ICEC USA, an exhibition designed for paper, film, foil and nonwovens converting, is the central meeting point for the international converting industry, returned to Orlando, FL, this year from October 19-21. The event, which takes place every two years, provided those in the converting industry to network, learn more about new products, and sit in on educational presentations highlighting the newest trends in printing and packaging.

The companies in attendance ranged from Daetwyler and Delta ModTech to Maxcess and Yazoo Mills. The event marked another step in the return to in-person tradeshows, which are critical for this industry.

“Attendance, as everyone can attest, was low,” says Martin Automatic’s Kelly Hart. “But the Orlando location of this show has been good in the past, and we did have several excellent conversations this time around. It was still good to be with industry colleagues, to meet with customers in person and to demonstrate Martin Automatic’s commitment to the future of the converting industry.”

Yazoo Mills highlighted its wide range of converter cores at its booth. For Yazoo Mills, the event allowed the company to connect with more than a dozen customers. “I loved being back in the swing of things with the tradeshow,” says Cheryl Brown, senior sales associate, Yazoo Mills. “I think the majority of vendors were excited to be doing something ‘normal’ again.”

According to Delta ModTech, the company received several strong leads and scheduled a host of customer visits while at the show.

Meanwhile, ICEC USA provided GEW with the platform to showcase its full range of UV curing systems, including conventional mercury arc UV lamps, UV LED, hybrid UV and inert-gas UV curing systems. Particular focus was given to the company’s latest UV LED system, LeoLED.

“Our booth visitors were mostly stopping by to gather specific product information and many had GEW as a target destination,” says GEW’s Duncan Smith. “Encouragingly, there was strong interest in our higher-powered arc and newer LeoLED systems.   

“The co-location with the AIMCAL R2R Conference worked well for us,” he adds. “Jennifer Heathcote, GEW’s business development manager, gave a talk at the conference on UV Curing for Hotmelt Adhesives, which was very well received. This made the combined event more productive and fruitful for GEW.”

Daetwyler USA, a supplier of coated and uncoated precision doctor blades, highlighted distillation and its newest part washing products at the event. The company prides itself on research and development, as it prioritizes continuous improvement of all products to adapt to the needs of its customers.

Douglas Cole, sales manager at Daetwyler, says, “It felt refreshing to be in front of prospects again. However, with attendance being so low, it was concerning.”
As the industry continues to return to its pre-pandemic form, Martin Automatic discussed how it handled the previous 18 months. “As an essential operation, we took all reasonable steps to keep our doors open throughout the past 18 months,” explains Hart. “At Martin, we really do consider our dedicated colleagues, both at the factory headquarters and around the world, to be family. We look after each other, and we have found creative ways to look after our customers, even during the most difficult stages and severe travel restrictions. We’ve been rewarded with several very strong quarters of sales and are looking forward to a solid end to 2021 and a good start to 2022.”

Daetwyler has remained incredibly busy throughout the past 18 months, as it’s continued to service its wide range of customers. “Our customers are primarily in the packaging industry, so we were busier than ever with so many customers staying at home,” adds Cole.

GEW has deftly navigated the pandemic, as the early period of Covid-19 put many installations on hold as customers sought to freeze capital expenditure. At the same time, orders for spare parts and consumables continued to be strong.

“Through the fall of 2020, held orders were steadily reinstated and new orders increased,” comments Smith. “2021 has been a very busy year for production and sales but tempered with rising costs and supply chain issues. Orders for LED systems are particularly strong. Installations continue to be challenging due to lingering travel restrictions, but we have been resourceful in finding solutions through our global distributor network, and our unique Remote Monitoring platform enables us to commission new systems online through state-of-the-art Industry 4.0 technology.”

Looking ahead, the seventh edition of ICEC will be held on February 14-16, 2023 at the Orange County Convention Center.