The first Asian Packaging Conference was held in News Delhi’s Aerocity on 8-9 May 2019. The SHIFT_019 conference was attended by various delegates from the packaging industry and witnessed presentations and panel discussions from a range of speakers that covered the entire spectrum of the labels and packaging industry.
SHIFT_019 wraps up
The theme for the conference this year was, ‘Investing for Sustainability and Financial Returns.’ It aimed to address two of the most pressing issues faced by packaging printers, that of sustainability and return on investments. The local and international speakers consisted of technical stalwarts, marketing experts, consultants, end-users and suppliers.
During the course of two days of the event, SHIFT_019 attracted over 300 business owners, suppliers, packaging printers, converters, brand owners and designers. According to the organizers, 60% of the delegates came from India, while the rest belonged to various parts of the world. The annual event ended on a high note with 40 winners receiving recognition during the Asian Packaging Excellence Awards gala dinner. The next edition of Shift takes place in Vietnam next year.
Asian Packaging Excellence Awards 2019
The Asian Packaging Excellence Awards recognize and honor packaging excellence in the Asian region. The competition is open to brands and companies involved in the production of packaging. The awards are divided into 26 categories, which are further split into various segments like Flexography, Rotogravure, Labels, and the newest category of Mockup/Sample Production.
In late March, an international, independent jury of industry experts deliberated and examined over hundreds of submissions from all over Asia to determine Gold, Silver and Bronze winners. Some categories were not awarded winners as entries were not able to meet the strict requirements and standards set by the judging panel. The panel of judges included industry veterans Willem Swiggers, Phee Boon Eow and Ben Kwok. All submissions were judged anonymously within a pre-established set of criteria.
Indian convertors ended on a high note as they bagged a total of 15 awards at the Asian Packaging Awards night. Hot on their tracks were Thailand, taking home 13 awards in total. Other winners were from Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and the Philippines. While India won the most awards, Thailand took the biggest prize of the night. Not only did Prime Packaging of Thailand win a gold for its entry in the Gravure Film Reverse Print category, it also took home the Best in the Show award.
Winners in flexo segment
The gold winner in the Narrow Web Flexibles Paper category was ITEK Packz from India. In the Narrow Web Flexibles Film category, JD Precision Printing was awarded the first place followed by Multiflex Polybages and Letra Graphics, both Indian companies, which won the the silver and bronze respectively.
In the Mid Web Flexible Films category, TPN Flexpak from Thiland grabbed gold while the silver and bronze awards went to Multiflex Polybags and Letra Graphics from India. In the Wide Web Flexible Films category, SB Packagings from India shared the first place with Scientex Great Wall from Malaysia. The second prize was awarded to Multiflex Polybags of India. The post-print corrugated award was given to Diamond Biowood of Malaysia and NPP Box of Thailand.
Winners in gravure segment
In the Gravure segment, United Graphics from the Philippines bagged the first prize and Huhtamaki PPL got a silver in the Paper and Metallized Paper category. SB Packagings from India won in the Film Surface Print category. In the Films Reverse Print category, Prime Packaging and Cyberprint Group from Thailand bagged the first and second places respectively while the third place was shared by Flex-ible Plas and Print Master, both from Thailand. The speciality award in the gravure segment was conferred to Huhtamaki PPL from India.
Winners in labels and mock-up segments
In the Labels segment, Letra Graphics from India was awarded the first place while CCL Lables from Thailand bagged second and Anlac Labels of Vietnam secured the third position in the Flexo category. In Letterpress category, QLM Labels was awarded the first place and Fasroll Labels of Malaysia was awarded the second place. In Offset, United Graphics of Philippines was presented with gold while Thun Hua Sinn of Thailand claimed silver. In Combination Printing category, CCL Lables of Thailand bagged the first place while Letra Graphics of India bagged second and Fastroll Labels of Malaysia bagged the thrid place. CCL Labels was also awarded gold in Non Pressure Sensitive Material category. In Digital category, QLM Labels bagged gold, Syscon Labels silver and Fastroll Labels bagged bronze. In Digital Packaging category, Thai Container Group was awarded gold while Bell Printers and QLM Labels were awarded silver and bronze, respectively. Last but not the least, in the Mock-up category, ITC from India bagged gold while Bell Printers and Poly Printing bagged silver and bronze, respectively.
