The 17th edition of Label Summit Latin America recently concluded in Santiago, Chile. Taking place in the Chilean capital for only the second time, the two-day conference brought together 499 senior stakeholders from 21 countries.
                      
The conference, hosted at Espacio Riesco Convention Center from March 10-11, featured 11 conference discussions and in-depth, expert-led presentations taking place over the two days. The focus was firmly on printing, branding, design and wine, and sustainability.

Tasha Ventimiglia, Label Summit Latin America 2020 event director, comments, “Once again, we’re delighted to bring the industry together during the latest Label Summit Latin America. Despite an ambiguous period, we were able to host a lively and extremely well-received conference, with truly inspiring speakers and fantastic educational sessions covering the most topical converter, design and sustainability issues facing the region’s label and package printing industry.”

Opening the conference on day one was a presentation on climate change and its impact on the export-driven Chilean economy, given by Mariana Soto Urzúa, general manager, CENEM Chile. This transitioned into the next session from Javier Ibero Arimany, LATAM manager at Spanish printer EADEC Chile SA, on sustainability and the circular economy.

The keynote presentation was given by Askold Zimmermann, business development manager for gold sponsor GlobalQuality.space, who focused on workflow automation and transforming a converter’s operational functions. A further day one highlight was the afternoon’s Southern Cone converter panel discussion, featuring a strong lineup from Germán Calvi, director, Etiketten SA; Ignacio Cortiñas, sales and operations manager, EADEC Chile SA; Jorge Garrido, director, Garino Hnos  SA; and Ignacio Ramos, commercial director at converter R&R Impresores. Topics covered included digital printing, recruiting press operators and staying ahead of the competition.

The conference closed with a second panel discussion focusing on wine label design, which highlighted sustainability and taking advantage of globalization as key to this. 

Delegates also took advantage of the exclusive accompanying exposition showcasing the latest technology driving the region’s industry, with 57 exhibiting companies taking part, including ABG. Sebastián Rosero, its sales representative in Latin America, says, “The Summit was a key show for ABG, allowing us to engage with visitors on the scale of new developments in our finishing equipment and the opportunities available, particularly in increased automation and faster workflows. We had some constructive discussions with the packaging group, All4Labels Argentina, and barcode and RFID technology specialists, SATO, also based in Argentina, both of which should result in new business.”

Ventimiglia adds, “I would like to extend my sincere thanks to everyone for taking part in Label Summit Latin America 2020. The insight shared at this event will be invaluable as our thoughts turn towards putting together our very first three-day Labelexpo in Latin America, in Mexico for next year, which replaces Label Summit Latin America 2021. We look forward to working with Label Summit speakers and exhibitors, and the wider industry, on the show.”