Or Bye-bye Brussels, Welcome Barcelona!
As Labelexpo bids farewell to Brussels Expo, its home in Europe for the previous four decades and moves into Barcelona’s Fira Gran Via, now is a great time to reflect on the show’s importance to the label and packaging industry and look at how our own story over the last two decades tracks.
Labelexpo Europe has become a staple of the global label and package printing industry. From its humble roots in London as Labelex in 1980 to 2023’s red-hot (figuratively and literally) post-Covid event, examples of developments witnessed over the years inbetween include the emergence of shrink sleeves, the rise of digital and hybrid printing, rapid growth in narrow web flexible packaging, the shift to sustainable substrates, and the introduction of automation and latterly AI. At the same time, countless business partnerships have been forged, professional connections cemented, and life-long friendships established.
A stuffed horse and sangria
From the aisles of Hall’s 5, 6, 8 and 9 to O’Reilly’s Irish pub and Le Roy D’espagne (home of the famous stuffed horse), Brussels has played a big part in this evolution. But it’s time to say goodbye and embrace the future. Afterall, the industry is renowned for embracing innovation and progress.
Having bid farewell to the Atomium and Grand Place, the industry can look forward to Gaudí’s architecture and Catalan cuisine. Fira Gran Via is located a short distance from Barcelona’s bustling city centre and its international airport, making it a more appealing destination for the world’s label and packaging industry.
More importantly, exhibitors and visitors alike will experience a larger, more modern, and more accessible venue. Bigger halls are to make the visitor flow smoother and the ambient environment will be more pleasant. The venue’s sustainability credentials are exemplary too, having one of the largest rooftop solar arrays in Europe and a commitment to energy efficiency and waste reduction across the site.
As is customary, the show and its exhibitors will address the pressing topics of the day and work to raise the industry up accordingly. Automation, digitalisation, sustainability, PPWR, and tariffs will all be discussed.
Pulse will be front and centre, continuing to innovate as we have always done through the combination of technical expertise and industry nous.
Pulse’s place
Our participation in Labelexpo Europe commenced at the 2003 edition, the first since Pulse Roll Label Products was founded in 2001. 2025 will mark our 11th consecutive appearance at the flagship Labelexpo.
As Labelexpo Europe has expanded and evolved over the last two decades, so have we. Our product portfolio has grown as we have added more people, at the same time as profit has increased.
Across those shows, we have introduced the industry to our solutions that have been uniquely developed and expertly formulated with the aim of making print simple and helping label printers be more efficient, productive, and profitable.
From food-compliant inks and UV-curable laminating adhesives in the 2000s to the formal launch of our PureTone® UV flexo ink series and the Monolox fixed anilox printing system in more recent years, our drive and commitment to innovation has not faltered since we took those first steps into Brussels Expo.
This story continues at Labelexpo Europe 2025. In Hall 3 on Stand G93, we will showcase the strength of our unique PureTone® ink solutions to create vibrant and bold prints that stand out on the shelf, as well as illustrate how their high-strength, single-pigment composition allows flexo label printers to standardise anilox selection through the use of the Monolox fixed anilox printing system.
In turn, PureTone® and Monolox allow flexo label printers to embrace the need to produce print that is Right First Time (RFT) and delivered On Time In Ful (OTIF). On Stand 3G93, we will demonstrate the tangible benefits of this and the very real production and financial gains to be made by those printers willing and able to take a fresh approach to how they measure their success.
This makes it all the more important to mark 16-19 September 2025 in your diary and head to 3G93 during your time in Barcelona.
We look forward to seeing you there and introducing you to a new label printing paradigm.
Learn more about the message we are sharing at Labelexpo Europe 2025 in our series of blogs on throughput and the difference between bad and good success.
