Labelexpo Americas proves industry’s resilience

Labelexpo Americas, which took place in Chicago on September 9-11, demonstrated an excellent quality of attendees, with numbers exceeding 12,000 from 68 countries. By the end of the show over 80 percent of the exhibition space had already been rebooked for Labelexpo Americas 2010.

New technology was in abundance from the 420 exhibitors from around the world – particularly in the areas of digital and environmentally friendly products. HP Indigo and Xeikon brought their new digital label presses to the show, while the likes of EFI Jetrion and Xennia showed new inkjet machines. Nilpeter introduced a new line of presses; Mark Andy showed a unit from its new Comco C1 ProGlide.

Environmental sustainability, unsurprisingly, was a key element of the show. Major material suppliers such as Avery Dennison, UPM Raflatac, Mactac and Channeled Resources all displayed eco-friendly initiatives on their stands.

Amongst the most popular areas of the show were newly introduced features: the Digital Printing Experience and Gather on the Green. The Digital Printing Experience pavilion gathered leading suppliers and showcased a series of informative seminars (see report overleaf) about the benefits and challenges of digital printing, pre-press and finishing.  

The conference sessions, organized by TLMI, that ran for the duration of the show provided visitors with a good opportunity to hear latest industry developments from high caliber speakers. Highlights of the program included panel sessions that focused on crucial issues for the label community: the current economic climate, the industry’s future growth, digital printing technologies, sustainable technology, end-user requirements, advancements in flexo presses and many others.

The conferences started with a keynote presentation by Dean Scarborough, president and CEO of Avery Dennison, who, as always, delivered an engaging and informative speech, discussing the challenges and opportunities in the North American market. 

Roger Pellow, Labelexpo managing director, said: ‘We are very pleased with the event results. The American economy is going through an uneasy period, and many industries are suffering as a result. Despite this, Labelexpo Americas attracted high quality visitors who were willing to invest in new technologies to keep their businesses developing. I was very pleased to see many sales orders put through at the show, which once again demonstrated that this is the number one event for the American label industry.’