MPS Systems North America and Green Bay Packaging Coated Products Operations open a joint Demo & Applications Technology Center in Green Bay Wisconsin. The Technology Center is a separate building on the Green Bay Packaging campus and opens September 1 of this year. MPS is displaying a 10 color 17 inch EF multi-substrate flexo press that is equipped with UV/LED, hot air dryers and a large number of different converting options.

Labelexpo Europe 2017 will be hosting two educational master classes and a workshop in conjunction with the Label Academy, the labeling industry's training and certification program.

H.B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL) has signed an agreement to purchase adhesives company, Adecol Ind. Química, Limitada, a highly respected manufacturer of quality adhesive technologies in Brazil.

FINAT convened its European Label Forum in Berlin in June, since Germany hosts well over 400 label printing companies today, including Hagmaier Etiketten, whose Managing Director, Thomas Hagmaier, had served as FINAT President for the last two years. He handed over the presidency to Chris Ellison of OPM Labels, UK, at the event.

At FINAT’s European Label Forum, I had the pleasure of participating in a panel discussion about the future of the label industry and how label companies can best participate in the emerging smart products revolution. If I had to pick one major theme from that conversation it would be data.

At a time when packaging technology as a whole is changing very fast, Chris Ellison, Managing Director of OPM (Labels & Packaging) Group Ltd (UK) has been elected to the challenging position of President of FINAT, the European labelling association based in The Netherlands.

Two iconic brands in the labelling industry – Labelexpo and FINAT (Stand 11A31) – will celebrate the 25th anniversary of a successful partnership at this year’s Labelexpo Europe in Brussels, 25-28 September. The event represents an appropriate opportunity for the partners to focus their vision once again on the broad canvas of the industry to whose growth both have contributed much, and which is uniquely represented by the Labelexpo Europe exhibitors and visitors.

One of the highlights of the European label industry’s year is the announcement of the winners in the FINAT Label Competition – an annual event which has identified and lauded outstanding achievement for 37 years now.

Having just returned from the 2017 edition of FINAT’s European Label Forum in Berlin, I share with you some thoughts which I already wrote down in my editorial of the association's Yearbook that has just been released. The thoughts and ideas that were shared, the conversations that took place and the (new) friendships that were built only confirm the role of our association as platform linking the label community on its way to future business success! Thanks to all of you who were there who made this an event to remember.

The end-use markets for UV/EB curing have grown dramatically in the two years since RadTech Europe held its last conference. With its headline topic ‘UV/EB: best in class!’, and taking place as in 2015 at the well-received Clarion Hotel, Prague, 17-19 October, the RTE Conference and Exhibition 2017 will be a large and lively event, with an in-depth formal agenda complemented by an extensive on-site supplier exhibition and strong networking opportunities.