IPACK-IMA has established a Scientific & Technical Committee (STC) to help the processing and packaging industries anticipate market changes, interpret emerging challenges and identify opportunities for innovation ahead of its 2028 exhibition.

Announced in Milan on 12 October 2026, the committee brings together industry representatives, academics, researchers and trade association figures to encourage collaboration across a sector facing technological, environmental and regulatory change.

The launch reflects IPACK-IMA’s ambition to extend its role beyond the exhibition itself, creating an ongoing platform for knowledge exchange and industry dialogue as manufacturers respond to shifting supply chains, evolving customer expectations and new technology requirements.

Connecting technology with industry needs

The committee will focus on areas shaping investment and operational decisions across processing, packaging and materials. These include artificial intelligence (AI) and digitalisation, sustainability, energy, regulatory developments, international markets, food safety, traceability and health.

It will also examine the relationship between technology manufacturers and the businesses using their equipment, alongside emerging business models.

By bringing different perspectives together, the STC aims to identify connections between challenges that are often considered separately. This could help technology suppliers, manufacturers and researchers better understand shared priorities and where solutions developed in one sector might be applicable to another.

The committee’s approach is built around four principles: observe, interpret, connect and support. These will guide its efforts to monitor industry developments, make sense of emerging trends, facilitate collaboration and provide the professional community with relevant knowledge.

Building a year-round industry resource

A central objective is to establish IPACK-IMA as a reference point for the processing and packaging community throughout the period between exhibitions.

“The STC is a think tank where we aim to encourage dialogue between worlds that are often regarded as separate: technology manufacturers and users, companies and the research community, large corporations and SMEs, as well as different industrial sectors that can share technologies, challenges and solutions,” said Luciano Sottile, chairman of the committee.

“Our real ambition for 2028 is therefore for IPACK-IMA not simply to be the place where people meet during the exhibition, but a point of reference that the professional community can turn to over time to understand how its sector is changing and help shape its evolution.”

To support this ambition, the STC will drive a programme of activities leading up to IPACK-IMA 2028. Planned initiatives include editorial content distributed through magazines, video and social media, alongside institutional meetings with stakeholders and representatives of key target markets.

Engagement with schools and universities, the involvement of young professionals and events ahead of the exhibition will also form part of the programme.

These activities are intended to maintain dialogue between industry, academia and other stakeholders, while helping IPACK-IMA remain connected to the needs of a changing market.

Bringing together cross-sector expertise

The committee combines expertise spanning business strategy, packaging innovation, manufacturing technology, sustainability and industry representation.

Its members are Luciano Sottile, chairman of the STC; Carlo Alberto Carnevale-Maffè, professor of strategy at SDA Bocconi; Erik Ciravegna, coordinator of the Packaging Innovation Observatory at the University of Bologna; Alberto Palaveri, vice president of Assografici; and Anna Paola Cavanna, president of Laminati Cavanna.

The committee also includes Antonio Feola, sustainability director at Unione Italiana Food; Luca Baraldi, chief research manager at MECS; Marco Taisch, professor of digital manufacturing at Politecnico di Milano; Francesco Legrenzi, director of the Italian Packaging Institute; and Gianni Squitieri, coordinator of the Presidency Committee of the Foundation for Sustainable Development.

By combining these perspectives, IPACK-IMA aims to create a stronger link between research, industrial practice and market developments.

For processing and packaging businesses, the initiative signals a broader effort to connect technological innovation with the commercial, environmental and operational pressures shaping investment decisions. Its longer-term value will depend on how effectively the committee turns that dialogue into practical insight for the industry ahead of the 2028 exhibition.