Labelexpo Europe 2023 review

Labels & Labeling covered all nine halls and 36,588 square meters of show floor to report on the latest innovations in the pages that follow. It was clear to us that the return of flexo, diversification into flexible packaging, digitization and automation were key trends at this year’s event.

Demonstrating how Labelexpo Europe is evolving into a package printing show, major press OEMs were showcasing technology for flexible packaging. HP Indigo, Lombardi, Nilpeter, Screen and Xeikon among the press manufacturers leading as the industry moves to further diversification into flexible packaging. Labelexpo also hosted a sold‐out Master Class on flexible packaging technology and a Flex Pack Trail where visitors could deep dive into digital and conventional press technologies, flex pack material constructions, coating, laminating, ink and curing requirements, in‐line and near‐line decoration options, QC and migration testing.

The Automation Arena drew in large crowds to every one of the 10 live demonstrations. Visitors witnessed a fully automated workflow from file creation to turret rewind with automated inspection and MIS integration, without any manual intervention. The participants included Cerm, Esko, Xeikon, Kurz, Grafotronic and Fedrigoni Self‐Adhesive.

Labelexpo Europe will move to Barcelona in 2025, in an event that is already highly anticipated. Organizers said 96 percent of exhibitors already rebooked space for the 2025 event.

Jade Grace, managing director, Labelexpo Global Series says: ‘It has been the hardest show yet for us to deliver, but the most rewarding. We are looking forward to the next chapter in 2025 where we will be bringing Labelexpo Europe to its new home at the Fira in Barcelona, with many plans to stimulate growth and collaboration in the industry.’

Echoing this sentiment, Jules Lejeune, managing director, Finat says: ‘Finat was once again proud to be the lead association partner of Labelexpo Europe this year. In spite of the heat at the beginning of the show, there was a vibrant mood and general state of pleasure especially among the overseas visitors to reconnect with the global label community after such a long absence.’

Labelexpo’s flagship North American event returns to the Donald E Stephens Center on September 10‐12, 2024. Other events include Labelexpo Asia on Dec 5‐8, 2023 in Shanghai; Label Summit Latin America on March 12‐13. 2024 in Bogota, Colombia; and Labelexpo India in Delhi on Nov 14‐17, 2024. Labelexpo Europe moves to Barcelona from Sept 16‐19, 2025.