hall 5 – Round table discussion: ‘Sustainable packaging: protecting food, safeguarding the planet’. Panel: Marianna Faraldi (Tecnoalimenti S.C.p.A), Alessandra Mangiarotti (Mondelēz International), Irene Akpeokhai (GB Foods), Silvia Arrigoni (TÜV SÜD), Luca Ruini (Barilla Group), and Luca Stramare (Conai). Moderator: Armando Garosci (Largo Consumo). 4:30 pm, Tech Space, Hall 2 – Panel discussion ‘Global packaging pulse’, an exploration of the innovation, regulations and trends that are shaping the future, arranged by the International Packaging Press Organization with Tim Sykes (Packaging Europe), Dominique Huret (Cape Decision), Bo Wallteg (Nord Emballage), Aslihan Arikan (Ambalaj Dünyası), and Lilián Elena Robayo Páez (Expo Pack/PMMI). Moderator: Lindy Hughson (IPPO President).

Tuesday 27 May, 3:00 pm, Tech Space, Hall 2 – The ‘Best Packaging Awards’ contest, promoted by the Italian Packaging Institute, celebrates the best packaging solutions, highlighting creativity, innovative capacity, and focus on sustainability. 3:30 pm, Innovation Space, Hall 5 – Focus on ‘World Markets Compared: The Future of Packaging Technologies’, a discussion bringing together speakers from leading associations in the industry around the world, with Luca Baraldi (MECS/UCIMA), Rebecca Marquez (PMMI), and Richard Clemens (VDMA).

Tuesday 28 May, 5:00 pm onwards, Service Centre Auditorium – A much-anticipated event organised by IPACK-IMA and Ucima, ‘Visioni d’Avanguardia’ offers an immersive journey through the relationship between art and technology, concentrating on AI, creativity and political-economic analysis. Presented by: Simone Spetia (Radio 24) – 7:45 pm onwards, the evening continues with the Celebration Night dinner and festivities, an informal setting offering buyers, exhibitors, and the press an excellent opportunity for networking.
Wednesday 28 May, 10:30 am, Innovation Space, Hall 5 – The conference organised by Ucima ‘Cybersecurity applied to packaging machines: current European provisions, obligations for manufacturers’, sees the participation of Luca Bechelli (Clusit), Davide Nardacci (National Cybersecurity Agency), Ernesto Cappelletti (Quadra), Claudio Gabriele (Studio Legale Oddo Lora). 12:45 pm, Innovation Space, Hall 5 – A spotlight on space at ‘Pack4Space: Business amidst the Stars’, Speakers: Serena Perilli (ASI – Italian Space Agency), Paolo Cergna (Altec), and Davide Sanna (Relicta). Moderator: Micol Bellucci (ASI).

Thursday 30 May, 10:00 am, Innovation Space, Hall 5 – Insights into ‘Technology in action’ with Giorgia Trevisiol (OMRON), Giorgio Santandrea (TxOne), Luba Manolova (Microsoft), Andrea Taglini (Easysnap Technology), and Marco Taisch (Miraitek). Moderator: Stefano Fumagalli (Tg1 news presenter). 6:30 pm onwards, Teatro Alcione, Milan – The WordStar Awards, organised by the World Packaging Organization, will be celebrating global excellence in packaging with an exclusive gala evening for the 260 winners from around the world.