Label Summit Latin America 2019 previewed

The conference program and speakers have been revealed for the forthcoming Label Summit Latin America 2019, with leading brands Colgate-Palmolive and Nutresa to speak at the end of the first day.
A panel session at Label Summit Latin America last year in Guadalajara, Mexico

Taking place on May 14-15 at Plaza Mayor Medellín in Medellín, Colombia, the educational event aims to equip delegates with strategic insights into how they can help move the sector forward in Colombia and the wider region. With this in mind, the conference program has been designed with a strong business and strategy theme. 

A key focus for day one is legislation and industry trends in Colombia, the wider region, and globally, alongside design and branding. Speaker highlights include Alexander Hernández, head of product development at ICIPC, who will set out recent changes in Colombian legislation; Cesar Bernal, founder and managing director of Colombian converter Everest Printed Solutions, who will lead a session on the use of technologies to support start-ups, packaging design, and how sustainability and materials will shape this in the future; Diddier Solano, area sales director UPM Raflatac – gold sponsor of the event – will use his keynote session to touch on how a label can build a brand for the future; and Tatiana Duarte, executive president of Colombian trade association Andigraf, who will present key industry trends. 

The second half of day one features sessions themed around design and branding. Guillermo Dufranc, graphic project manager at Tridimage, will speak on designing products for different generations. This will be followed by a panel featuring regional brand experts that will discuss creating products with stand-out presence. Confirmed panelists are Luis Arevalo, design and packaging director Latin America, Colgate-Palmolive; Catalina Botero Jr, brand development director, Grupo Familia; Luisa Garcia, brand manager, Compañía Nacional de Chocolates (Grupo Nutresa); and Ader Cárdenas, design manager, Quala Nova.

New opportunities 
Day two will focus on business markets, new opportunities and the current market trend for diversification. Juan Sebastián Estrada, Ideeo CEO, will discuss business diversification. His own business has moved from commercial printing to folding cartons and labels. 

A further highlight is returning speaker Fernando Gabel, executive vice president and general manager, Latin America at All4Labels Group, who will present on mergers and acquisitions. Drawing on his experience, he will share insight into how to best to overcome the challenges for a successful transition and how to form new business partnerships. Steinhauser owner and president Tara Halpin will then examine how to implement a positive company culture to grow your business, for example through attracting fresh talent and maintaining staff loyalty. José Gutierrez, MCA North country manager, HP, will be part of a panel discussion that will examine the future of print – including intelligent products, and how the industry needs to respond to consumer expectations. 

Other topics covered on day two include business diversification into labels and flexible packaging; automation and MIS implementation; and lean manufacturing and just-in-time production, from managing multiple operations and in different countries, exporting from Colombia and neighboring countries, and making manufacturing more environmentally sustainable. 

As usual at Label Summit Latin America events, a table-top exposition complements the conference program, with more than 60 industry suppliers showcasing their latest products.

Tim Kirchen, senior vice president, Americas, UPM Raflatac, said: ‘UPM Raflatac is honored to be a gold sponsor and to exhibit our innovative and sustainable labeling solutions at Label Summit Latin America 2019.’ 

Tridimage’s Guillermo Dufranc said: ‘Label Summit Latin America is an excellent platform for sharing experience and insight. Every generation has its own needs and expectations, and packaging design provides a whole range of possibilities to engage with consumers. Latin America, for instance, has an especially young consumer audience, so label converters and brand owners alike would do as well to understand this growing market. With this in mind, I will be showcasing successful packaging design strategies through engaging images, videos and music, which will reveal how to get right to the heart of your target.’

James Quirk

James Quirk

  • Latin America Correspondent