The winds of change are blowing in Italy as Converflex/Grafitalia show organisers, Centrexpo, announce that they will be joining forces with IPACK-IMA in 2015. Neel Madsen visited the 2013 exhibition in Milan to see what lies behind this decision.
A smaller Converflex/Grafitalia, comprising 411 exhibitors in total, opened its doors at the fieramilano exhibition centre to 18,000 visitors in early May. Compared to the 2009 edition this represents a significant fall reflecting the trend we have seen at other major trade shows in the last few years.
While some see the solution in smaller, shorter and more focused shows, the Italian organiser are planning to buck this trend by reverting to a larger and more comprehensive format which will see Converflex and Grafitalia join together with Intra Logistica Italia, the first edition of a new exhibition showcasing integrated material handling, warehouse management and material warehousing systems, and the already well-established IPACK-IMA exhibition for processing and packaging technology.
Staged to coincide with Expo Milan 2015, this new larger show promises to offer visitors a much broader experience, and the organisers are projecting that it will attract a total of over 2,500 exhibitors and more than 100,000 visitors.
Chief executive officer of show organiser’s Centrexpo, Guido Corbella, said, ‘There is a widespread feeling that, after reaching the bottom, Grafitalia is showing signs of climbing back up, but the path is certainly slow and arduous. We received signals of confidence from exhibitors exceeding expectations. Printing, graphics and converting are flagship industries in Italy’s economy and their excellence was recognised by the international delegations visiting the event. Many exhibitors, particularly in the digital printing area, reported successful business negotiations and an increased number of prospects. We are very proud about this, as we believe this is the very purpose of any exhibition.’
Italian excellence
The 2013 experience was still an impressive show with the best in Italian converting and graphic arts on display. Some notable manufacturers were absent, but on the whole there was plenty to keep the attention with new innovations and demonstrations of existing kit on stands. Many larger companies, such as Bobst Italia, Uteco Converting, Omet and Flexotecnica, situated within driving distance of the show took the opportunity to transport customers to their facilities to see presses and machinery in action and show their capabilities in situ.
Lombardi Converting Machinery was one of the narrow web press manufacturers that had decided to show running machinery. It had a Synchroline 530 mm wide 10 colour servo flexo press on its stand, fitted with two cold foil and one hot foil units, die-cutting and inspection system from BST International. A highly automated press available in three widths, the Synchroline is the latest generation from Lombardi, and sales manager Lorenzo Lombardi told us that the press had already been sold to a company in Barcelona.
Bielloni Converting is one of Italy’s oldest press manufacturers tracing its roots back to 1919. The main part of its production is exported outside Europe, explained marketing director, Dr Matteo Spinola. For this show, its focus was on the new Telia FSC 4008 for short runs and the Telia FSC 10 colour flexo presses, which were both on show at the company’s factory in Biassono. The extrusion arm of the company, Dolci Extrusion, showed a blown film line and a cast film line as well as its latest five layer blown film line for barrier films.
Flexotecnica had the CI printing section of its EvoXD press on its stand, while the EvoXG press was shown at an open house at the company’s factory in Tavazzano. The EvoXD runs at 500 m/min and features the TQMA (total quality management approach) solution aimed at reducing waste.
As well as presenting its suite of software products for the packaging and graphics market, Esko partnered with DuPont in introducing the Cyrel Performance plates to the Italian market. There was also a Kongsberg XP44 cutting table on stand attracting many visitors with its demo fashioning an aeroplane model out of corrugated board.
Troika Systems was present on Ditom Srl’s stand, which also had Lead Lasers, Flexoclean and Dantex products on show. Simonazzi was representing Degraf, MacDermid, Pamarco and Trelleborg, while Gama, Camis, Nuova L&C Srl, GE Srl, Cason and I&C joined forces on a large centrally located stand where Camis demonstrated its range of platemounters and a new DM plate demounting machine.
Mike Attard, director of Eurograv, the global distributor of the Camis range, was satisfied with the number of enquiries they had at the show. He said, ‘Printers appreciated the benefits of having plate removal together with a standardised tape application system that allows them to further improve on the manual work flows in the pre- and post press side of a busy plate mounting department. To have the sleeves stripped of plates and tape, cleaned and then reapplied with tape that is perfectly applied with a consistent bond strength and TIR ready to go the mounter, further demonstrates the Camis commitment to Total Work Flow in the platemounting stage and initially from the reaction we had from Converflex it seems that this hit quite a cord with more than just a few seasoned flexographers.’
Omet celebrates its 50th anniversary
Omet’s stand was dedicated to its 50th anniversary. Off site celebrations took place at the end of the week, starting out with a press conference at the beautiful Villa Cipressi, in Varenna, on the shores of Lake Como. Here the gathered the Bartesaghi family and friends along with Omet management and the trade press, to witness the launch of the monograph, ’50 Years of Passion and Excellence’, an impressive 148-page book tracing the history of the company.
A visibly moved Antonio Bartesaghi, managing director, welcomed the visitors. He said, ‘I am feeling very emotional today. This is an important moment for our company,’ and then went on to tell the story of how his father founded the company on a cold February day in 1963. He continued, ‘This anniversary is a starting point for the next 50 years. We share the dreams of the people in our company. We all have a passion for what we do and we are proud of what we have achieved.’
FlexoTech advertising manager, Lindsey Pearson, handing a special 50th anniversary trophy to Omet’s Marco Calcagni and Antonio Bartesaghi (right).
A number of local dignitaries, including the president of the association of industrialists of the Lecco region and a representative of the mayor’s office, gave speeches praising Omet, emphasising its importance to the local economy and its willingness to share knowledge and knowhow. Also present was Chiara Mauri, professor at Bocconi University in Milan, consultant and friend of the Bartesaghi’s family, who has written the monograph. She spoke at length about the family.
Marco Calcagni, sales director, concluded the conference echoing Mr Bartesaghi’s sentiments and outlining the future. He said, ‘Last year was our best year ever. We have continued to invest and are present all over the world, we have machines everywhere.’ He also indicated that Labelexpo will see a new hybrid press introduced and that its focus is very much on the packaging market.
The celebrations continued over the weekend with an open house event at the company’s Lecco showroom, a boat trip on Lake Como, and a gala dinner at Villa Olmo.
