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Marechal Cândido Rondon, Paraná, Brazil – Emulsifier and stabiliser specialist Palsgaard has appointed Miguel Hidalgo as its new CEO in Brazil as it targets further success in the country. Hidalgo, who starts the role on October 1, has 30 years’ experience at Palsgaard and has served as chairman of the company’s Brazilian operation since 2018. His previous roles also include CEO of Palsgaard Mexico and Regional Director of the Americas. He takes on the position as Palsgaard aims to become the leading supplier of emulsifiers and speciality ingredients for the food industry in Brazil. With a primary focus on emulsifier and stabiliser solutions for cakes, chocolates, and lipids, the business is preparing for a new phase of growth under Hidalgo’s leadership. Hidalgo said: “I am delighted to take on my new role as we prepare for further growth. We want to ensure that Palsgaard Brazil is recognised for the exceptional quality and functionality of our emulsifiers and speciality ingredients, and for providing the best technical, application, development and logistics services.” Palsgaard opened its first sales office in Brazil in 2008 and expanded its operations when it acquired a majority stake in bakery ingredients company Candon in 2016. It completed a full takeover in 2022. Palsgaard Brazil has production facilities at the site in Paraná state, as well as selling ingredients produced by its international affiliates. Customers also have access to application and development centres plus local and international technical professionals, who are on hand to offer tailored formulation support.

GNT will showcase its plant-based EXBERRY® colors with shade-shifting drinks, a build-your-own rocky road station, and bold new concepts. Exberry® colors are made from non-GMO fruit, vegetables, and plants. They offer a natural alternative to synthetic dyes and can be used to deliver a complete spectrum of shades in food and drink.

At Gulfood, GNT (Hall 6, B6-48) will present a range of Exberry® concepts and experiences to demonstrate their potential. These will include an interactive color-changing beverage and the opportunity to create rocky road bars with different colors, flavors, and textures. Attendees will be able to add Exberry®-colored inclusions to the confectionery bars to build their own multisensory products. The full Exberry® rainbow will also be on show through colorful concepts including ice cream, wafer cones, noodles, mayonnaise, and snacks. GNT’s experts will be available throughout the event to discuss individual project requirements, including technical and regulatory queries.

Santhosh Thankappan, Sales Director at GNT Middle East, said: “Modern consumers love exciting food and drink with eye-catching shades and natural ingredients. At Gulfood, we’re showing how our plant-based colors can be used to help deliver fun, multisensory, and interactive experiences without compromising on the label. Join us at the show and discover the possibilities with Exberry® for yourself.”

A new sustainable configuration for Altopack's best-selling machine is presented: no compressed air, reduced consumption, and real-time monitoring of the environmental footprint. First previewed at IPACK-IMA 2025, Altopack officially introduces the new configuration of Rolà, the compact and versatile wrap-around cartoner, now an integral part of the EcoFriendly Line, the new range designed to combine high performance with environmental sustainability. This is the green evolution of an already established machine, now optimized to reduce consumption and environmental impact, without compromising on efficiency.

The hallmark of the new configuration is the gripping device developed with a young startup from Emilia, based on Electro-Adhesive Layer technology. This revolutionary system allows carton picking without the use of suction cups or compressed air, eliminating the need for compressors and significantly reducing energy consumption. The result is a cleaner, quieter, and easier-to-manage system that represents a paradigm shift for secondary packaging. Altopack has been the first company to industrialize this technology on a large scale in the field of secondary packaging.

Like all solutions within the EcoFriendly Line, Rolà also comes equipped with the EcoFriendly® Display, a sleek glass panel with a touch interface and LED indicators that measures the machine’s environmental footprint in real time. In addition to communicating with the factory’s digital systems, the display has been designed to immediately showcase the company’s sustainable choice: it is visible to operators, buyers, and visitors, and stands as a tangible example of how environmental awareness can also be fostered through industrial technology.

Quick delivery and installation for an easy start – the wish for a pragmatic production start-up is a reality with lightline machines. A compact footprint and high performance are the hallmarks of the lightline series, which includes cartoners, case packers, picker lines and flow-wrapping machines. They all consist of preconfigured modules that are not only quick to set up but also require little space – at very attractive investment costs.

Performance is in no way compromised: the lightline cartoner, which Schubert is exhibiting in Nuremberg as a packer for energy bars, can pack up to 60 boxes – or 480 products – per minute. The longer a machine packs continuously, the smoother production can run. A lightline cartoner can run for a full 60 minutes thanks to the 4,000 blanks that fit into the vertical magazine.

