GLOBAL Packaging Stage: The next day of the packaging industry

During GLOBAL PACK 2023, the GLOBAL Packaging Stage was held for three days in Hall 3, where industry experts and market executives analyzed the most current issues that concern the packaging industry.

The program of the GLOBAL Packaging Stage was held on all three days of the exhibition, on the specially designed Stage in Hall 3.

Τhe next day of labeling & printing from market’s experts

The third day of speeches at the Global Packaging Stage with the central theme of digital printing and the label was also successfully completed. At the beginning of the day by Dr. Anastasios E. Politis, President of the International Circle of Educational Institutes of Graphic Arts (IC – the International Circle of Educational Institutes of Graphic-Media Technology and Management), HELGRAMED – Panhellenic Association of Graduates of Graphic Arts Technology, who presented the trends of modern packaging with special mention in the mainstream: i.e. hybrid printing. Afterwards, Mr. Grigoris Kokkoris, Print Color Specialist (DOT REPRO SA) spoke about the evolution of printing with special reference to the journey of his company, since the first year of its establishment (in 1979). Then Mr. Christos Koutrouditsos (Diagram AE, Dept. Ph.D. in Graphic Technology), who engaged the audience with the valuable information he shared about the management and workflow in the digital printing of paper packaging in small runs. For his part, the next speaker Mr. Vangelis Vakalis (Konica Minolta Product Manager PP/IP) pointed out the great room for development that exists for the increase of digital printing in the flexible packaging industry.

Then Mr. Konstantinos Mexas, Corrugated & Folding Carton Solutions, GRAPHCOM briefly presented the digital solutions that exist in processing – finishing in the printing industry, emphasizing the fact that there is a shift from analog to digital printing. Mr. Konstantinos Spyropoulos (Global Sales & Business Development Executive Director, BEL) also spoke about the new technological developments, who in his speech entitled: The Connected Converter mentioned, among other things, the term overprint, which is understood as an integrated information system with modular structure and customizable work forms. Afterwards, Mr. Nikos Kechagias, Scientific officer of Nanotypos spoke about security and authentication solutions in packaging products, while finally, Mr. Ioannis Sfinarolakis, Sales Supervisor machines & Digital Units, NOVACEL HELLAS spoke about Xeikon’s innovations for a sustainable future on label packaging. At the end of the workshops, Mr. Giorgos Triantaphyllou, publisher of the allpack [Hellas] magazine, after thanking the speakers and organizer of GLOBAL PACK, FORUM SA, renewed the appointment for November 2025.

Interesting talks and presentations about automation and AI in industry

The program started with NewCold’s presentation, on the topic of Creative Sustainable Value Chains, and the speaker was Mr. Roberto Alessio VP Business & Growth Eastern Europe, who, analyzed the company’s values, emphasizing on ensuring sustainability.

Afterwards, narrative techniques in product design in the age of AI were analyzed by Dr. Panagiotis Kyratsis, Professor and President of the Department of Product & Systems Design Engineering at the University of Western Macedonia. More specifically, he focused on innovation and design in packaging and how ideas can be implemented through AI applications to develop unique products. Finally, he presented successful Projects of the department’s students. Then Mr. Lefteris Havouzis, Msc Eng, Dipl.Wirt.- Ing. MD Lino3D member of LinoGroup, spoke about 3D Scanning / Reverse Engineering and how it can help the production process of food packaging, through a detailed presentation of 3D scanners and their applications.

Mr. Spyros Vamvakas, Industry Expert, Evocon Representative, Vice President of HMS took the stage and presented the Evocon software and its benefits in Industry 4.0. Afterwards, Mr. Dimitris Bouboulos, General Manager Feed Business AVRAMAR, presented the case study of the integration of the three factories of AVRAMAR through the Evocon cloud platform, emphasizing the ease of use of the software and the importance of real time monitoring of the production process. The next speaker Mr. Konstantinos Vassiliadis, Key Account Manager of ATLANTIS ENGINEERING, elaborated on the topic of Optimizing Robotic Arm Operations: Self-Tuning and Self-Training Predictive Maintenance for Diverse Product Manufacturing. In particular, he talked about robotic arms and the factors affecting their operation, as well as the algorithmic techniques applied.

With a macroscopic treatment of automation and the presentation of two case studies – KABINO SA and Syngenta Hellas – followed the speech of Mr. Yiannis Maravelias, Senior Project Manager of THEODOROU GROUP, entitled: From robotics to connected automation: the new path of digital transformation for Industry 4.0. Target; Through automation projects, achieving an ideal state of constant high productivity, continuous self-correction and repeatable quality. Mr. Christos Athanasiadis, Machine Vision Expert of the company ROBOVISION, took the stage developing the topic of Code Reading & Label Mix Up Prevention. After a brief reference to the company’s twenty-year history, he analyzed Label Mix Up, that is, mislabeling the product and how we can avoid it through process automation. Mr. Angelos Markou, Head of Industrial Solutions SABO SA afterwards talked about Innovative solutions and Industry 4.0, and the applications of robotic arms applied on different industrial sectors. Mr. Panagiotis Papadopoulos, Founder & Managing Director of VIEPA, dealt with Automation and Robotics as the future of Greek industry during his presentation. He talked about the need for “smart” solutions and custom applications, always with sustainability standards in production.

