The exhibitions worth your time before the end of 2026 — and the questions that can turn a trade-show visit into a better investment decision.
Igor: “Are you exhibiting in Guatemala?”
Alessandro: “Why does that surprise you? This event is the most powerful platform for corrugated producers in the Caribbean region. These countries are among the world’s leading exporters of tropical agricultural products to North America and Europe. There are hundreds of companies here, actively automating — and this is exactly where we need to be right now.”
Igor: “Where else is Emmepi Group exhibiting this year?”
Alessandro: “In our priority markets — Brazil and Turkey. LATAMCORR Brasil in Campinas on 12 November, and Eurasia Packaging Istanbul from 13 to 16 October.”
That conversation with Alessandro Bersanetti, President of Emmepi Group, is where this list started. His year is anchored by Guatemala, Turkey and Brazil. The wider calendar tells an even bigger story about where the corrugated industry is meeting — and investing — in 2026.
The ACCCSA region is often underestimated. It spans Central America, the Caribbean and the northern part of South America. These countries are major exporters of bananas, pineapples, melons, coffee, fruit and vegetables. Every shipment needs packaging able to withstand humidity, cold chains and long transport. That continuous export demand helps explain why the region’s corrugated industry is developing so quickly.
The real question is not how many shows you can attend. It is which two or three can help your operation make a better investment decision.
Choose the show by your bottleneck
If you do not know your bottleneck before boarding the plane, the exhibition can become expensive sightseeing.
ExpoACCCSA 2026
ExpoACCCSA is one of the most concentrated corrugated-specific gatherings in Latin America and the Caribbean. Corrugators, converters, machinery suppliers, automation companies and technical decision-makers meet in one place.
Emmepi will exhibit at Stand 92. Alessandro Bersanetti and Alfio Brandi will meet producers to discuss packaging automation and materials handling. For a plant struggling with WIP, conveyors, pallet movement or corrugator-exit congestion, that is more useful than another machine brochure. J.S. Corrugating Machinery is also on the technical agenda.
Three questions for suppliers
- Where will this system remove minutes, metres or labour from our process?
- What happens when the order mix changes and short runs increase?
- Can you show data from a plant with a similar layout and volume?
For a Latin American box plant, this is a must-watch event.
AICC / TAPPI Corrugated Week
Corrugated Week is the opposite of a giant general packaging fair: it is focused. TAPPI and AICC expect more than 1,400 professionals from over 25 countries and more than 145 suppliers.
The audience includes converters, plant leaders, engineers and suppliers who understand what a corrugator, flexo folder-gluer, die-cutter or maintenance team must deliver on Monday morning. For a corrugator, converting line, controls upgrade or production-software project, we would put Corrugated Week ahead of PACK EXPO. PACK EXPO is bigger. Corrugated Week is sharper.
Three questions for suppliers
- What is the guaranteed output on our real order mix, not the headline speed?
- What setup waste and changeover time should we expect after six months?
- What service response, spares coverage and remote support are included?
UK Corrugated Industry Trade Show
Smaller can be better. Telford is a specialist meeting for the corrugated and fibre-based supply chain, with live machinery demonstrations and suppliers covering automation, print, software, materials and manufacturing.
It is especially useful for independent sheet plants and medium-sized converters: more time with relevant suppliers, less time walking through unrelated halls.
Three questions for suppliers
- Can this be installed without stopping production for days?
- What is the payback if our average order size keeps falling?
- Which existing machines can it integrate with?
IndiaCorr Expo 2026
IndiaCorr is where price pressure and technology progress meet in the same hall. The 2026 edition runs alongside the ICCMA Congress and adjacent paper and folding-carton events.
Indian and Chinese suppliers are moving quickly on automation, print quality, controls and speed while competing aggressively on capital cost. European suppliers cannot ignore that. Neither should boxmakers.
Three questions for suppliers
- Which components are proprietary and which are globally serviceable?
- What is the installed base outside the home market?
