That’s a wrap on CanTech the Grand Tour 2025!
The CanTech the Grand Tour 2025 team (L-R): Alex Rivers, Sarah Hills, Aimee Carnell, Neil McRitchie, Sarah McRitchie, Flora McRitchie and Lee Yau. Image: Bell Publishing
CanTech the Grand Tour 2025 has come to a close and what a brilliant few days we’ve had!
Despite a general transport strike in Brussels on 31 March, all attendees to the show pulled through with alternative arrangements and those that were unable to join on the first day, came through on the second. We were very grateful for the minimal disruption and thank everyone for their resilience and determination in getting to us, as there were certainly key insights not to be missed.
Metal Packaging Europe‘s CEO, Krassimira Kazashka, opened the conference on Tuesday 1 April, with a discussion on the EU Green Deal and how MPE works with decision makers to ensure fair and harmonised policies – ones that support innovation and accountability – for the whole metal packaging industry. Krassimira also shared a new competitiveness agenda, and explained how the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal will help the industry reach the EU Green Deal goals.
Our event sponsor, Stolle Machinery, then took to the stage with product director for Stolle UK, Andy Raynor, informing delegates about the company’s new UK facility in Burnley, which offers 150,000 square feet of space. It has been built to streamline Stolle’s operations under one roof, and will be operational by the second quarter of this year.
The second keynote for Tuesday was the MPMA‘s director and chief executive, Jason Galley, who explored the UK packaging reforms landscape and discussed how disconnected thinking regarding packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) and Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) could lead to significant market distortion for metal packaging – ending with a rallying call for the industry to align on their targets and aims.
Our supplier keynote address came from Belvac‘s Eric Hodge, who explored the development of consumer packaged goods (CPG) and what the metal packaging industry must keep track of to remain competitive in a heavily saturated global packaging market – advice included increasing the amount of post-consumer recycled (PCR) content in aluminium cans and bottles, increasing the offering for packaging personalisation options, as well as maintaining a steady and transparent trajectory in decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Our last keynote on the morning of Wednesday (1 April) was Steel for Packaging Europe‘s president, Richard Lézé, who shared his company’s work on bringing to attention government and decision makers the value of steel, which has been “a known success story” as a packaging option for over 200 years, he noted. Richard explained how EU legislation such as packaging and packaging waste regulation (PPWR) is recognising recyclable and recycled materials, and how innovations such as the chromium free passivisation alternative (CFPA) have helped make steel a more sustainable packaging choice.
Wednesday’s conference concluded with Richard joining Jason Galley, Ball Corporation‘s sustainability director, Predrag Ozmo, and Ardagh Metal Packaging‘s sales account specialist for Iberia, Javier Rico, for the panel event moderated by myself and regular CanTech contributor, Dominique Huret. We had a lively discussion about how the industry, across both aluminium and steel supply chains, can work together on a shared vision for true circularity in the future, diving into the can makers’ sustainability targets, education programmes, preparing for the impact of the new US import tariffs, as well as what excites each individual panellist about the future of metal packaging.
This theme of collaboration and shared visions was echoed in the Grand Tour 2025 networking opportunities offered by the dinners across the two event nights (31 March and 1 April) but more importantly the exhibition hours, where suppliers and can makers came together across two tabletop rooms to share ideas and generate business leads. There will have been some exciting conversations had, so watch this space.
I’d like to reiterate a huge thank you to everyone involved in this year’s conference, including the staff at the Radisson Grand Place hotel in Brussels, the AV team, and our wonderful CanTech events team. Congratulations also to our can maker award winners!
Look out for my full event review in the May edition of CanTech International.
- Alex Rivers (she/her), CanTech International editor
Keep in touch via email: [email protected], LinkedIn: CanTech International magazine or X: @CanTechIntl