Next speakers were Mr. Anastasios Moschatos Chief Sales Officer and Mr. Giorgos Metaxas Chief Operations Officers of GIZELIS ROBOTICS, who presented two case studies END OF LINE ROBOTICS IN FOOD INDUSTRY: The Integrated Robotic Yogurt Tray Palletizing System for HELLENIC DAIRIES SA and Integrated Robotic System for Handling and Boxing of Feta cheese at OMIROS DAIRY INDUSTRY SA. Last speech of the day, was the “Automation and Optimization using Robotic Systems and Artificial Intelligence” by Mr. Giorgos Anogiatis, Product Manager WINGS ICT Solutions, who analyzed the features of the WINGS Chariot software and its different applications in warehouses, transport and industrial facilities.

All about branding, universal trends & eco packaging

The first day of Global Packaging Stage was a success, with a significant number of experts analysing the most important issues concerning the packaging sector. The day started with Dr Theodoros Tsoufis (Materials Science Engineer THRACE PLASTICS PACK S.A.) who spoke about dairy packaging and circular economy. Next, it was Mr Yannis Triantafillou’s turn (Managing Director ΤΟ ΑΤΟΜΟ LTD) to explain the way technology creates a new kind of experience for consumers, while Mr P. Milis (Intellectual Technological Solutions for Growth -INTESO.GR- Co-Founder, CTO) referred to the variety of labels. Finally, Mr Spiros Dotas (Sales Manager, Elergon) and Mrs Anastasia Lampiri (Head of Sales Kalamarakis Industrial Automation) shared their knowledge on labels, with an emphasis on product safety.

Packaging & Branding- Trends

The following unit of the Global Packaging Events started with Mr Efthymis Stigas (General Manager, DK Consultants Group) who shared a lot of interesting data about international packaging trends and their future prospects in Greece.

Communication via Packaging

Mr Stavros Platsis (Managing Director, ASTERIAS GRAPHIC DESIGN GROUP LTD) and Mrs Stella Boura (Art Director of the aforementioned company) referred to the communication that can be achieved through packaging and its current trends among which are minimalism and simplicity. Mr Demosthenes Brusalis (General Manager, DASC BRANDING) underlined the significance of product packaging having in mind the current consumer trends. These trends were also the main issue of Mr Giorgos Yonas’s talk (Creative Director, YONAS DESIGN LTD), while Mrs Irini Rigopoulou (Associate Professor in the Department of Product and Systems Design Engineering at the Polytechnic School of the University of the Aegean, specializing in Brand Management & Design) spoke about packaging and the Branding Process. Mrs Machi Kakava (Managing Director, abcdesign Communication) shared some interesting thoughts about the role of Neuromarketing in sales. Finally, Mrs Ioanna Biniakou (Market Analyst, DK Consultants Group) presented the research of DK Consultants Group for Packaging and Labels.

At the end of the day, the discussion focused on sustainability, eco packaging and legislation. Mr Dimitris Mantis (President of SYVIPYS) referred to the suggestions of E.U. about the new European regulation PPWR. Then, Nikos Gemenetzis-Makris (Head of Strategic Planning) and Yannis Mintsios (Technical Sales Consultant PLASTIMAK SA) had a discussion about the main challenges concerning flexible packaging. Mr Stefanos Tsalapatis, (Managing Director, NOVEL PACK) spoke about sustainable and innovative ideas concerning product packaging, while Mr Avgerinos Hatzichrysos gave a very interesting speech about packaging materials and sustainable applications. Finally, Mr Christos Georgiou (CEO of the Research Institute of the Federation of Industries of Greece – SBE) commented upon a current issue: the succession within family businesses.

GREEK LABEL AWARDS 2023

After the speeches, the award ceremony of the GREEK LABEL AWARDS 2023 took place. In the wine category, the gold award was won by ALPHA LABELS with the CFO and Εxecutive Borad Member of FORUM SA, Mr. Stratos Apostolakos, giving the award to Mrs. Irini Christoforou. In the same category, the silver prize went to A. PAGIANTZAS SA. “SELOPLAST” and the bronze was won by CHAITOGLOU GRAPHIC ARTS SA. Then in the category of alcoholic beverages, the gold award was won by ALPHA LABELS, the silver by CHAITOGLOU GRAPHIC ARTS SA and the bronze was won by ANTONIA SKARAKI & SIA. In the olive oil category, the gold was awarded to the company ANTONIA

SKARAKI & SIA, the silver to YONAS DESIGN and the bronze to ALPHA LABELS. In the food category the gold award was shared by the companies: FORLABELS and ANTONIA SKARAKI & SIA. The same company (ANTONIA SKARAKI & SIA), but for different products, won the silver and the bronze award respectively. In the cosmetics category, the company ANTONIA SKARAKI & SIA took the first two prizes, while the bronze went to CHAITOGLOU GRAPHIC ARTS SA. In the category of other products, the gold and silver were won by ANTONIA SKARAKI & SIA and the bronze by E. SKORDAKIS & SIA “ERMIS”. In the promotional packaging category, the gold went to the company FORLABELS and the silver and bronze to the company ANTONIA SKARAKI & CO. YONAS DESIGN won the gold in the snack category for Sesamis packaging and the silver went to the company ANTONIA SKARAKI & CO. The same company received the innovation award for the packaging of the AS Sweet Chocolate product.