What’s great about the magazine is that it can be refilled during operation thanks to an integrated blank buffer – ensuring uninterrupted packaging. The A3 erector contributes to the space-saving design. As a single-lane variant, it avoids the multi-lane designs of comparable systems, requires fewer glue nozzles and can operate with smaller erection and sealing tools. It also performs its tasks with a high degree of autonomy: it pulls each blank out of the blank buffer individually and transfers it to a pusher, which transports it past the gluing station to the folding box. The sealing tool is easy to handle and therefore just as practical as the cartoner. Schubert has significantly reduced the number of individual parts, so that the unit weighs about 50% less – a huge advantage when you’re changing formats often.

The company celebrates a remarkable series of anniversaries this year that highlight its long-standing commitment to innovation, expertise, and customer success. The company’s material handling business in Weingarten, Germany, and its feeder and conveying manufacturing facility in Niederlenz, Switzerland, both reach an impressive 125 years of operation, while Coperion Ideal in Noida, India, marks its 30th anniversary. Together, these milestones total an extraordinary 280 years of combined experience, know-how, and dedication to advancing the industry.

For 125 years, Coperion’s material handling business in Weingarten, Germany, has been a recognized leader in the bulk material handling markets. Like many companies at the turn of the last century, Coperion’s predecessor Waeschle initially ventured into the food industry, specializing in pneumatic conveying of grain and flour. It was only with the rise of plastics in the 1950s that new opportunities emerged, expanding the company’s horizons.
Today Coperion’s portfolio extends beyond its historical roots to include extensive process know-how and expertise in handling over 20,000 bulk materials and various methods for their efficient conveying, homogenizing, separating, heating and cooling methods. Plant engineering and design for large petrochemical installations as well as turnkey systems for the compounding industry are at the core of the company. Another key aspect of the company’s offerings is the design and manufacture of essential components such as rotary valves, diverter valves, and slide-gate valves, tailored for various industries. Complementing these products are Coperion’s process knowledge, engineering excellence, and project management capabilities, which allow the company’s experts to develop and deliver state-of-the-art bulk material handling systems for clients worldwide.

TPL now offers an extensive range of ultra-high barrier BOPP films, developed to meet the high demands of the long shelf-life food sector. These advanced films enable the creation of mono-material packaging solutions, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional multi-material structures.

Thanks to the excellent barrier properties of UHB BOPP films and especially in combination with heat-resistant BOPP films, TPL’s BOPP solutions make it possible to design recycle-ready mono-polypropylene (PP) packaging. This marks a significant step forward in helping manufacturers comply with the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). TPLs entire Ultra-High Barrier (UHB) BOPP film range is also engineered for compatibility with both adhesive and extrusion lamination.

One of the standout products in TPL’s new portfolio is the 28µ white metallized BOPP film WHF-K445, which delivers ultra-high barrier performance against light, moisture, gas, and aroma — making it a compelling solution also for demanding packaging applications. With exceptionally low permeation rates (OTR and WVTR of 0.1), WHF-K445 is ideal for dry and high-fat food packaging. In addition it offers exceptional seal strength, flex-crack resistance, and puncture resistance. Its cavitated design and dual functionality as both a sealant and barrier layer allow for simplified packaging structures, helping to reduce process complexity and significantly lower overall package weight.

TPL's BOPP films help companies to achieve their sustainability goals and fulfil the requirements of the EU packaging regulation (PPWR), which came into force in February. With BOPP specialty grades such as ultra-high barrier, heat-resistant or low-density matt films, mono-material packaging can be designed, which increases recyclability. In addition to the wide range of products, TPL also offers application development services and technical advice on material selection, taking into account legal changes.

While different suppliers in the industry pursue their own approaches, Xeikon draws on decades of digital printing experience to chart its own path. The company’s focus is on digital finishing integration, a digital-first, modular approach designed for workflow automation, productivity, and simplicity. “We are not selling a hybrid,” said Jeroen Van Bauwel, director of Xeikon’s Global Innovation Center, “We’re presenting a digitally integrated, inline production solution that supports automation and reduces steps in the value chain.

The result is maximum efficiency for converters handling today’s high-SKU, short-run environments.” Xeikon will showcase this vision at the upcoming Labelexpo exhibition, where the PX3300HD press will be demonstrated with a fully integrated Xeikon LCU (Label Converting Unit). The live setup will demonstrate how a single operator can produce finished, high-quality labels in one pass, with no roll changes and no offline steps required. The modular design also ensures flexibility: while inline integration maximizes speed and efficiency, the Xeikon LCU can equally run offline whenever parallel finishing is the smarter option. Xeikon’s approach is defined by a digital-first design, purpose-built for integration rather than retrofitted from flexo technology. At the same time, the solution enables a one-operator workflow, delivering true labor efficiency without demanding heavy training. With compliance and safety at its core, the system is food- and pharma-ready, drawing on Xeikon’s longstanding expertise in workflow and regulatory requirements.

