The 13th edition of Label Summit Latin America concluded on a high note last week with over 80 international exhibitors and 621 attendees. Held at Cartagena’s Hotel Las Americas Convention Center in Colombia, it is the region’s premier trade event and is dedicated to learning, connecting and networking for label printing professionals.

The two-day expo and conference program lined-up 81 international exhibitors including Avery Dennison, ARclad, Armor, Bobst, Epson, Esko, Flint Group, Fujifilm, Gallus, HP, Mark Andy, MPS, Nilpeter, Omet, Sun Chemical, UPM Raflatac and Xeikon. A combination of an informative panel discussion, technical and practical presentations attracted delegates from across the continent with senior professionals coming from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

A total of 15 conference sessions covered topics ranging from industry trends, innovative technologies to flexible packaging, product design and branding. The conference was opened by Georges Gravanis of Avery Dennison Corporation. His keynote presentation examined the macro factors facing the pressure-sensitive label industry and highlighted issues including sustainability and commercial growth. The latest in technological advances was also widely explored. New applications in digital printing were shared by Alejandro España of Grupo Ercus and HP’s Alexander Mercon, while Juan Pablo Patino Arevalo of Nilpeter and Impresos y Acabados’ Luis Fernando Herrera Salinas looked at conventional and hybrid printing processes. The first day closed with a round-up of the latest niche technologies with presentations on digital print finishing and ERP software in workflow automation.

Other program highlights included accurate color management across different substrates by Jorge Munoz of GMG Americas and an overview of in-mold labeling and technology by Alex Cruz of YUPO and Maya Pack Group’s Cristian Reyes Vera. GERMARK’s Iban Cid gave a detailed insight into smart products like RFID and augmented reality that can increase consumer uptake and sales with case studies on Munich Sports and Actimel. Carolina Alzate Álvarez, co-founder of imasD shared her expertise in creative packaging design excellence with a client case study from La Reina. The Summit ended with beer sampling and an interactive workshop where delegates heard about the beer brewing and label design process from Arfroni Alonso Arango Vásquez of Bavarian-owned brand Club Colombia, Hernán Saldarriaga Londoño of converter Etipress, David Freyre of label designers imasD and substrate suppliers UPM Raflatac.

Tasha Ventimiglia, Americas event director explains: “This year’s Label Summit Latin Americas has provided another fantastic platform for delegates to expand their horizons, learn from other organizations and share best practice. Both the exhibition and conference sessions were packed as the Latin American market is buoyant and attendees were hungry for information. The Summit gives an invaluable opportunity for label and packaging printers to widen their commercial networks and engage with other likeminded professionals to explore new and better ways of working. We thank everyone who participated in Cartagena and look forward to bringing the Summit to Espacio Riesco, Santiago in Chile during 16-17 May 2017.”

Exhibitor and speakers’ quotes:

Sean Murphy, Accraply: “After speaking with customers at Label Summit Latin America 2016 and also visiting their facilities, it is clear to us that the Colombian shrink sleeve market is at an inflection point where converters and brand owners seek not only growth, but also improvements in quality to help them differentiate themselves. To that end, we at Accraply look forward to playing an integral role at this exciting time for Colombia with our Stanford equipment line. We are truly grateful for the opportunity!”

Carmen Eide, CGS Publishing Technologies International LLC: “During Label Summit Latin America 2016 we were able to announce our new alliance with Novaflex as our dealer. They will be focusing on the packaging markets in Colombia. We were also able to sign on a new dealer from a country outside of Colombia. It was great to see other countries participate in the show, which we were not expecting. Although we didn’t have a high count of leads, the leads we did gather, we believe them to be high quality leads. The show was very well organized.”

Jorge Arias, Coditeq: “The experience of Label Summit Latin America was great, not only for sharing technical information with suppliers and colleagues but for knowing the trends that our industry is facing in these competitive times. The opportunity to learn topics that will improve our performance and reliability in the market we serve has no price.”

Henry Cadena, Formyflex: “Label Summit Latin America provided us an insight of the general direction in which the market in Colombia - and neighboring countries - is heading. We were highly impressed with the number of high level decision-making administrators who attended this event eager to learn about new trends and technologies. In that sense, our high tech RFID, holograms and security inks, representing value-added solutions, received high interest from dozens of visitors. We hope to close 2-3 sales of at least US$50K each within the next few months. Looking forward to Label Summit Latin America 2017.”

Alma Beltran Wirz, Graphic Image Label: “Label Summit Latin America was a very well organized event and the conferences we attended were filled with information that will have a positive impact on our business. It was just the right size to be able to meet with other business peers as well as suppliers across the globe.”

Susana Teixeira, Lemorau: “Label Summit Latin America 2016 was a big success for Lemorau. We had many visitors in our booth during the two day event, some orders reached and others for the near future and we also reached some partnership agreement with new distributors to represent Lemorau in Latin America. Visitors were extremely pleased with our ratio between quality/price.”

Mike Jelinsky, Martin Automatic Inc: “The Label Summit in Cartagena exceeded our expectations and we will definitely be participating in the next Label Summit in Santiago, Chile. We found that the attendees were very interested in finding ways to improve their business and eager to learn how Martin Automatic splicers and rewinders could solve some of their production problems and grow their bottom line.”

Kees Nijenhuis, MPS North America: "I am very impressed by the quality of clients who visited Label Summit Latin America from the Andean region and all other parts of Latin America. We are very pleased with the results and look forward to participating in future events in this area."

Jesper Joergensen, Nilpeter: “We sensed a rush of enthusiasm and optimism amongst the hundreds of delegates who stopped by our booth. The Summit being a vital part of Nilpeter’s success in this important market, we were more than pleased to see the number of attendees increase by 20% - we felt a trend towards consolidation in the Andean region. We look forward to joining the Summit next year in Chile, and highly appreciate this new venue. The changing venue is a vital part of the success of these Summits.”

Deborah Puschner, PC Industries: “PC Industries’ range of print inspection solutions has been well received by visitors at Label Summit Latin America. Both our Guardian OLP off-line inspection system and our Guardian PQV in-line 100% inspection system have generated a lot of interest. We have observed that printers across Colombia, South and Central America look into stepping up from simple web viewing cameras to automated and intelligent inspection systems. In addition, there is a growing need for barcode and variable data verification. We were pleased to see such keen interest in this technology. We look forward to similar success at future Label Summit shows!”

Jaime Dagnino, ProFlexo International: "We are very pleased with the interest in our short-run digital solutions and the high level of clientele that visited Label Summit Latin America, having identified three orders."

Bill Hewitt, Yupo Corporation America: “Label Summit Latin America represents our commitment to this growing market segment for Yupo Corporation America. We continue to expand our reach with innovative and game changing substrates as the world leader in IML labeling for blow, injection and various print methods including the latest in digital IML. In addition to substrates for PS, cut and stack, and tag substrates. Label Summit Latin America has allowed us to reach a larger audience in one convenient location including printers, molders and brand owners. As the leader in the industry, we are looking forward to more opportunities at the next venue in Santiago in 2017.”