We asked Riccardo Cavanna, Managing Director of Cavanna SpA and Vice President of UCIMA, news on their flagship products and and his expectations on IPACK IMA 2022.

Can you tell us about your flagship products?

"Without going into detail about our core business (machines and plants for packaging & food and pharmaceutical cartoning) I take advantage of the question to address the issue on environmental sustainability which is one of our new strengths.

In fact, the combination of machines/ packaging materials is increasingly essential and of course we are increasingly involved in the research and development for the combination of our packaging systems with packaging materials. The goal is to ensure shelf-life and a high level of performance using new sustainable materials born from the green economy. Thanks to collaboration agreements with granules producers, film producers and converters, we have become a market reference for the entire supply chain. We test new materials in our laboratory every day, both recyclable and compostable, to verify with practical tests the quality of welding at the highest possible speeds.

We have recently studied and realized new highly performing sensorized welding systems that have allowed us to reach quality results with very difficult and innovative materials - one for all the BOPE - simply unthinkable only a few months ago. We have also successfully dealt with PAPER-based films with cold sealing, with heat-sealing lacquers and coupled with plastic materials, making changes in specific areas of the machine to allow its use at high speeds. In concrete terms, we can present a global offer to the market; the range of our packaging and cartoning machinery is expanded by a series of consultancies in the specific field of sustainable wrapping materials. To the usual arguments machine manufacturers such as performance, efficiency and shelf-life, we have added all the sustainability part of flexible materials and this is for sure a new and winning approach. “

IPACK IMA 2022: an appointment with great expectations. Which are yours?

"I see in IPACK-IMA the exhibition of rebirth. A place of business where you will meet again without fear. I expect it to be a fair where we will see the best synthesis of this period of change, also taking the opportunities that the pandemic has created. The physical presence remains essential for me, but the cultural progression pushed by the emergency, offers today alternative and complementary ways of doing business. I think of virtual and augmented reality, for example. Ergo, I expect a fair that is also a new model of event, where physical, virtual and augmented reality express all their potential together, strengthening the opportunities for relationship, contact and, of course, for business."

What do you see in the prospect of a post-pandemic market?

My vision is extremely linked to the economic crisis brought by the pandemic. The market must therefore be reasoned, both by economists and entrepreneurs. GDP growth is so constrained by the macroeconomic situation and the risks of unemployment rising and poverty are so high that there will be significant impact on all fronts, including consumption.

I therefore see a smaller cake, with the return to packaging production volumes of several years ago. But I also see a U-curve, which involves a slow recovery, with great opportunities for those who will have capacity, financial strength and the ability to adapt to the new situation. It is essential to change the business model, for example, by focusing on skills in the company which can lead to unexpected growth. To this end, we need to add the ability to innovate from the inside, enhancing people’s talents, human resources and looking at innovation from an open perspective. Without forgetting the ability to network.