PKN’s latest print issue is hitting desks and landing in inboxes, bringing readers up to speed with the innovations, partnerships and industry achievements shaping packaging across Australia and New Zealand.
Hot off the press, the PKN Packaging News Quarterly September 2026 issue is on its way to you in the mail and available online for your convenience.
FEATURES
This edition’s Cover Story examines how Viva Energy is pursuing a vision that combines local manufacturing, advanced recycling and strategic partnerships to strengthen Australia’s packaging resilience amid polymer supply chain vulnerability (page 12).
In Sustainable Materials, an Avery Dennison case study reveals how changes to the labels used across two major home care ranges demonstrate why every packaging component must be considered when designing for recycling (page 16). Meanwhile, Bonson Packaging’s RePlay topped the trophy tally at this year’s PIDA Awards, but behind the accolades lies an equally important story about the practical challenges of making reusable packaging systems commercially viable (page 18).
In Food Packaging, PKN examines how Western Australian poultry producer Mt Barker Chicken and packaging manufacturer Multisteps have built a long-term partnership around operational certainty, multi-material flexibility and reliable supply (page 20).
Nestlé has launched a new on-pack labelling pilot in Australia aimed at reducing household food waste by helping consumers better understand the difference between ‘Use By’ and ‘Best Before’ dates (page 22).
Packaging was also central to Woolworths’ two-year redevelopment of its Dinner Made Easy range, reshaping the category from shelf to supply chain (page 24).
KM Packaging has introduced a new multi-seal polyolefin lidding film to the Australian and New Zealand market, designed to improve the recyclability of rigid tray packaging (page 26).
Our foodpro 2026 report explores how the major industry event brought together processing, packaging and digital technologies with a shared purpose: helping manufacturers lift performance while preparing for a more connected and circular industry (page 28).
In Packaging & Processing Tech, Viscount’s locally manufactured Genesis plastic pallet combines RFID tracking with automation-ready dimensions (page 36), while HMPS Propac’s acquisition of Enmin adds product handling, vibratory feeding and multihead weighing systems to its machinery portfolio (page 37).
Turck Australia demonstrates how manufacturers can gain greater visibility of machine performance and access the operational data needed to improve efficiency and support informed decision-making (page 38). Kaeser Australia’s national service capability supports packaging and processing plants where compressed air equipment downtime can interrupt production and delay delivery schedules (page 38). And Omni Packaging is consolidating its Melbourne operations in a new 11,000-square-metre facility, marking the latest chapter in its expansion from modest beginnings more than three decades ago (page 40).
In our coverage of the PKN Women in Packaging Awards, we celebrate the leaders recognised at the 2026 awards for delivering tangible results across the packaging value chain (page 42).
Our PIDA 2026 awards coverage reveals an industry moving beyond incremental packaging improvements towards solutions that integrate circularity, usability, accessibility and digital functionality (page 46).
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE…
In Industry Insight, through coverage of an AIP-led panel discussion featuring Detpak, Opal, and Zipform Packaging, we examine how fibre packaging innovation is evolving beyond the search for alternatives to plastic, with development teams now focused on designing solutions that work across the entire packaging system (page 10).
And in What’s On, we round up the upcoming industry events to mark in your calendar, with a spotlight on the Sustainable Packaging Summit (page 50).
Finally, in News: Amcor’s global expansion boosts Australian packaging (page 6); Orora’s cans business drives Australian growth (page 6); Schulz Organic Dairy brings glass bottle production home (page 7); the World Packaging Organisation establishes World Packaging Day (page 8); Cercle expands its reuse platform (page 8); and APPIA’s rebrand reflects the growth of fibre-based packaging (page 9).
Enjoy the read.
