The BOBST Italia Competence Centre reaffirms its role as a reference point for the flexible packaging industry. On April 8–9, more than 250 industry professionals gathered in San Giorgio Monferrato (AL), Italy. The goal? To take a snapshot of a sector in transformation, focusing on sustainability, automation, and new collaborative supply chain models.
“Leading Innovation”, that is innovations that chart new, virtuous paths, was the core theme, developed in synergy with technology partners. The latest event organized by the Swiss multinational at its San Giorgio Monferrato Competence Centre highlighted the importance of collaboration across the entire industry to develop high value-added applications that offer concrete solutions in a constantly evolving market.
Opening the event CEO Jean-Pascal Bobst, who joined via livestream from the Swiss headquarters, provided a clear picture of the ongoing transformations in the sector. He analysed the major trends driving the evolution of packaging, from increasing digitization and demand for sustainable solutions to resource optimization across the entire value chain. “BOBST moves forward with a clear vision”, he said, “supported by a solid group of around 6,400 employees across 21 production sites, with net sales reaching 96 million CHF in 2024. But our real strength lies in our ability to integrate expertise, technology, and services to drive change together with our partners”.
This awareness led to the launch of BOBST Application Management, a consulting service that guides clients and stakeholders throughout the entire packaging value chain, helping them identify the most suitable solution even before choosing the equipment. This holistic approach focuses on the packaging of the future: monomaterial, recyclable, biodegradable, paper-based. In a word: sustainable.
With smartGRAVURE gravure printing is competitive also for short runs
Among the highlights of the two-day event was the smartGRAVURE concept, featuring the MASTER RS 6003 gravure printing press. In a market where declining print runs have become a structural trend, BOBST, supported by its technology partners, is reaffirming its commitment to gravure as a cutting-edge technology. The focus is on automation, integrated control systems, and digital intelligence, all working together to deliver efficient, sustainable, and high-quality printing.
Offering the ultimate in optimization, smartGRAVURE is an end-to-end digitalized process that allows converters to deliver exceptional and consistent quality, with very low waste of substrates and inks. The system leverages automated process color management with BOBST oneECG (Extended Color Gamut) printing, which incorporates oneSET the automatic setup of the machine at the touch of a button, without stopping production, and even remotely if needed, thus reducing downtime, costs, and errors while improving overall efficiency. A solution that integrates itself perfectly with the BOBST Connect platform, a cloud-based system that allows remote control, job recipe management and real time analysis.
The first demo job showcased the reverse printing of an ice cream packaging on 12-micron BOPP, using 6 colors plus white. Traditionally, this type of job would have required at least 10 printing units, but thanks to this technology, it can now be completed with just 7 print units, making gravure competitive even for short runs.
“smartGRAVURE is inspired by digital printing processes, where ink enters the press and stays in a fixed position, and there is no waste, also thanks to special colors capable of reproducing 92.1% of the Pantone range, consequently the MASTER RS 6003 is the first and currently only gravure press to receive Pantone-certified validation for this capability”, explains Davide Rossello, who, along with his team (Fabio Ariotti, Silvia Bettonte, Alberto Bastianel, and Chiara Sartore), presented the smartGRAVURE ecosystem.
Space also for converting demo and innovations by partners of the Competence Centre
However, printing is just one step in an increasingly interconnected production ecosystem. Another highlight of the practical demos was the NOVALAM S 550, a compact lamination technology design, also suitable for innovative materials, including thin, stretchable films and metallized substrates. This was a concrete example of BOBST’s ability to respond to demands for high performance and sustainability through intelligent technologies, as was explained during the demo by Giacomo Truffi and Mattia Croce.
Two lamination demos were presented, both starting from a gravure-printed web on the MASTER RS 6003. The first showed the “traditional” lamination of an 8-micron aluminium foil with a 9-color printed 12-micron PET and 60-micron CPP, showcasing the launch of a solventless retort adhesive by Sun Chemical for the creation of a 500 ml fruit-based beverage pouch for children. The second demo, developed in collaboration with Siegwerk, UPM, CF, and Sun Chemical, featured a laminate composed of 78 gsm paper + 6-micron Met BOPP, for a biscuit packaging. It demonstrated excellent results in line with a growing market trend towards using increasingly thinner films.
Meanwhile, live from BOBST UK, the audience witnessed a demonstration of the EXPERT K5, BOBST’s latest-generation metallizer, further proof of the company’s commitment to combining efficiency, aesthetics, and low environmental impact. One of the standout features of the EXPERT K5 is its ability to deliver high performance with a reduced environmental footprint thanks to innovations such as AluBond® technology, which enhances aluminium adhesion and reduces the need for additional treatments and the Hawkeye system, providing ultra-high-resolution in-line quality control, the metallization process becomes more sustainable, with reduced waste and optimized resource usage.
Thanks to BOBST’s iMA (intelligent metallizing assistant), Omar Nunziati was able to operate the EXPERT K5 in Manchester remotely from San Giorgio Monferrato site.
A key role in the event was also played by BOBST’s technology partners, highlighting how innovation today is the result of true teamwork. From Reifenhäuser, a specialist in film extrusion lines, to Vision Technology (AVT) with its advanced inspection and control systems; from the Belgian consultancy Co-ëfficiënt, to Sun Chemical, a global supplier of inks, coatings, and adhesives; not to mention Synaptik, experts in lamination, and UPM Speciality Papers, active in high-performance substrates.
Significant attention was also given to BOBST Connect, the digital platform that integrates BOBST machines into a smart ecosystem designed to optimize every phase of the production cycle. This is a strategic asset that now plays a central role in the company’s roadmap.
Finally, there was a focus on the Service division, involving around 200 people worldwide, which represents a pillar of BOBST’s customer support strategy. Through the Training Academy, BOBST supports its partners daily to maximize the performance of installed technologies and safeguard their investment over time.
“We are proud to have welcomed visitors, partners, and opinion leaders to our Competence Centre in San Giorgio Monferrato, just a few months after our last event in October. This shows that the market needs frequent updates, and clearly confirms BOBST Group’s central role in offering the right solutions for producing sustainable flexible packaging, in collaboration with leading technology partners. We enable our customers to have the flexibility needed to create a workflow tailored to their business models and their customers’ needs”, concludes Davide Garavaglia, CEO of BOBST Italia.
The two days at BOBST Italia’s Competence Centre were not only an opportunity to observe the most advanced technologies in flexible packaging, but also a moment of genuine dialogue between industry players, brand owners, suppliers, and technicians. In a demanding and fast-evolving market, the ability to build connections, to unite know-how and vision, is becoming the true differentiating factor.
