With an emphasis on growth in the North American label and packaging market, Nilpeter welcomed more than 150 attendees to its Open House on April 22, 2026. The event, which took place at Nilpeter’s Technology Center in Cincinnati, OH, USA, featured a Flexible Packaging & Food Safety Seminar.

In illustrating growth opportunities available to label converters, Nilpeter collaborated with other leading suppliers. ACTEGA, GEW, Karlville, and Multi-Plastics all presented on their products’ roles in the flexible packaging value chain.

Plus, Kevin Kollman, president, Prime Packaging, delivered the keynote presentation. Kollman explained how Nilpeter’s flexographic technology has allowed Prime Packaging to surge in the flexible packaging space.

“It’s been two years since our last open house in the US,” noted Martin Teilberg, global marketing manager, Nilpeter. “With the US being the market size it is – and the importance it is for Nilpeter – it’s fantastic to be back. And it’s great to see the participation throughout the entire value chain represented at this event.”

Nilpeter’s Open House also served as a destination for education, live product demonstrations, and networking. Specifically, Nilpeter highlighted advancements to its popular FA-Line. The FA-26 features a landscape design laid out in 180 degrees to easily adjust roller pressure and support a controlled print environment. The goal is to simplify the operator’s job.

According to Nilpeter, flexible packaging represents more than 20% of the total US packaging market by value. This $40-45 billion industry is the #2 packaging segment in the US.

“Packaging today may often be seen as secondary to the product itself, but it plays a vital role in branding, ensuring shelf life, preventing contamination, and safeguarding the consumer,” explained Teilberg. “If the packaging fails, it can be a real threat to the brand and consumer safety – so it’s something we all take seriously.”

Industry experts

The Flexible Packaging & Food Safety Seminar also highlighted experts across the label and packaging landscape. Those presenting included Robbie King Jr., strategic account manager, Flexible Packaging Business Line in North America, ACTEGA; Ryan Turner, R&D engineer, GEW; and Dave Parsio, vice president of sales and marketing, Multi-Plastics.

“Film innovation is moving faster than legacy press design, and the key takeaway is these films are evolving quickly,” stated Parsio. “Multi-Plastics’ view, from a press manufacturer perspective, is substrate variability is one of the biggest impacts of press stability. We see those on registration, ink transfer, drying – and it’s all becoming less predictable. You have to work with your suppliers together, and that’s key to eliminating waste and creating efficiencies.”

Meanwhile, ACTEGA explored low migration inks and their role in food packaging. According to King, there is no single, legal, global binding definition. It’s a concept, not a certification.

“Low migration simply means the components are controlled to stay below recognized safety levels,” said King. “Nestle developed compliance guidelines in 2006 known as the Nestle Guidance Note.

“Low migration is really all about risk control in food,” continued King. “There are two primary benchmarks that define low migration: the Swiss Ordinance and Nestle Compliance. These are the most widely respected standards in our industry.”

GEW’s Turner delivered a deep dive into the UV curing technology that impacts this space. He noted several key challenges in curing for flexible packaging, including migration, organoleptic properties, process control, gloss, and recyclability.

Turner detailed the benefits of the OxyGuard Precision Control System, which controls oxygen concentration in the area you’re curing, and the DoseGuard Precision Control System. Meanwhile, ExciRay – an Excimer lamp is a quasi-monochromatic source of UV radiation – boasts extremely high photonic energy.

“We use intelligent state-based operations to maintain ppm,” said Turner. “For new presses, 395 nm wavelength is the most popular for GEW, and 95% of what we utilize for this market.”

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Working together

In addition to the speaking companies, AVT, BST, Domino, Flexo Wash, Heaford, Kocher+Beck, Maxcess (RotoMetrics), Phoenix Challenge Foundation, Sandon Global, and Wink, among others, were on-hand to exhibit.

“Nilpeter needs to work with all of you to solve the challenges that we’re all facing,” said Teilberg. “It’s a complex world, with multi-layer structures and advanced materials like inks, coatings, and adhesives. We need to work together to confront these challenges.”

“Everything we do has to be done in collaboration to achieve performance,” added Parsio.