SACMI is hosting over 300 participants from 66 countries for the Packaging Innovation Summit
Imola, 24 June 2026 – With over 300 specialist operators from 66 countries around the world, the Packaging Innovation Summit 2026 has come to a close at SACMI. The two‑day international event was dedicated to the technologies and trends that are transforming the world of rigid packaging. The Summit brought together customers, partners, experts, start‑ups and stakeholders from across the supply chain. They discussed the main challenges facing the sector: productivity, sustainability, digitalisation, process control and new materials.
Markets, technologies, and open innovation
The initiative has confirmed SACMI’s role as a global technology partner for the evolution of packaging, capable of combining high industrial performance, quality and automation with a strong focus on new market trends.
The first day began with a session dedicated to the key strategic issues facing the sector. These included high‑speed solutions for caps and preforms, circular and green technologies, sustainable materials, food‑grade recycled resins, digital tools, control rooms and advanced services, with a focus on the current trends shaping the PET and rPET markets.
Particular attention was also paid to the role of open innovation, with distinguished guests including key figures from the world of strategic venture capital. There were also contributions from start‑ups as drivers of innovation along the value chains.
Digitalisation and the SACMI Control Room
Among the key themes of the Summit was the digitalisation of production processes, with a focus on the SMARTPACK™ and SMARTCARE™ services and on the new SACMI Control Room model. This process‑control hub has been developed with the aim of enabling new functions for diagnostics, predictive and proactive maintenance, recipe and process optimisation, KPI monitoring and continuous improvement.
Through data collection and analysis, automated alerts, digital troubleshooting and integration with support services, SACMI has demonstrated how digitalisation can help to reduce response times and prevent machine downtime. It can also improve OEE, reduce waste and optimise consumption.
Technology: new CCM80SB compression moulding machine with a capacity of 240,000 caps per hour
On the second day, participants were taken on a guided tour of the SACMI facilities, with a technical session designed to explore the main technological innovations in greater depth. These include the new CCM80SB compression moulding machine, designed for the ultra‑high‑speed production of flat‑top HDPE caps. It was shown in line with the SFM20SA for cutting and folding the tamper‑evident band.
The production line was unveiled with a 1‑gram cap, with a capacity of 240,000 caps per hour, equivalent to 4,000 caps per minute. It has a cycle time of 1.2 seconds, a record for the sector that combines productivity, greater machine availability and ease of use.
Alongside the new CCM80SB, the tour covered the full product range, including the integration of the CCM48SF, with a cycle time of 1.2 seconds and a production capacity of up to 2,400 caps per minute, and the SFM15MA slitting‑folding machine. The latter, in the 15+15 spindle configuration, offers a capacity of up to 3,000 caps per minute, with integrated SMARTPACK™ and vision systems.
PET and rPET preforms: the new IPS500 ‘flagship’ model and automated quality control
The technological showcase also included SACMI’s new flagship machine for the production of PET and rPET preforms, the IPS500 compression moulding machine integrated with a vision system. This solution reaffirms SACMI’s strategy as a one‑stop partner, from technology and moulds right through to inspection and digital services.
Particular attention is paid to the automation of quality control, with solutions such as PVS Robot, the SACMI system for the automatic inspection of preforms that integrates robotics, vision and artificial intelligence, automating every stage of inspection. Alongside this is the new PVS embedded, a system integrated directly into the IPS compression moulding machine with the aim of inspecting 100% of the preforms produced, without affecting the layout or cycle time.
New materials: PureCap™, cellulose, PET cap
In terms of materials, SACMI presented PureCap™, a project aimed at creating a circular “cap‑to‑cap” supply chain for recycled HDPE. This is a comprehensive proposal that ranges from the supply of certified material to application support, with consultancy provided by the Rigid Packaging Laboratory.
Still on the subject of sustainable packaging, another highlight of the day was the innovative dry moulding process for cellulose fibre products. This offers a wide range of potential applications in the fields of single‑use capsules, caps, necks and containers. Along the same lines is the alternative of the PET beverage cap, moving towards packaging made entirely from a single material.
Applied research: FSP24M and LBF
At the Summit, SACMI presented a number of cutting‑edge areas of applied research focused on the evolution of production processes. These include the FSP24M, a solution for in‑phase cutting of the tamper‑evident band on plastic caps, designed for uses where the cut must be synchronised with the morphology of the cap.
Further focus was placed on LBF – Linear Blow Forming, dedicated to the production of containers through compression moulding of the preform followed by blow moulding. Demonstrations on 90 cc and 500 cc containers confirmed the validity of the process in terms of neck and base quality, dimensional stability, and uniformity of weight and container geometry.
Post-processing, assembly and intralogistics
There was also a focus on post‑processing solutions and multi‑component assembly, with the presentation of the MASC cap and VELOMAT’s expertise in high‑speed production lines for caps, closures, micropumps and medical and pharmaceutical packaging. Technologies designed to meet the requirements for speed, flexibility and adaptability demanded by various market segments, ranging from cap+spout to closures with liners or discs, right through to sports caps, dispensers and spray pumps.
Finally, the tour provided an insight into the solutions offered by SACMI Intralogistics, designed to extend the value of the offering across the entire factory workflow. These systems connect production, quality control, storage and despatch within a single intelligent, scalable and automated ecosystem.
A forum for dialogue within the supply chain
The Packaging Innovation Summit has strengthened dialogue with the international supply chain, offering customers, partners and stakeholders a direct opportunity to discuss the technologies and production models that are redefining the present and future of the sector. “We are very proud of the significance of this event,” said Paolo Mongardi, Chairman of SACMI, “as a strategic opportunity to share ideas and exchange views with international customers, partners and stakeholders on the key drivers shaping our sector. We wanted to highlight the direction in which SACMI is steering this evolution: greater productivity, greater control, greater sustainability and an ever stronger integration of technology, materials and digital services. Our aim is to support our customers ever more effectively through the transformations demanded by the market. We do so by providing expertise, technologies and solutions capable of generating tangible value for products and processes.”
