RosUpack and Printech 2023 see record numbers of participants, visitors and speakers, welcome new industries and regions

From 6 to 9 June 2023 the Crocus Expo International Exhibition Centre (Crocus Expo IEC) hosted the 27th RosUpack International Exhibition of Packaging Industry, and the 8th Printech International Exhibition of Equipment, Technologies and Supplies for Printing And Advertising Industries.

This year, the largest Eurasian exhibitions of packaging and printing industries have shown record numbers of participants and visitors, and the largest exposition area in the 27 years of their existence!

RosUpack and Printech exhibitions have become important events for the printing and packaging industry professionals, providing them with a unique opportunity to discover the latest industry trends and innovations, establish contacts with the leading companies and specialists, and discuss important issues with colleagues and exhibition participants from different countries.

The events were visited by 30,474 industry professionals from 51 countries of the world and 79 regions of Russia. 14,952 specialists visited the exhibitions for the first time.

Among the visitors were specialists of companies representing various industries, such as food, processing, chemical, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, public catering, wholesale and retail trade, warehousing, logistics, etc.: OOO Alpina Publisher, IEK Group, Art. Lebedev Studio, Mistral Trading, Wildberries, MOSCOW Agricultural Complex, Makiz-Pharma, UNICONF, Shchekinoazot, Velikoluksky Meat Processing Plant, OAO Yaroslavskie Kraski Association, Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods, EkoNiva, Russian Post, Unilever, Novolipetsk Steel, PAO Magnit, Vkusno i Tochka, Evalar, Nestle Russia, TechnoNICOL, Auchan retail network, Pharmstandard, Eksmo Publishing House, Vostok-Servis Group of Companies, Yandex Lavka, Irkut Corporation, AO Keldysh State Research Centre, Cherkizovo Group of Companies, R-Pharm, and many more.

RosUpack and Printech Exhibition Area

The vast exhibition area and the range of products certainly piqued the interest of experts of the packaging and printing industries. The exhibition participants noted high demand for equipment, such that some equipment was sold right off the stands during the exhibition.

746 companies from 19 countries of the world took part in the exhibitions, with 40% of them being foreign companies. RosUpack и Printech 2023 exhibitions took up 35,156 square meters in five exposition halls of Crocus Expo IEC.

For the first time in the past 8 years RosUpack presented a street exposition in front of the first pavilion of Crocus Expo. The SKAT (OOO SoyuzKomplektAvtoTrans) and Eurocara-Plus companies demonstrated loaders and warehouse equipment in the open area during the exhibition. This section of the exhibition took up almost 200 square meters and was very popular with the exhibition visitors. SKAT also served as the Partner of the exhibition’s street exposition and presented 7 warehousing equipment units — loaders and stackers. Eurocara-Plus brought to the exhibition a CPD 20 SHANN electric loader, CPCD 35 off-road 2 WD forklift truck, СDD 20-60 PRO MAX stacker, CQD 20 De Luxe reach truck, CBD 20 New Type pallet transporter, and CBD 15 24V/30Ah electric pallet jack.

All visitors could examine the presented machines and select warehousing equipment under a special sales plan directly from the manufacturers.

Also in 2023, the scope of RosUpack was expanded by introduction of equipment and materials for the pulp and paper industry. The exhibitors in this sector included such well-known companies as Global Chemical, BKT-Service, Pigment, Ambica Paper Machineries, Ecosure Pulpmolding Technologies, Su-Tantra Equipments, Ashoka Rolls Manufacturers, and many others. The exposition complemented Raw Stock and Materials, one of the largest sections of RosUpack. This year it was attended by Archangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill, Baltic Pulp, Kama, PTsBK, Ilim Group, Karelia Pulp, MTsBK, Pavlovo-Posad Corrugated Paper Mill, Selenginsk Paper Mill, SFT Group, and others. The “League of Waste Paper Recyclers” Association of Self-Regulating Organizations acted as the Partner for the pulp and paper industry exposition and the exhibition in general.

Business Program: Trends and Expert Opinions

The business activities of the four days of exhibition featured 139 lead speakers and were visited by 1,777 unique attendees. Industry experts presented newest trends, discussed success stories and tools facilitating business development in the new realities. Long-time exhibition Partner, the National Confederation of Packagers (NKPak), co-organized the Forum of Packaging Manufacturers and Consumers. The participants of “You Can Do It!” practical session, featured as part of Printech business program, gained practical knowledge and studied printing technologies and samples; the session was supported by PUBLISH magazine and portal.

The “League of Waste Paper Recyclers” Association of Self-Regulating Organizations acted as the Partner for the pulp and paper industry exposition and the exhibition in general and co-organized the “Plant Polymers Are the New Oil” industry conference. At this conference, for the first time, RosUpack brought up such important issues as energy efficiency and eco-technologies for the pulp and paper industry, and creating and managing a green economy on the example of the pulp and paper industry. 41 speaker took part in the conference. The business program also supported the development of the new pulp and paper industry section of the exhibition. 6 expert sessions attended by 443 visitors were held to discuss the issues of this industry.

