Packaging Innovations, Empack and Label&Print is returning to Birmingham’s NEC on 1 & 2 March 2017, for its twelfth edition. The UK’s leading packaging and print show will feature more content than ever before, a who’s who of international speakers and a showfloor packed with first time exhibitors.

Gerry Sherwood, Event Director for the Easyfairs’ Packaging Portfolio, comments: “The packaging industry is constantly evolving, with buyers and key decision makers needing to stay ahead of the latest trends, issues and solutions. This is where we come in, providing our visitors with the perfect platform to meet and do business.

“We work very hard to create a dedicated show that meets all of our visitors’ needs. That means delivering a rich mix of all of the established players, plus new niche packaging suppliers they perhaps wouldn’t otherwise see. That’s why we’re so pleased to have a show of this size that still has so many first time exhibitors. This allows us to bring something fresh to the thousands of retailers and brand managers who attend the show.”

Features always play a major role at the show, providing visitors with the opportunity to learn and interact with some of the most influential names from the packaging industry. New for 2017, will be The Ideas Factory, which will see leading experts from non-packaging based companies form a cross-sector information sharing portal. This will allow cutting-edge techniques and knowledge from other industries to be applied to the packaging sector.   

Campden BRI, the UK’s largest independent food and drink research body, will be at the show for the first time, running a number of sessions focusing on openability. It will also host a series of interactive ‘spot the defect’ and ‘identify the foreign body’ workshops.  

A third new show feature, focusing on inclusivity has also been developed. Details of this will be announced later in the year. As well as these new additions, the show also welcomes back established favourites, including The Pharmaceutical and Drinks Symposia, The Great Innovation Debate, The Ecopack Challenge, The Packaging Clinic and The BIG Print Debate.

There will also be free-to-attend Learnshops seminars, spanning the entire packaging market, delivered by a host of international industry experts, including GSK, Jaguar Land Rover and Co-Op.

Top suppliers, such as HP, Pollard Boxes, Curtis Packaging, Alexir Packaging, Leonhard Kurz UK, De Jong Verpakking, BillerudKorsnäs, Durst Phototechnik AG and Fischbein Saxon have been quick to book stands, showing their support for the show.

Returning exhibitor Brian Tyndall, UK Sales Manager at Enercon Industries, comments: “Packaging Innovations in Birmingham is the only UK show we exhibit at every year. It not only draws in new customers, but it is also a great place to meet with existing customers who visit to find the latest innovations in the packaging industry. We are looking forward to 2017!”