The Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association has confirmed four candidates for its 2026 Board Election, with two serving directors seeking re-election and two industry leaders standing to join the Board.
APPMA directors are elected by members to bring industry knowledge and an understanding of the needs and challenges facing member businesses into the association. The Board helps drive APPMA’s mission and objectives and is responsible for its governance and strategic direction.
Voting will open on Monday 28 September and close on Monday 5 October. Only nominated Member Representatives of APPMA Full Members are eligible to vote.
The nominees
Phil Biggs – Foodmach
Phil Biggs is seeking re-election after joining the APPMA Board in February 2025. He is strategy and sales director at packaging automation manufacturer and integrator Foodmach, executive director of Automation & Robotics Technologies, and a co-founder of Packaging Partners.
With more than 120 employees across Foodmach and Automation & Robotics Technologies, Biggs brings experience spanning engineering, manufacturing, technology commercialisation and business strategy. His current role includes identifying market trends and growth opportunities, with diversification initiatives extending into meat processing, defence and intralogistics.
Since joining the Board, Biggs has focused on strengthening member value, improving governance and modernising the association’s constitution. He is also an advocate for inclusion, diversity and industry development. Having exhibited at every AUSPACK and APPEX since 2001, he says he brings a practical understanding of what members value from both their association and its major trade exhibition.
Spiro Taktikos – Markem-Imaje
Spiro Taktikos, managing director Oceania at Markem-Imaje, is standing for election to the APPMA Board for the first time.
Taktikos has more than 38 years of experience across the electrical, mechanical, scientific and industrial sectors, including 25 years in leadership roles with Emerson, Eaton and Thermo Fisher Scientific. His background covers hardware and software sales, services, research and development, marketing and commercial management.
During almost a decade leading Markem-Imaje in Oceania, Taktikos has overseen the development of the company’s regional operations, with a focus on business performance, team development, customer partnerships and manufacturing productivity.
He believes APPMA has an important role in connecting manufacturers, technology providers and the wider industry. If elected, he intends to contribute his commercial and technical experience to support innovation, technology adoption, member development and the next generation of packaging and manufacturing professionals.
Nathan Wardell – Packserv Australia
Nathan Wardell, managing director of Packserv Australia, is seeking re-election. He has more than 30 years of packaging machinery and manufacturing experience, supported by three generations of family involvement in the sector.
Wardell established Packserv after spending a decade with Rentafill, where he helped double the business before its sale. Under his leadership, Packserv has grown from a small machinery rental operation into a national packaging equipment, machinery and technical services business supporting FMCG manufacturers in Australia and overseas.
Appointed to the APPMA Board in February 2024, Wardell is now Chair of the APPEX 2027 Working Group. His priorities include collaboration between manufacturers, associations, universities and research organisations; professional development; and greater diversity and inclusion across the sector. He is seeking to continue supporting the competitiveness and adaptability of Australian manufacturers.
James White – Select Equip
James White, founder and director of Select Equip, is standing for election to the Board. He has more than 30 years of leadership experience in supplying machinery and automation solutions to the FMCG sector.
Established in 1999, Select Equip serves more than 150 manufacturers across Australia. The company has delivered turnkey automation lines, expanded its national technical service capability and developed training programs for more than 2000 plant personnel.
White’s industry experience spans automation, sustainable packaging and workforce development. Select Equip has partnered with international equipment suppliers to introduce technologies including skin-pack and paper-based packaging solutions, with projects delivering material reductions and improved production efficiency.
His priorities for APPMA include strengthening advocacy, supporting the adoption of automation and digital technologies, developing technical career pathways and expanding collaboration across the packaging and processing sector.
