The new EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which takes effect in February 2025 and will be fully applicable by mid-2026, presents new challenges to businesses that develop packaging materials, manufacture packaging equipment, and ship packages. The PPWR calls for a 5% reduction of packaging waste by 2030, rising to 10% by 2035 and 15% by 2040 (based on 2018 levels). The regulation also limits empty space to 50% of the overall package volume and includes provisions to reduce the weight of packages and promote a circular economy. Manufacturers are already responding by refining their reusable and recyclable packaging materials, incorporating new raw materials, developing upcycling projects and technologies to reuse plastics, offering more reusable solutions, and incorporating the latest technological advances into their packaging solutions. This sets the tone for the key trends reflected by packaging industry exhibitors at LogiMAT 2025. “Packaging industry exhibitors from around the world are coming to Stuttgart to showcase their latest products and innovations for better performance and more environmentally friendly shipping practices,” assures Exhibition Director Michael Ruchty from event organizer EUROEXPO Messe- und Kongress-GmbH in Munich. “The trend among packaging equipment manufacturers is toward on-demand solutions and customized, volume-optimized packaging for a lower consumption of materials. The materials themselves include new composites and container-based reusable solutions.”

World’s first automated multiple bag placing machine

Industry exhibitors will be presenting their innovations in Hall 6 of the Messe Stuttgart convention center. Panotec (Hall 6, Booth 6A64) is introducing its new OPERA and OPERETTA custom packaging lines. OPERA is a fully automated e-commerce system whose integrated scanning station can identify product dimensions in real time, create customized boxes in mere seconds, and immediately package single- or multi-item orders. OPERETTA is designed specifically for creating boxes of custom length, width, and height to package fragile, unstable products and multi-item orders. BVM Brunner (Hall 6, Booth 6F27) is also addressing the needs of today’s e-commerce with its new Papertec 95/5 Comtex, an integrated solution for packaging a wide variety of articles in paper – fully automated, including address labeling, without any need to pre-sort products of various dimensions. Kopp Verpackungssysteme (Hall 6, Booth 6C38) is unveiling Speedpack Hybrid, its new filling and sealing machine for fast and secure packaging of various items. Fully equipped with a label printer for separate labels or a thermal transfer printer for printing directly onto the bags, the machines are designed to process up to 100 packages per hour. Niverplast (Hall 6, Booth 6A41) is set to make a big splash at LogiMAT 2025 with the debut of T-Plast, the world’s first automated multiple bag placing machine. T-Plast boasts a capacity of up to 54 bags per minute utilizing prefab, easy-open T-shirt bags only 10 µm thick that are placed into the crates and can be replenished without any interruption of the production process. Dutch equipment manufacturer Lantech (Hall 1, Booth 1B72) is presenting its brand-new, fully automated Parcel Pack system for tray packing in letterbox format. The system’s TE Parcel tray erector and LA Parcel lid applicator produce up to 1,000 letterbox packages per hour.

Filling and cushioning systems made from recycled paper and honeycomb paper

IMA (Hall 6, Booth 6B18) is exhibiting the latest model from its E-CO Flex series, which encompasses technologies ranging from automatic case erectors and formers to height-reducing case sealers and lid applicators. IMA has announced plans for a live demo at LogiMAT of its E-CO Flex forming module, which automatically selects the right box size for the products to be packed, removes blanks from the magazine, erects the case, and seals the base with water-activated adhesive tape. The E-CO Flex closing module completes the packaging process by adjusting the height of the box and closing it. Papier Sprick (Hall 6, Booth 6F17) is coming to Stuttgart to exhibit its packaging solutions with filling and cushioning systems made of certified recycled paper and its equipment systems made in Germany. The centerpiece of the new product presentations is the PaperJet® Winder system, which produces paper cushioning coils from 100% recycled paper that can be precisely matched to the products to be shipped through various paper qualities and other system settings. Storopack (Hall 6, Booth 6F40) is taking a similar approach, focusing on automated and manual solutions with its PAPERplus® paper cushioning products, AIRplus® air cushioning system, and case sealers. ActivaTec® International (Hall 6, Booth 6D01) combines state-of-the-art packaging technologies with environmental responsibility in its portfolio, including air cushion solutions with compostable cushion film made from corn starch and paper air cushions, innovative honeycomb paper, paper packing tape, paper cushioning material, and ergonomic packing stations. Henkel Adhesive Technologies (Hall 6, Booth 6B78) is presenting Technomelt E-COM G5 Eco Cool, an innovative new adhesive for automated packaging made from a high component of bio-based materials and certified as compatible with paper recycling processes. Jowat (Hall 6, Booth 6A28) is coming to LogiMAT with a new hot-melt adhesive for packaging and labels that can be used at temperatures starting at 99°C, requiring significantly less energy than conventional hot-melt adhesives.

