Avanti Conveyors is now operating as Emmepi Group UK, marking the next stage in Emmepi Group’s integration of the UK-based conveyor and logistics specialist. For the corrugated packaging industry, the story is not only about a new name. It is about how suppliers of materials handling, automation and plant logistics are building stronger regional platforms around full-factory performance.
Emmepi Group confirmed the acquisition of Avanti Conveyors in July 2024. The publicly available announcements did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction. The latest transition to Emmepi Group UK shows that the integration has moved from acquisition to operating structure and market identity.
Avanti brings a long industrial history to the group. The company was established in the UK in 1988 and built its business around materials handling solutions for the corrugated packaging supply chain. Emmepi Group says the UK site brings more than 30 years of experience in designing conveyor systems and logistics solutions.
That experience now becomes part of a wider Emmepi platform. Founded in 2011, Emmepi Group has been described as having manufacturing facilities in Italy, including Perugia, Milan, Treviso and Novara, while the acquisition of Avanti adds a UK production facility and strengthens the group’s geographic manufacturing footprint.
“We are delighted to announce this significant step in our global strategy, reinforcing our commitment to providing localised service while maintaining the high standards of quality and innovation that Emmepi Group is known for,” said Alfio Brandi, Business Development Director of Emmepi Group.
“We’re now eager to move forward, strengthening our position in the market and continuing to deliver exceptional service to our clients,” said David Williams, CEO of Emmepi Group UK.
Those quotes are corporate in tone, but they point to the real business logic of the move: Emmepi wants local service in the UK, a stronger manufacturing and engineering base, and a broader international platform for corrugated plant logistics.
Why this is more than a name change
The old Avanti business was already focused on conveyor systems and logistics for corrugated plants. The difference now is scale and positioning.
As Emmepi Group UK, the former Avanti operation is no longer just a UK conveyor specialist. It becomes part of a group that offers plant logistics, handling systems, peripherals, strappers, wrappers and robotic solutions for corrugated packaging producers. Avanti’s LinkedIn profile says that, as part of Emmepi Group, it can now offer the whole product range across plant logistics, handling, peripherals, strappers, wrappers and robotic solutions.
That matters because corrugated factories are becoming more complex.
A plant may have a fast corrugator, a modern flexo-folder-gluer and a high-performance die-cutter, but the factory can still lose efficiency if stacks, sheets, pallets and finished goods do not move smoothly between processes.
The bottleneck is often not the main machine.
It is the space between machines.
This is where materials handling becomes a strategic issue, not just a support function.
Internal logistics: the hidden cost in corrugated plants
In corrugated production, the value of a machine is often judged by its speed. But factory performance depends on more than headline speed.
If a converting line produces faster than the handling system can move product away, output is restricted.
If finished stacks wait too long before palletising, labour and floor space are wasted.
If strapping and wrapping are not connected efficiently to production flow, dispatch becomes slower.
If warehouse movement is not aligned with production planning, the plant creates avoidable delays after the box is already made.
That is why the Avanti-to-Emmepi Group UK move is interesting. It sits exactly in the area where many plants lose performance quietly: internal movement, transfer points, pallet flow, end-of-line handling and integration between production and logistics.
For producers under pressure from labour costs, faster deliveries and tighter margins, these “in-between” systems increasingly decide whether the plant works as one coordinated operation or as separate islands of equipment.
What Emmepi gains from Avanti
The acquisition gives Emmepi Group a stronger UK platform.
According to the 2024 acquisition announcement, the objective was to increase Emmepi’s geographic manufacturing footprint and strengthen its ability to offer a more integrated solution to customers globally. The enlarged group was also expected to benefit from an additional UK production facility and support further growth and investment at the High Peak factory.
This is important for three reasons.
First, the UK operation brings local engineering and service proximity. In automation projects, distance matters. Installation, commissioning, upgrades and troubleshooting are easier when the supplier has a regional base.
