Metpack 2026: compact but highly relevant

With 352 exhibitors spread over three halls in a tiny (30,000 square meters) corner of Essen’s exhibition grounds, Metpack brought the usual 7,000 packaging professionals together, even though the show had been reduced from five to four days this year. Traditionally, Essen has been Germany’s capital of coal and steel, harboring the headquarters of both the Krupp steel conglomerate and the country’s Communist Party. Held every three years and overlapping with Interpack in nearby Düsseldorf, Metpack is a small but highly relevant trade fair for the can making industry, showcasing equipment and materials for the forming of metal cylinders for aerosols, beverage cans and food containers as well dry-offset and digital printing technologies.

The size of the global metal packaging market is estimated at US$ 157 billion in 2025, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.5% over the coming decade, according to a report by Global Market Insights. The main materials are aluminum and steel, with aluminum currently representing 53% of the market. In addition to their usual applications in the food and beverages industry, metal packaging is entering segments such as pharmaceuticals, personal care, and aerosols mainly for two reasons – branding and recyclability.

According to the GMII report, metal packaging is increasingly being designed with high-quality coatings and finishes, as well as eye-catching appearances to improve shelf visibility and create better brand perceptions among consumers, especially in beverages and personal care items. Metal packaging is becoming more durable, reverse-logistic-friendly, and suitable for multiple life-cycle usage. Another trend that could be observed at Metpack this year is the rapid adoption of automation, robotics, and digital process control in the production of metal packaging.

Mall/Herlan, part of the Swiss Wifag/Polytype Group, again had a strong presence at Metpack, demonstrating its latest M91 dry-offset press for printing on cylinders as well as a modular necking system for aluminium bottles. Machinery for the manufacturing of cans, can ends, and caps was shown by a large majority of exhibitors from Asia, Europe, and the US.

The likes of Arcelor Mittal, Tata Steel, and Thyssen-Krupp were very visible at the fair, with large booths and multiple presentations during the conference program. A tight program covered topics such as decarbonization strategies, geopolitical uncertainties, volatile energy and raw material markets, growing regulatory requirements, new packaging and process solutions. Material efficiency, recycling, lightweighting, packaging steels, coating technologies, and PVC-free closures for food contact applications were addressed.

Ancillary equipment, services, and special materials could be found at the booths of Böttcher, Crabtree, GEW, Henkel, Hochbach, IST, ITS, and Schuber, amongst others. Inks and coatings were presented by Actega, HMD from China, Huber, Sakata Inx, PPG, Sun Chemical, Toyo’s Turkish Affiliate, Ubis from Thailand, Z+G, and some others.

Hanglory, Koenig & Bauer, strong showing from Asia Pacific

However, the battle of the giants seemed to be played out between Hanglory and Koenig & Bauer, both with large running presses for metal sheets. Metpack diehard Koenig & Bauer MetalPrint had a large stand with the latest version of its MetalCoat 484, while Hanglory came to the show with two running presses, the Nova1200 UV digital printing press and the HanMet UV coater.

Out of the total of 352 exhibitors, only half represented European companies, the largest contingents coming from Germany, Italy, and the UK. Next to 26 companies from the US and 12 from Turkey and Saudi Arabia, Asia-Pacific with 135 exhibitors, put an indelible stamp on this trade fair, including 120 companies from China, four from Japan, three from India, and seven from Malaysia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Metaldec from Mumbai presented itself as a used machinery dealer specialised in metal printing and decorating presses. SASPack from Pune showcased paper tubes and carton products, whereas Scan Holdings from New Delhi presented its range of cans, can ends, and steel tins. HSK from Sri Lanka attended with a range of plastic bottles, caps, and injection-molded containers.

Mention should still be made of the Metpack Innovation Awards. Gold went to Italian MW Lak Solutions for a UV LED curable white basecoat, significantly reducing VOC emissions and energy consumption. Silver went to Koenig & Bauer MetalPrint for a system of fully automated, inline control of coating film thickness. Bronze went to Sun Chemical for an AI-assisted color matching and digital direct-to-can proofing solution developed together with CMA Imaging.

The next Metpack is scheduled to take place in May 2029.