The forum has been developed as a platform for owners, CEOs, and sales and marketing managers to help them better address business challenges for today and tomorrow, be inspired by success stories, learn from experts in different areas of expertise, share views and opinions, and enter into dialogue that will shape the future. Attendees will also gain experience through engagement and networking with peers from across Europe.

The parallel business learning sessions will be held on 7 June, where attendees will be able to choose two from the six offerings that best meet their needs and interests. The sessions include:

Going Digital - Challenges and Opportunities from Converter and Brand Owner Perspectives: Jennifer Dochstader and David Walsh of LPC will provide an update of the findings of the FINAT-commissioned report about the state of affairs in digital label printing, including new data and information about digital labels from a European brand perspective.

Brand Protection, Product Authentication and Similar Issues: James Bevan of Vandagraf will cover the latest trends and developments in security brand protection and anti-counterfeit technologies, including taggants and forensic markers as well as connected packaging.

The Total Cost of Ownership of Alternative Label Printing Technologies: Sean Smyth of Smithers Pira will discuss common misconceptions about the cost of manufacturing labels and set the record straight with respect to the decision process for investments in new technologies. He’ll present a methodology for identifying cost effective label printing technology and can be used to evaluate investments, even in a rapidly evolving technology environment such as the labels industry is facing today.

How to Measure ROI to Improve B2B Marketing Results: Bert van Loon, business marketing strategist, will describe the rapidly changing landscape in B2B marketing as it becomes more content- and technology-driven. He will explain modern ROI methods for marketing that will enable organizations to increase marketing effectiveness.

EU Falsified Medicines Directive – How to implement serialization and tamper evidence: Dieter Moessner, Pharma Project Engineer at Edelmann, will share details on new EU directives and address audience questions. The focus will be on the effects and consequences for the label industry and how label companies can best prepare.

A Food Labels Panel of Experts consisting of Jakob Abildgoard of Dan Labels, Robert Rae of GEW and Niklas Olsson of Flint Group will share the benefits of expanding market scope, using narrow web converting for indirect food packaging. The panel will also touch on European legislative demands for labels as well as an update on the latest technologies for UV curing.

FINAT President Chris Ellison said, “With the industry under increasing pressure to meet so many market demands quickly, expertly and cost efficiently, there are many topics up for discussion at this year’s forum. That is why we have created a diverse agenda that will deliver empowering knowledge and spur inspiring conversations, enabling attendees to tackle these challenges creatively. With insight on the latest global influences, market trends and business practices collected from our expert speakers and knowledge gathered from peer to peer networking, participants will be able to reenergise their businesses to ensure they remain competitive in the years to come.”