The 16th edition of Upakovka/Upak Italia  is only a few days away. The international trade fair showcases systems, machinery and accessories for the production of packaging materials, as well as for packing, bottling and logistics. Attendance at the event, scheduled to take place in Moscow from 29 January to 1 February in pavilions 2/1, 2/2 and 2/3 of the SAO Expocentr (Krasnopresnenskaya), is by now practically mandatory for sector operators. From 1997, when Upak Italia merged into Upakovka, the Moscow fair has become the largest event in Russia for the packing and packaging sector, hosting the best of global production in this area.

The Italian Trade Commission (ICE) has decided, jointly with sector associations Ucima and Acimga , to propose that Italy participate again to Upak in 2008, thereby recognising the event – a key date for the Russian market packing and converting technologies – as highly important for interested companies.. The importance of the Moscow event is also epitomised by the success of the past edition, which welcomed over 23 thousand sector operators, hailing from the Russian Federation and from all the ex-Soviet Republics. There were 350 exhibitors from 22 countries, as well as three national delegations, among which the Italian. 87 Italian companies attended the 2007 edition of Upakovka/Upak Italia , representing Italy’s industry elite in this sector. The national delegations of Austria, China, France, United Kingdom, Czech Republic and Taiwan are also expected at the next edition. .

Upakovka/Upak Italia 2008 will also host an important event for Italian industry: the awards ceremony for the “Italian Printing & Converting Technology Award Russia” - an initiative made possible by the collaboration between the ICE and Acimga, the Association representing Italian manufacturers of machinery for the graphic, converting and paper industry.The award’s objective is to create a bridge between future managers trained in Russian universities and the Italian printing and converting industry. Currently at its second edition, the award selects and rewards the best theses in the field of printing and converting technologies.

The Italian “Made in Italy” manufacturers of the automatic packing and packaging industry – represented by Ucima – are roughly 150. In addition to these large industry representatives, there are also about one hundred craft companies. Operators hail mostly from Northern Italy, from the regions of Emilia-Romagna (which has the largest concentration of businesses worldwide in this sector), Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto, which host almost 80% of total operators. The Italian “capital” of automatic packing and packaging is Bologna, which hosts the so-called “Packaging Valley”.

Italy’s industry sector features a strong exporting component: in 2006 (latest data, source: Ucima) Italian packaging machinery manufacturers have further improved their share of turnover from exports, reaching 91.7% - a new record. In terms of absolute value, sector profits in 2006 grew by 5% (in current value) to 3.276 million euros, while exports grew by 7.9% to 3.005 million euros. The Italian industry holds, with Germany, the leading position in the global market: the two countries cover roughly 65% of the sector’s international trade. Their performance is hardly surprising, since Italian and German manufacturers represent about 40% of global operators. Japan and the United States also feature heavily in terms of volume – however these are destined mainly to domestic markets.