International Conference Debuts in Italy

Published: May 01, 2009, By By Stanley Sacharow, The Packaging Group Inc.

Piacenza, Italy | Nordmeccanica, a supplier of coating and laminating machinery to the worldwide flex-pack industry, held its first International Technical Conference March 24 at its headquarters plant near Milan. President Antonio Cerciello welcomed more than 200 attendees from countries as diverse as Pakistan, Chile, UK, and Russia.

Following are trends that were made evident at the conference, which was organized by Giancarlo Caimmi, international sales/marketing director. There appears to be fantastic growth for consumer packaged goods in the rapidly growing economies of Vietnam, Indonesia, and China. Many attendees from these countries were present at the conference. Continued growth is evident in flex-pack converting in Central and South America. There is growth in countries not generally associated with flex-pack converting — Turkey, Greece, Pakistan, and Egypt.

The conference also included presentations from other equipment suppliers. Both Peter Steinbeck, CEO of Windmoeller and Holscher, and Giancarlo Cerutti, head of the Cerutti Group, gave outstanding talks on the state of the flex-pack industry. There also were addresses by various officials of the industrial and packaging organizations in Italy and a teleconference by Andrea Ronchi, minister for EEC policies.

Keynoting the afternoon session was Cerciello's son Vincenzo, who manages Nordmeccanica with his brother Alfredo. He discussed both the company's devotion to research and development and the rationale behind the announcement that a new assembly plant will open in Shanghai, China, in 2009 to serve the eastern market.

This was followed by presentations on adhesives by Henkel and Rohm and Haas and one on OPP by Francesca Piasente of RADICI Film-Taghlees Industries. Since a significant amount of OPP is converted on Nordmeccanica's equipment, this was particularly revealing.

Both PFFC and the writer presented information on the latest developments in the retort pouch. The talk was enhanced by a display of actual packages.

Many attendees stated they not only enjoyed the hospitality of the Nordmeccanica group but they felt the technical presentations were extremely well organized and informative. This writer can hardly wait to attend the 2010 conference in Milan.

For gratis copies of the conference CD, contact the company by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Find more news at www.pffc-online.com

What's happening at your company? Send your news to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..