Crucially, Xeikon’s finishing integration is modular and flexible — able to run inline for maximum efficiency or offline when parallel finishing is the smarter option. This flexibility stands in contrast to more rigid hybrid setups on the market and underlines Xeikon’s future-proof positioning. Above all, the philosophy is one of simplicity: essential five-color digital printing combined with core finishing capabilities, without over-engineered complexity.

At the fair, Schubert (hall 1, stand 244) will be demonstrating how efficient and flexible packaging can be achieved in the smallest of spaces – and how companies can prepare for the upcoming EU Packaging Regulation (PPWR). The exhibited lightline cartoner with its innovative A3 erector and newly developed vertical magazine saves space while enabling up to 60 minutes of uninterrupted operation. Schubert will further present the A3 erector for the first time as a stand-alone machine in the form of the tog.101 box erector, which impresses with an output of up to 60 boxes per minute and saves glue thanks to intelligent control. Another highlight is the tog.519 cobot. Using AI-supported vision technology, it picks up loose biscuits at the stand of Barsch GmbH (hall 1, stand 125) and places them precisely into the feed chain of Barsch’s flow-wrapping machine. For manufacturers aiming to implement sustainable and regulation-compliant packaging solutions, the new Packaging Competence Center (PCC) from Schubert and Berndt+Partner offers comprehensive consulting.

On September 23 at 3 p.m., Schubert will give a presentation at the booth to provide comprehensive information about the PCC.

Barry Callebaut AG, Zürich, has announced the appointment of Alvaro Alonso as President Western Europe, effective November 1, 2025.  

Alonso joins Barry Callebaut from global consumer goods leader Beiersdorf. In his new role, he will oversee Barry Callebaut’s Western Europe business, reporting directly to CEO Peter Feld. He will also become a member of the company’s Extended Leadership Team.

A Spanish national, Alonso brings more than 30 years of experience in the consumer goods industry. He spent over 14 years at Beiersdorf, most recently leading the Central and Eastern Europe region. Previously, he was responsible for the company’s North America business for more than five years, after serving as General Manager for Mexico and Iberia. Earlier in his career, Alonso held leadership and sales positions at Carrefour and Unilever. He has also served on the boards of various NGOs and trade organizations.

Peter Feld, CEO of Barry Callebaut, said: "We are very pleased to welcome Alvaro to Barry Callebaut. He is a seasoned global business leader with a passion for growth and innovation and brings many years of experience in the consumer goods industry and the European market. Combined with his deep understanding of delivering the highest quality to consistently meet and exceed our customers’ needs, he will be instrumental as we create the best chocolate solutions and services and take customer experience to the next level." 

Food safety experts from Mettler-Toledo, BRCGS and IFSQN discuss how contamination detection solutions support food safety and compliance. Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection, supplier in precision instrumentation and product inspection, is partnering for the first time with BRCGS and IFSQN to present an interactive live webinar titled “How to prevent physical contamination in food production”. Taking place on Thursday 9th October 2025, the webinar will run at 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM GMT+1 and is free to attend for food and packaging professionals worldwide.

The session is tailored for anyone in the food industry who is looking to mitigate contamination risks and strengthen audit performance. In today’s environment, where one failed audit or contaminated shipment can lead to serious commercial and reputational fallout, the need for reliable inspection solutions has never been greater.

This webinar will explore how manufacturers can inspect products for physical contaminants with confidence, protect their brand through automatic removal of non-conforming products, and comply easily with industry requirements. From metal detection to x-ray inspection, attendees will gain insights into how to evaluate risks, select the right technology and build resilience into their critical control points (CCPs).

Presenting the webinar will be Adam Green, Market Manager at Mettler-Toledo Safeline X-ray, and Mercè Sánchez, Programme Manager for Global Food Standards at BRCGS while Simon Timperley, CEO of IFSQN will be facilitating and hosting the webinar. Adam brings over ten years of experience across technical and commercial roles and was instrumental in developing the Mettler-Toledo virtual demo capabilities. Mercè, a highly experienced GFSI auditor and expert in global food certification standards, brings nearly two decades of insights into what food safety auditors look for on-site. Simon is a seasoned food safety and quality expert who founded and leads the International Food Safety & Quality Network (IFSQN), a major global online community for food industry professionals focused on knowledge sharing and improving food safety management systems. Together, they will explore how physical contamination detection plays a key role in audit success, regulatory compliance and protecting brand reputations.

Using real manufacturing scenarios, the session will cover where and when to inspect products on the production line, how to decide between metal detection or x-ray (or both), and look at what additional quality checks are available. Throughout the webinar, attendees can take part in interactive polls and have the chance to ask questions. Registered attendees will also receive on-demand access after the event, making it easy to share insights with teams or revisit content.

The webinar will be hosted via Microsoft Teams Live and is free to attend. To register visit: www.mt.com/pi-contam-webinar-pr