World premiere: reusable container system with movable bottom

A number of exhibitors are focusing on the concept of reusability. Wi-sales (East Entrance, Booth ES31) is coming to LogiMAT 2025 in Stuttgart to present a genuine world premiere, what the warehouse and transportation technology company describes as “the first wrap-free movable bottom container system” for fully automated loading and unloading in e-commerce logistics. Pallets are placed on a raised, movable floor enclosed by a container in which they can be raised and lowered or transported without shrink wrap. The reusable system components are ideal for establishing container recycling systems. The Inotec Group (Hall 2, Booth 2B08) considers the circular economy to be a game-changer in the packaging industry, requiring new solutions that address the PPWR and plastic packaging tax. The Inotec Group is coming to Stuttgart to present robust labels, AIDC software, and track-and-trace solutions for the transition to the circular economy. This year’s highlights include a pair of robust and range-optimized RFID labels with a reading range of up to four meters, even outdoors: in-mould RFID for reusable plant trays and mini-global UHF for flawless identification of machine components and metal parts made of stainless steel or aluminum.

Linerless labels

The RFID applications are shifting the focus to innovations at the material and machine level in the AIDC sector. Most of the AIDC technology companies will be concentrated in Hall 2 at LogiMAT 2025. AIM, Germany’s industry association for AIDC and mobile IT systems, sees AIDC as an enabling technology for today’s optimization and transformation projects, process automation, and the smart integration of data from production, logistics, transportation, and traffic. AIDC consolidates various technologies to deliver smart, state-of-the-art solutions for almost every automation and digital transformation requirement, from material engineering to the integration of robotics and AI. Label and labeling machine manufacturer Herma (Hall 2, Booth 2D18) is presenting a complete labeling system and the InNo-Liner linerless label material, which has already been patented in some countries and almost completely eliminates the use of production waste in labeling. Cab Produkttechnik (Hall 2, Booth 2D37) is coming to LogiMAT 2025 with labeling applicators and cobots that assist in common labeling workflows. New HQ applicators can apply up to 25 linerless shipping labels per minute with zero waste from liner paper or transfer films. The company will also be presenting ROXI, a new mid-range label applicator that dispenses printed self-adhesive labels directly onto the packaging or product at belt speeds of up to 30 meters per minute.

The Schreiner Group will be on hand at the joint booth of AIM (Hall 2, Booth 2B05) offering live demos of its DistaFerr family of RFID labels, featuring the latest generation of chips for improved bulk reading and even more robust RFID technology. The rugged solution is designed for the labeling of containers in environments subject to mechanical loads. CCL Faubel (Hall 2, Booth 2D07) is presenting next-generation RFID labels and e-paper displays that can be integrated into existing software systems through various interfaces. The battery-free smart labels, which can be rewritten hundreds of thousands of times, feature a robust plastic casing designed to withstand the stresses of logistics.

Premieres for new, AI-based RFID data capture systems

The systems integrator RFID Konsortium (Hall 4, Booth 4D09) is coming to Stuttgart to demonstrate an innovative new RFID gate that uses AI for load monitoring in outbound goods. The RF KonSys AI gate can distinguish in real time whether an article has physically passed the gate or only been staged. The system is even able to avoid stray readings by ignoring items that are captured while passing the gate on a forklift. Keyence Deutschland (Hall 1, Booth 1C14) is coming to LogiMAT to unveil a brand-new system based on similar technology. The ST Series modular scan tunnel system features full six-sided scanning with a bottom-side reader and dimensioning. It can even be augmented with AI vision sensors that can reliably distinguish between cartons and polybags. Newly developed DynaTrax technology allows the system to read even with gaps as small as 50 mm between packages.

“The innovations in the packaging and AIDC industries, as this cross-section demonstrates, are going above and beyond to address the diverse challenges businesses face from the latest EU requirements and the demands of digital transformation,” confirms Exhibition Director Michael Ruchty. “LogiMAT 2025 offers the ideal forum for exhibitors to present and visitors to experience this product portfolio.”

Organized by: EUROEXPO Messe- und Kongress-GmbH

Joseph-Dollinger-Bogen 7 | 80807 Munich, Germany

Phone: +49 89 32 391 259 | www.logimat-messe.de

About LogiMAT

LogiMAT, the International Trade Show for Intralogistics Solutions and Process Management, will take place at the Messe Stuttgart convention center, directly adjacent to Stuttgart International Airport, from March 11 to 13, 2025. LogiMAT, organized by EUROEXPO Messe- und Kongress-GmbH, ranks as the world’s largest trade show for intralogistics solutions. It offers a complete market overview of everything driving the intralogistics industry, from procurement to production to shipping. International exhibitors showcase innovative technologies, products, systems, and solutions for streamlining operations, optimizing processes, and cutting costs in a company’s internal logistics. Beyond the exhibitor booths, visitors can also experience a different program of presentations each day plus live events covering a wide range of topics.

LogiMAT also has a presence in various international markets. Upcoming events:

LogiMAT India: February 13–15, 2025 | Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre, Mumbai

LogiMAT China: April 24–26, 2025 | SZCEC, Shenzhen

LogiMAT Southeast Asia: October 15–17, 2025 | BITEC, Bangkok, Thailand