Mounting crises see Labelexpo canned until next year

War in the Ukraine, the growing shipping crisis, and the lingering impact of Covid, have conspired to force the organisers of Labelexpo, due to run next month in Brussels, to reschedule the event to next year.

The cancellation of the first big global trade show since Covid will cause dismay among exhibitors and printers alike, with many Australian and New Zealand label printing people among those aiming to make the pilgrimage to Belgium for the first time since 2019.

Labelexpo 2022 will now become Labelexpo 2023, and will run in Brussels in September next year. However Labelexpo Americas 2022 is still scheduled to run this September in Chicago.

Vladimir Putin’s violent invasion of the Ukraine and its as yet unknown reverberations was the final straw to break this year’s show. Exhibitors were already battling the shipping crisis, which for some of them meant they were facing huge issues in getting their new kit to Brussels. In addition Covid is still a live issue in Belgium, which has strict entry conditions for some countries, including Australia, that are on its red list. Inability to get insurance for Covid cancellation is a big issue for exhibitors.

In addition, the ongoing strike by paper workers at UPM Kymenne, which includes UPM Raflatac, is adding to the supply issues over labelstock, leading to concerns that there may not be label paper for demos at Labelexpo, and even if there were, printers may not be too happy to see precious labelstock used in an exhibition when they are already warning supermarkets that a lack of labelstock may cause supply issues on the shelves.

The organiser Tarsus Group says the decision comes on the back of close consultation with exhibitors, associations and the wider industry, with “many directly impacted by the shortage of components and materials.” These shortages, triggered by the pandemic, have been escalating over recent months with long lead times now disrupting the supply chain in Europe.

With the event set to take place in just under two months’ time, the lack of forward visibility led the event team to reschedule in the best interests of the label community.

Lisa Milburn, Labelexpo managing director, explained, “Firstly, I’d like to acknowledge the support we have had from the industry with many committing to Labelexpo Europe in spite of the issues many of them are currently dealing with. We know the decision to reschedule the show will be as disappointing for them as it is for us.

"This has been a difficult decision for us to make, we have been working tirelessly to overcome the supply chain issues and produce the show the industry needs, especially in light of the challenges of the past two years. Unfortunately these issues have proven to be insurmountable at this stage so we feel that rescheduling is the responsible decision to make.”

Jules Lejeune, managing director of pan-European label association Finat, said, “Finat fully understands and supports the decision that has been taken. Given the existing shortages of chips and components, the current shortages of paper and other consumables to produce labels, and now the major geopolitical uncertainties caused by the situation in Ukraine, there are simply too many hurdles to overcome.

“Finat remains a proud supporter of the world’s leading trade exhibition for the label and package printing industry. We admire our longstanding partner Labelexpo for taking this extremely difficult decision, and for putting the interests of the industry first.”

The global wide-format show Fespa, which also attracts a sizeable number of Aussie and Kiwi printers, is due to take place four weeks after Labelexpo was slated to run, opening on 30 May in Berlin. Organisers will be hoping the war, the shipping crisis, and Covid will have all calmed down by then. Fespa has already run one show, late last year in Amsterdam, dubbed Fespa-lite.