In total, 19 conference sessions were held during the exhibitions, which is a new record. Speakers from friendly countries, and state representatives took part in the sessions. The key speakers this year featured Aslikhan Arican, General Secretary of ASD Turkish Packaging Manufacturers Association; Oleg Bocharov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade; Igor Zabralov, Sustainability Director at the Russian Environmental Operator public non-profit company; Andrey Rudakov, Head of Secondary Material Resources Department at the Russian Environmental Operator public non-profit company, and Valeria Gulimova, Executive Director of the Resurs Association.

Novelty of the Season — Successful Launch of RosUpack Connect Business Community

This exhibition season, RosUpack launched the RosUpack Connect industry community. This is a dedicated web platform for business communication and sharing news, expertise and analysis, enabling specific online events and business meetings, as well as access to expert information from partners and participants of the RosUpack exhibition.

RosUpack Connect community aims to help industry professionals establish and maintain business contacts, communicate all year round, be aware of what is going on in the industry, and promote their companies' products and services. During the exhibition, RosUpack Connect business community studio saw filming of 43 interviews with representatives of companies participating in the exhibition, industry associations, business program speakers, and packaging industry experts. 2,000+ specialists have already registered on the platform, and actively used it to exchange publications and news during the exhibition. You can register on the platform any time — learn more at the exhibition web-site.

PART Award Ceremony

The International PART Award Ceremony (in the field of packaging design and production) took place on 8 June. For 9 years now, the Award brings together passionate individuals and professionals who are ready to offer innovative developments in the field of packaging and packaging materials.

This year, 60 companies with 129 product samples in 14 categories participated in the PART Award. The winners were 14 companies and Yelizaveta Yeliseyeva, a student of the Moscow State Art and Cultural Institute, who presented her work in the Student Concept category.

A comprehensive review of all works submitted to the contest was held based on pre-determined criteria. The judges:

Alexander Boyko, General Director of the National Confederation of Packagers, Chairman of the Judges;
Irina Kirsh, Holder of Advanced Doctorate in Chemistry, Professor, Head of the “Industrial Design, Packaging Technologies and Expert Assessment” Department at ROSBIOTECH State Higher Education Institution;
Natalia Kosobokova, packaging design manager, independent expert;
Galina Saltykova, Doctor of Education, Associate Professor at the “Design and Media Technologies in Art” Department of the Fine Arts Institute of the Moscow State Pedagogical University;
Natalia Chernousova, Doctor of Science, Associate Professor at the “Chemistry and Technologies of Polymer Materials and Nanocomposites” Department, Deputy Director of the Social Engineering Institute of the Kosygin Russian State University;
Sergey Popov, Packaging Purchasing Team Leader at Veropharm;
Yelena Vishnyakova, Deputy General Director of EcoLine Group;
Ivan Filatkin, Head of Milk Packaging for the CIS and Sustainable Packaging for Europe Group at Wimm-Bill-Dann;
Yevgenia Sedova, Director of Research and Development Department at Unilever;
Daria Sviridenko, Sustainability Manager at ECR Association, business sustainability consultant.

The expert judges announced the following winners:

“Environmental Packaging” category, “Primary, Secondary Packaging” sub-category — Rusdzham Steklotara Holding.
“Environmental Packaging” category, “Transport Packaging” sub-category — Solnechnogorsk Experimental Mechanical Plant: Solnechnogorsk Packaging Plant.
“Environmental Packaging” category, “Rolled Packaging Materials and Packet Products” sub-category — Danaflex.
“Manufacturer of the Year” category, “Food Packaging” sub-category — ECOPACKSNAB.
“Manufacturer of the Year” category, “Industrial Packaging” sub-category — Best Price.
“Manufacturer of the Year” category, “Cosmetics and Pharmaceuticals Packaging” sub-category — ConFlex SPb.
“Manufacturer of the Year” category, “Transport Packaging” sub-category — SFT Packaging.
“Manufacturer of the Year” category, “POS Materials” sub-category — Ilim Gofra.
“Manufacturer of the Year” category, “Secondary Packaging” sub-category — Gotek North-West.
“Manufacturer of the Year” category, “Label” sub-category — Azimut Advanced Technology Research and Production Centre.
“Manufacturer of the Year” category, “Premium Packaging” sub-category — OK RUSAL Trading House.
“Special Award” category — Mareven Food Central, for improved functionality.
“Special Award” category — Troitskaya Paper Factory, for alternative solutions.
In the “Special Award” category a special commendation was given to Yevgeny Sviridenko, student of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, academic advisor G. M. Saltykova.
Yelizaveta Yeliseyeva, a student of the Moscow State Art and Cultural Institute, was the winner in the “Student Concept” category, academic advisor V. V. Kukharsky.
Two companies were the winners in the “Organizer’s Choice” category — OOO Clever Machines and Agro-Pack.

Exhibition Partners

RosUpack Exhibition management expresses enormous gratitude to the 2023 exhibition partners for their contribution to organization and support of the exhibition.

Exhibition Partner and Co-organizer of the Forum of Packaging Manufacturers and Consumers — National Confederation of Packagers (NKPak)
General Partner of RosUpack Exhibition — ILIM Group
RosUpack Exhibition Official Partner — PCBK
‘Label’ Section Partner — Megaflex Printing House
Partner of the pulp and paper industry exposition and the exhibition — “League of Waste Paper Recyclers” Association of Self-Regulating Organizations