The Italian packaging industry has brought together some of the country's top firms for a global trade tour in a bid to showcase local materials, designs, and technological innovations.
The next trade visits will be in Vietnam and South Africa as part of the global trade export tour in partnership with some of Italy's top packaging companies. Confectionery Production reported that the locations have been chosen based on markets that the industry believes is capable of development.
The tour, as support in finance and operations by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) and Italian Automatic Packaging Machinery Manufacturers' Association (Ucima), kicked off the first leg of its rounds in January.
For the March 12-15 schedule, Italian packaging businesses will take part in ProPak Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa's most prominent exhibition in packaging machinery and materials sectors. The exhibition is also known for showcasing the latest food processing technologies.
In this year's exhibits, ProPak Africa will see the Italian packaging industry hosting a number of companies including Magic MP, R.Baldi, Agriflex, Sipa, and Bonfiglioli. This part of the tour aims to prove that South Africa's economy is recovering well through government reforms that boosted Italian exports to the country.
From March 19-21, the global trade export tour will land in Ho Chi Minh City for ProPak Vietnam. The exhibition will be held at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center in the Vietnamese capital.
For ProPak Vietnam, Italian packaging providers will help encourage the use of technological solutions for all segments under the packaging industry. Italian exhibitors include Megadyne, Penta, Gruppo Bertolaso, ISB Industries, Unifill, PE Labellers, CFT Group, Arol, PFM, Sacmi, and Tropical Food Machinery.
Vietnam has been welcoming Italian packaging machinery over the past years, accounting for 10.8 percent of total exports on Italian-made machines. To date, the Asian country is Italy's 25th largest export destination.
After South Africa and Vietnam, Ucima will head to Thailand, Mexico, Egypt, Iran, India, China, Nigeria, Peru, and the United States for the rest of its packaging global trade export tour.
Meanwhile, Italy continues to push for environmentally-friendly packaging options. According to Packaging Gateway, the Italian national consortium signed an agreement with ENI, an energy company, to launch studies on ways to produce hydrogen from plastic waste.
The agreement states that the joint venture will initiate research projects for the purpose of producing biofuel, hydrogen, and other raw materials from non-recyclable packaging waste that contribute to the world's overall waste figures.