Second, Avanti brings sector-specific experience. Corrugated handling is not generic warehousing. It involves sheets, stacks, bundles, pallets, variable formats, dust, space limitations and production rhythms specific to board plants.
Third, the move helps Emmepi present itself not as a supplier of isolated equipment, but as a group capable of supporting plant-wide projects.
That is the stronger strategic point.
The market is moving from equipment sales to factory-flow solutions.
David Williams and the integration stage
The management change after the acquisition also matters.
Following the acquisition, David Williams was appointed CEO of the new handling division. corruga.expert previously reported that Williams has 35 years of experience in the corrugated machinery industry and would lead the integration of Avanti Conveyors into Emmepi Group.
For customers, that kind of industry experience is not a small detail.
Handling projects are practical, site-specific and often difficult to standardise. A supplier must understand real factory conditions: old layouts, limited space, urgent schedules, safety issues, maintenance access and the pressure to keep production running while upgrades are installed.
The success of Emmepi Group UK will depend not only on the product portfolio, but on whether the team can turn Avanti’s local know-how and Emmepi’s wider product range into reliable project execution.
The market context: automation is becoming plant-wide
The Emmepi–Avanti story fits a wider shift in corrugated equipment.
Automation is no longer only about adding robots or buying a faster main machine. It is becoming more plant-wide: how the corrugator connects to converting, how converting connects to palletising, how finished goods move to wrapping and storage, and how the whole process is controlled.
In this environment, suppliers that cover handling, strapping, wrapping, robotics and peripherals are better positioned to discuss the entire production flow.
That does not mean every plant needs a full new automation system.
But it does mean that the weakest links are becoming more visible.
A plant director may not need to ask first: “Which machine is fastest?”
The better first question may be: “Where does our material stop?”
This is the real logic behind the rebrand. Emmepi Group UK is being positioned in the part of the factory where hidden inefficiencies often accumulate.
A more competitive supplier landscape
The UK platform also makes Emmepi more visible in a competitive field.
Corrugated producers already work with global machinery and automation suppliers across corrugators, converting lines, peripheral equipment, strapping, wrapping, palletising and logistics systems. In that environment, Emmepi Group UK gives the group a stronger regional identity and a clearer base for customer support in the UK market.
This is not only about winning one conveyor project.
It is about being closer to customers when they redesign layouts, modernise end-of-line handling, reduce manual movement or connect older production areas with newer equipment.
For equipment suppliers, the competitive advantage is shifting.
A strong product still matters.
But the ability to integrate, support, service and adapt systems locally may matter even more.
What corrugated producers should look at
The Emmepi Group UK story raises a practical question for corrugated plants: how much performance is being lost between the main machines?
A short internal audit can start with five areas:
- Waiting points — where sheets, stacks or pallets stop between processes.
- Manual movement — where operators still move product because the layout or handling system is incomplete.
- End-of-line flow — whether palletising, strapping and wrapping keep pace with production.
- Space use — whether internal logistics consume too much floor space.
- Upgrade potential — whether the current handling system can support future automation.
This is where suppliers such as Emmepi Group UK can create value if they move beyond equipment supply and help plants rethink the whole flow.
The key conclusion
Avanti becoming Emmepi Group UK is not just a rebrand.
It is a sign of how the corrugated equipment market is changing.
The deal brings together Avanti’s UK experience in conveyor systems and logistics with Emmepi Group’s broader international platform in plant logistics, handling systems, peripherals, strappers, wrappers and robotic solutions.
For Emmepi, the UK operation strengthens its geographic footprint and local service base.
For corrugated producers, the message is broader: the next wave of efficiency will not come only from faster individual machines. It will come from better-connected plants.
In modern corrugated production, the winners will not only be the companies with strong equipment.
They will be the companies that make the whole factory move better.
Sources
This article is based on the July 2024 acquisition announcement, Emmepi Group UK’s 2026 transition information, Emmepi Group materials, Avanti Conveyors public company information, ThePackagingPortal and corruga.expert reporting on David Williams’ role in the new handling division.
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