Komori Group Makes Its Mark at ECMA 2026 as the Modular Business Partner for Packaging
Five specialists, one partner: Komori Group takes the stage as Gold Sponsor in Rome and puts packaging decision-makers in direct conversation with the whole group.
From 16 to 18 September, packaging leaders gathered at Hotel Cardo Roma for ECMA 2026. Komori Group attended as a Gold Sponsor, its strongest presence at the event so far. It arrived with a clear message: packaging success takes more than a single machine. It takes a partner that covers the whole production chain, and Komori Group believes in the future of packaging and print.
One group, five specialists
Komori Group used the event to show the power of a unified, modular system: Komori, Komori Chambon, MBO, H+H and SERIA. Together they cover sheetfed and webfed printing, flexo, converting, postpress, folding, logistics automation and printed electronics. Komori Group did not come to ECMA as a supplier of sheetfed solutions alone; it came with the strength of the entire group behind it.
The message came through in the Spotlight Session, The Power of a Modular Partner: Five Specialists. One Packaging Partner. Craig Bretherton walked on stage with a stack of pizza boxes and said he was not there to deliver pizza but "something much more valuable: an idea." The session opened with a video built around pizza, a global icon and a familiar example of how print and packaging shape everyday life. It then introduced each group company by role:
- Komori: The Performance Architect
- MBO: The Finishing Flow
- SERIA: The Innovation Frontier
- H+H: The Folding Expert
- Komori Chambon: The Packaging Core
The humour, the short and focused slides, and the clear modular positioning were well received on days full of information.
A stand that drew people in
At the Komori Group stand, visitors found printed samples on a range of substrates and finishing techniques. They also found the pizza boxes and helmet from the Spotlight Session and screens showing Komori videos. A steady flow of people passed the stand during coffee and lunch breaks. The stand gave the team an easy way into conversations, and for some visitors it was their first direct talk with Komori.
"You have to be there to get noticed," said Craig Bretherton, Product Marketing Manager, Komori International Europe. "This year the level of the people we met was much higher. Being a sponsor made people more interested in Komori. We reached decision-makers at large multinational companies who have the power to choose machine suppliers. If we're not in those conversations, our competitors certainly are."
Customer proof: Grafibox Sud
The screens also showed a testimonial from Grafibox Sud, a new Komori reference customer that has just installed a Komori GL640 advance EX Edition. Many visitors stopped to watch it and asked questions.
Grafibox Sud is a paper converter with about 100 employees and 60 years in the business. It is 100% focused on folding boxes for medicines, and five of its people work only in quality control. "What we print has an impact on human health," says the company's technical director in the film. Small runs, many spot-colour jobs and strict colour consistency make short setup times and fast colour matching essential, because in pharmaceuticals colour helps identify the medicine and its strength.
Komori started as the company's third option. After testing the machine and getting to know it better, it became the first choice.
"Now we are really sure to have made the right decision," the technical director says. He also praised the installation, which Komori completed in under three weeks, and the relationship with the Komori team: "You don't only purchase a printing press, you purchase service, you purchase a relationship."
Strong ties with Italy's packaging industry
With the event in Rome, the Komori Group team could meet local customers on home ground. About ten Italian customers took part, and the team held meetings and discussions with them, together with Komori Chambon.
For Massimiliano Veronesi, Managing Director, Komori Italia SRL, it was his first ECMA, and it made a strong impression.
"I was positively impressed by the people taking part: a European environment with a high level of speakers and customers," he said. "The two days of talks and the event itself were very positive. The content gave us a good view of the future, and the packaging market is waiting and asking for growth."
He also praised the Komori Group presence. "Our booth was very well organised, and it was necessary. We have to show the market that Komori is a packaging-oriented company. We are present in the packaging market worldwide, and we have the knowledge, the competence and the machinery to be competitive. ECMA is one of the strategic events, and the market has to know that Komori is a worldwide supplier for packaging."
Listening to a market in transition
ECMA 2026 took place under the theme The Future of Packaging. Sustainability dominated the programme, and speakers also discussed the uncertainty around new European regulation. The market showed strong growth expectations, but no single answer to the future. Komori Group sees this as playing to its strengths.
"Packaging companies need a partner that listens first," said Peter Minis, Group Marketing Director, Komori International Europe. "We don't come with one fixed solution. We offer a wide range, from sheetfed to flexo, labels, inserts and logistics. With the backing of the whole group, we can build the right solution together with the customer. That is what a modular business partner means."
Believing in the future of packaging and print
Komori Group's Gold Sponsorship reflects its long-term commitment to packaging and print, and so do its investments in technology. At the Komori Graphic Centre Europe, the group has installed the Komori GLX740 advance with double coater and the Komori J-throne 29. Customers can see both in action there and test their own applications. Grafibox Sud's investment in a GL640 advance EX Edition shows the same confidence from the customer side.
"You don't install a machine like the GLX740 on a whim," said Peter Minis. "You do it because you believe in the packaging market and have a strong solution for it."
Participants at the event were open and easy to approach, which allowed direct conversations about growth, concerns and future machine decisions. Komori Group intends to keep building on these conversations, with future events focused on new developments for packaging and on inviting customers to the Komori Graphic Centre Europe for demonstrations. With the combined power of five specialists behind it, the group stands ready to help packaging companies prepare for what's next.
Photo's by Rafaele Rondinelli
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