- Can you provide references with our flute mix, grades and shift pattern?
Eurasia Packaging Istanbul
Istanbul is broader than corrugated — and that is precisely why it matters when the bottleneck sits around the corrugator rather than inside it. It is one of Emmepi’s two priority markets for the rest of 2026, alongside Brazil.
Three questions for suppliers
- Where does your system start and stop in our plant layout?
- What data can it exchange with our controls or planning software?
- If one machine stops, does the whole flow stop with it?
PACK EXPO International
PACK EXPO is the giant. The organiser expects 48,000 packaging and processing professionals, spanning machinery, materials, automation, material handling, palletising and robotics.
For corrugated producers it makes most sense when the question is broader than the corrugator: robotics, warehouse automation, conveyors, inspection, coding, end-of-line systems and the interface between the box and the customer’s packing line.
Three questions for suppliers
- Can it handle the size and SKU variability of corrugated products?
- What labour does it actually remove or redeploy per shift?
- How quickly can it be reconfigured for new pack formats?
Go to Chicago with a shortlist. Otherwise the size of the show will make the decisions for you.
China International Corrugated Festival
China is no longer a market to watch only for low-cost machinery. The bigger story is the speed at which Asian suppliers are improving controls, automation, print quality and complete-line integration.
Three questions for suppliers
- Which installations can we visit before ordering?
- Who provides commissioning and service in our country?
- What is the total cost after freight, installation, training, spares and software?
LATAMCORR Brasil 2026
LATAMCORR Brasil is built specifically around Brazil’s corrugated board and paper-packaging industry. It connects manufacturers, converters and technology suppliers around real production challenges rather than a broad packaging agenda.
For Emmepi, Campinas is a priority market. For producers, the wider value is access to suppliers working directly with Brazilian production, engineering, maintenance, quality and process teams.
Three questions for suppliers
- What installations do you already support in Latin America?
- How quickly can you provide local service and spares?
- What can you improve without requiring a full line replacement?
interpack MEA 2026
interpack MEA, formerly pacprocess MEA, closes the year as a major processing, packaging and printing platform for the Middle East and Africa. It is not a dedicated corrugated show, but it matters to boxmakers serving food, beverage, pharmaceutical, industrial and consumer-goods customers.
Three questions for suppliers
- Can it handle our size range, board strength and SKU variability?
- What local service and commissioning capability do you have?
- Can it integrate without replacing the whole line?
Before you go, bring data — not just business cards
Bring three things: current OEE or production data, a simple plant-flow layout and a short list of where you lose time, waste or labour.
For a corrugator project, bring average and peak speed, flute mix, trim, warp complaints, changeover time and downtime reasons. For converting, bring average order size, setup time, waste, speed by product family and the share of short runs. For internal logistics, bring a layout showing WIP accumulation, forklift routes, conveyor bottlenecks, pallet movement and warehouse constraints.
Ask every supplier to solve the same problem. That is how you compare technology instead of presentations.
Red flags on any stand
- Headline speed without discussion of your order mix.
- A payback calculation that ignores labour, waste, downtime or maintenance.
- A machine that requires a plant layout you do not have.
- Automation that cannot exchange data with existing systems.
- No reference installations running conditions similar to yours.
Which exhibitions are you planning to attend?
Choosing two or three events around a real production or investment problem will deliver more value than trying to see everything.
If your company is exhibiting, send Corruga.Expert the event name, stand number, team contact, one photo and a short description of what visitors will see. We are building our year-end exhibition coverage and will highlight the machinery, technologies and suppliers most relevant to corrugated board producers and boxmakers.
Sources: Emmepi Group; ACCCSA; TAPPI / AICC Corrugated Week; UK Corrugated Industry Trade Show; IndiaCorr Expo / ICCMA; Eurasia Packaging Istanbul; PACK EXPO International; M.SUCCESS Media Group; LatamPAPER Brasil / LATAMCORR Brasil; interpack MEA / Messe Düsseldorf.
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