• APPMA Awards of Excellence: A night of celebration and networking.
    APPMA Awards of Excellence: A night of celebration and networking.
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Following a record number of entries, and faced with a fiercely competitive line-up, a team of 10 independent industry experts have completed judging the 2024 APPMA Awards of Excellence to reveal the list of finalists across eight categories.

It was an outstanding field of competitors that entered the awards program run by The Australian Packaging & Processing Machinery Association (APPMA), and the panel of 10 expert judges, had their work cut out for them.

“The rigorous judging process ran across several weeks, with each awards category independently evaluated by three judges,” APPMA CEO Michael Moran noted. “We congratulate all entrants on the high standard of their submissions and wish the finalists well for the exciting announcements to come.” 

The full list of finalists is below, with winners to be announced at the Gala presentation event on 13 March, taking place during the much-anticipated, inaugural APPEX exhibition running from 12-15 March at the MCEC in Melbourne next year.

(NOTE: All award finalists are listed in alphabetical order of company name.)

Emerging Leader Award (sponsored by Heat & Control)
- Supriya Suhale – Category Manager: Connectivity – Beckhoff Automation
- Rajendra Prasad – Robotics and Commissioning Engineer – Fibre King 
- Greg Abson – Dairy Program Manager – Process Partners

Import & Distribution Machinery Award – Corporate
- The future of multi-line packaging automation – Abbe
- P.E. Labellers: Modular SL – Foodmach
- Cut'it! EVO automated height reduction and lid application for e-commerce – Ranpak
- Rhima Coles Ocado innovation with washer dryer technology – Rhima Australia

Sustainability Excellence Award
- A Westrock and Fibre King partnership delivers a sustainable packaging material solution for beverage manufacturers – Fibre King
- Textile recovery processing project – Inox Australia 
- Paper-ON-Form: Sustainable paper packaging retrofit kit – Nupac Industries

Customer Systems Integration Award
- Fibre King delivers a turnkey automation solution to DA Hall – Fibre King
- Pernod Ricard's world-first multi-format line – Foodmach
- Insurmountable odds deliver innovative results – Robotic Automation

Digital Innovation Award
- iDSnet Cloud and on-premise package code management suite – Matthews Australasia
- Gundagai Meat Processors provides platform for world first objective grading technologies in lamb processing, automated chillers/sortation, and farmer payments/portal – Triton Commercial Systems (Qld)
- Triton streamlines livestock, slaughter chain, farmer payments, and accounts for Tasmanian Quality Meats – Triton Commercial Systems (Qld)

Australian Machinery Manufacturer Award – Corporate
- Automaint Inspect & Pack System Solution – Automaint Solutions
- A Little DePal makes big change for Aussie craft breweries and beverage manufacturers – Fibre King
- Robomatrix Dual Infeed – Foodmach

Australian Machinery Manufacturer Award – SME (Sponsored by Nord DriveSystems)
- Perfection – HMPS ProPac
- Textile recycling reactor project – Inox Australia
- Trimatt ColourStar AQ – Trimatt Systems

Packaging Design Innovation Award
- Kerbside recyclable paper bag for fresh potatoes – Detpak
- MoistShield: Paper sack without any plastic film, monomaterial, with high moisture resistance – Fiorini
- Revolutionising sustainable packaging: The Carton Nature Packer – KHS

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the APPMA Awards of Excellence, with the Gala Dinner on track to be a sell-out networking event of 700-plus people. Tickets to the event are available here, book your tables now to avoid disappointment.

To participate as a sponsor, contact Abby Ford at Exhibitions & Trade Fairs: aford@etf.com.au

 

Food & Drink Business

Bubs Australia says its 3Q24 results show the company is on track to exceed its FY24 forecast of $100 million gross revenue with an underlying gross margin of 40 per cent.

Confectionery company Yowie recorded a ($1.07 million) loss in 3Q24 due to cost overruns with its Easter production and the planned shutdown of the Ernest Hillier factory for major upgrades.

The West Australian government says its two-year partnership with the Mid West Food Industries Alliance will build more competitive and innovative food industries and boost growth and employment in the region.