Spanning every exhibition bay at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, APPEX 2027 will bring machinery, technology and targeted industry programmes together over four days in March.
APPEX 2027 will take over all 20 bays of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre when the processing and packaging exhibition returns from 16 to 19 March.
Presented by the Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association (APPMA), the event will cover 30,000 square metres, with registrations now open to industry visitors.
The exhibition floor will bring together processing and packaging machinery, automation, robotics, digital technology, materials, logistics and food processing solutions. Working machinery and live demonstrations will be central to the visitor experience.
APPMA CEO Michael Moran said the industry had undergone substantial technological change since the previous APPEX in 2024.
“Three years is a long time in technology; the experience for visitors walking into APPEX in 2027 will be very different from the one they left in 2024,” Moran said.
A new addition will be the F&B SME Packaging Solutions Centre, developed to help small and medium-sized food and beverage businesses navigate packaging, sustainability, product lifecycles and machinery investment decisions.
The centre will be delivered in partnership with APPMA, End Food Waste, the Australasian Institute of Packaging, Tetra Pak and RMIT.
Meat Industry Day will return in conjunction with the Australian Meat Processor Corporation, while the Food Industry Solution Series will examine emerging technologies and manufacturing challenges across the food sector.
Women in Processing & Packaging will also return following its debut at APPEX 2024. The programme is owned and presented by APPMA and developed in partnership with PKN Packaging News and Food & Drink Business.
The Victorian Government has joined APPEX 2027 as Major Partner.
The APPMA Awards of Excellence will form part of the four-day programme, with the Gala Awards dinner scheduled for 17 March.
Registrations are open via the APPEX 2027 website.
